As a new partner for PayPal, an early partner for Isis and the first issuer to sign on to a new method of participating with Google Wallet, Discover Financial Services is establishing itself as a foundation for mobile payments initiatives.

The rumor mill is catching fire as Apple nears its next product launch. Changes to the iPhone, iPad and other systems could affect initiatives at many payments companies.

Google added a virtual card option to its mobile wallet this month, and it's far from the first company to realize that virtual accounts can work where conventional cards just don't cut it.

As competition heats up for mobile-wallet providers, the various underlying technologies are starting to show whether they have long-term viability.

As Google expands its mobile wallet to more phones and, with yesterday's update, potentially more banks, consumers have more opportunities to try it — and to encounter its limitations.

A fresh update to Google's mobile wallet allows users to make payments from any credit or debit card, a move that fundamentally changes the company's approach to working with issuing banks.

Payments security providers and mobile card reader vendors alike will watch with much interest from the sidelines as iZettle AB tries to resolve its restrictions from Visa Europe for processing Visa transactions in the company's core market.

Starting today, the mobile payments company iZettle is saddled with a major restriction in not being able to accept Visa transactions in parts of Europe. Its problem serves as an example to rivals in the U.S. and overseas.

Juan Benitez, the new chief technology officer of Braintree Inc., expects to play a key role in the continued growth of the online and mobile payments provider.

Fiserv is adding a host of mobile tools to its UChoose Rewards bankcard loyalty program, starting with a mobile app that lets customers redeem their rewards points on the spot in stores.

The Olympics and other attractions are not just proving grounds for athletes — stadiums, amusement parks and concert halls provide the perfect conditions to test new payment technologies.

With payments players studying closely every move Apple Inc. makes, reports out July 27 that the computer giant will buy biometrics developer AuthenTec Inc. sparked speculation about the potential payments capabilities of the iPhone 5.

Many high-tech approaches to payments are short-lived. A lucky few get a second chance to disrupt the market.

Developing a mobile wallet for consumers is one thing. Getting those consumers interested and educated about how the wallet works and why they should use phones for payments is an entirely different matter.

The days of the add-on mobile card reader may be numbered, as recent developments around software-based approaches gain strong momentum.

Google's decision to add Google Wallet to its new Nexus 7 tablet could break the limitations its mobile payment system has faced in reaching consumers. 

PayPal's decision to buy its mobile-pay tech partner Card.io sheds light on how the smaller company's technology is shaping the world of mobile payments.

M-Via, which offers a mobile checking account called Boom, said July 18 that it closed a $17 million financing round led by Digicel Group Ltd. M-Via is also changing its name to Boom Financial.

Shopkick's mobile rewards system has relied so far on small devices retailers install at their doors to signal to an app that a customer has visited in person. But for a giant like Macy's, those little devices can add up to a big headache.

Commuters on New York’s busy Metro-North Railroad won’t have to wait in line to buy train tickets if a mobile-ticketing test taking place this summer proves to be successful for the conductors who check thousands of tickets a day.