Mobile wallet mania is experiencing another surge that some consider overblown.

Views appear mixed on whether PCI compliance matters with mobile payment dongles, but one independent sales organization says adherence to the data-security standard is a no-brainer.

Inside Secure is opening up a Near Field Communication technology patent-licensing program on the heels of another company exiting the sphere.

The Girl Scout troops are once again proving to be an ideal test case for mobile card acceptance.

With pilots nearly complete, mobile-imaging software provider Mitek Systems, perhaps best known for its check capture technology, expects the launch soon of similar imaging services to help users make payments instead of just deposits.

Microsoft Corp. appears to be gunning to increase its relatively low profile in smartphones by beating Apple Inc. in announcing an NFC-based mobile wallet.

Square has shut out independent sales organizations as distributors of its mobile card reader. Now one ISO has gone on the offensive by offering its own.

Not to be outdone by other card brands or mobile network operators, MasterCard Worldwide and PrePay Solutions plan to launch a Mobile PayPass prepaid account for smartphones in a few months.

Even as Apple's Passbook app portends a mobile-payments world without near-field communication technology, ACI Worldwide is pushing ahead with NFC through an expanded pact with the smart-card technology provider Bell ID.

If consumers embrace a system in which they pay for coffee at Starbucks with their smartphones, will they do the same for Whoppers at Burger King?

The prominent daily-deals provider Groupon is reportedly branching into payments with a device that competes with Square Inc.

Elavon, a unit of U.S. Bancorp, is taking a different approach to mobile card acceptance by using a wireless card reader that is as big as the phone it pairs with.

Accepting payments on the go is taxing enough without having to worry about the government's cut. To address this pain point, Intuit added a geolocation feature to its GoPayment mobile card reader to determine where a payment is being accepted and apply the appropriate tax rate.

Payments innovations frequently seem to come about from situations where people worry they might not have enough cash on hand for a tip. Years ago, taxis added card readers in part to address this issue, and today, parking valets are experimenting with something similar.

Mobile payment development may be held back by the unnecessary confusion surrounding mobile wallet security and standards, according to a top MasterCard executive.

Target has once again proven to be a breeding ground for payment innovation. The retail giant, which gave an early boost to the Starbucks mobile payment app and the American Express low-fee prepaid card, has given shopkick the go-ahead for a nationwide rollout of the vendor's mobile rewards system at its stores.

U.S. Bancorp is using technology from Fiserv to offer an iPad banking app with a heavy focus on payments.

Zynga's social games — especially its hit Facebook game FarmVille — are a big deal in digital payments. Its games are the key to the success of Facebook Credits, and they may provide a similar boost to American Express' Serve.

BillMyParents is working with Extole to promote the SpendSmart card for teens. BillMyParents' card provides parents with real-time notices of teens' purchases and allows parents to shut off the card's ability to transact.

Credit unions must adjust soon to the impact of mobile payments, which can disrupt their revenue from traditional payment systems like credit and debit cards.