HDFC Bank Ltd.’s new mobile service could be a game-changer in India’s mobile-payments market, making such services cheaper and more widely accepted.

Bankers generally accept that providing mobile access to financial services is an inevitable part of their future. But when it comes to actually using the devices to communicate with customers about the bank, financial institutions are surprisingly behind the curve.

Hey, Visa and PayPal, pay attention here.

In a move Barclays Bank PLC hopes will make consumers wonder how they ever used to exchange funds with one another, the United Kingdom-based bank is making mobile funds transfers available to all UK bank accountholders through a free software application called Pingit.

Industry analysts have called 2012 a possible “breakthrough year” in the payments industry for Near Field Communication technology.

Intuit Inc. has added a new tablet-banking product for banks and credit unions.

USAA Federal Savings Bank traditionally has occupied an unusual position that almost requires it to be an early adopter of digital financial services. Its military-heavy customer base always is on the move and often in geographic circumstances that don’t allow multi-channel banking.

Consumers who caught on fast to the convenience of using their smartphone cameras to deposit checks remotely likely will be among the first to try a similar technology for paying monthly household bills.

Small banks already face a mobile-banking adoption deficit to their larger competitors, but some community institutions are still questioning the channel's safety, weighing emerging security threats against consumer expectations of new mobile banking services.

Consumers trust PayPal Inc. about as much or more than well-established payment networks such as Visa Inc. or MasterCard Worldwide when it comes to emerging mobile payments, but they place the most trust in their bank, new survey data suggest.

Bank of America Corp. says reports that circulated this morning saying the bank has delayed its launch of a mobile check-deposit application to the second half of 2012 are half true.

In a promotion taking place in New York, consumers may act on their impulses using mobile tags, such as bar codes and QR codes, to not only shop around with their camera phones but also to initiate purchases while riding in certain taxis.

An alternative payments company that lets users make electronic payments in cash is planning to quickly expand its user base and merchant clients with the addition of a mobile channel.

City Bank is upgrading its mobile-banking capabilities to compete with larger banks, always a concern for smaller institutions. At the same time, the $1.9 billion-asset bank, which serves a region surrounding Lubbock, Texas, also is experimenting with security applications for mobile devices that shield non-mobile channels.

The world of card acceptance on BlackBerry smartphones has just become more complete.

With Visa debit card spending for online purchases reaching new heights in Europe and the United Kingdom, the timing appears right for consumers to tie those cards to mobile payments.

A startup is attempting to create a mobile-payment system that focuses on digital receipts and rewards. And it leaves payments out of the process.

PayPal Inc.on Jan. 18 reported a jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven in part by mobile payments.

NEW YORK–With so much attention on turning mobile phones into payment devices through hardware upgrades, banks may be missing a growing opportunity in the mobile Web browser.

American Express Co. has begun licensing its digital wallet, Serve, in China.