Finnish handset maker Nokia Corp. is working with Near Field Communication technology developer Proxama Ltd. to develop loyalty and advertising applications, the companies announced April 19.

Selling mobile-processing services can prove quite profitable for independent sales organizations, observers say.

The availability of NFC smartphones — an ingredient many say is necessary for mobile payments systems to take off — may be a less onerous problem by 2014, a report from Juniper Research said.

AisleBuyer LLC, a Boston company, is selling mobile software that enables a consumer to scan an image of a payment card and use it to pay for in-store and online purchases.

Corporation Bank Ltd. has launched a mobile wallet to enable its customers to make purchases with their mobile handsets, a spokesperson for the Mangalore-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

While applications that let consumers deposit checks via mobile phone are all the rage, some banks are finally getting around to upgrading remote deposit technology for its original audience: businesses.

Jeroo Inc. said it is testing a mobile payment technology called Scan&Ship Enterprise.

For the major card brands, emerging global markets that broadly lack access to financial services likely will represent the greatest earnings potential for mobile-payments initiatives, concludes a report from Macquarie Equities Research Group.

American Express Co. is positioning its undisclosed investment in mobile-payments company Payfone Inc. as the next step in adding additional functionality to the card brand’s new Serve digital wallet product.

Visa Inc. last week completed a trial of mobile contactless payments in Australia in collaboration with Melbourne-based ANZ Banking Group Ltd., Vipin Kalra, Visa country manager for Australia, tells PaymentsSource.

Direct carrier billing is becoming more popular as consumers see the convenience and merchants are more willing to accept higher transaction fees to increase sales, contends Zong Inc., a mobile-payments platform provider.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has updated its Virtual Wallet application for the Apple inc. iPhone to include mobile check capture, the bank announced April 11.

SIMalliance is opening its software to third-party developers in its effort to discourage hackers’ attacks against wireless devices.

Financial institutions that are taking a “wait-and-see” approach to mobile payments risk falling behind early investors as the market begins to take shape, concludes a whitepaper from Fiserv Inc.

More than 10% of U.S. consumers had set up mobile-banking services in 2009, but a smaller proportion actually used the services, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Estimating the growth of social media and mobile channels equals a $70 billion global opportunity across banking and other consumer-facing
 industries, IBM has formed a new consulting practice to offer navigation
 expertise for companies looking to embrace the new technologies, many of 
which are offered in some form by IBM itself.

A San Francisco-based company on March 30 announced its introduction of a modular set of software frameworks and applications designed to facilitate deployment of Near Field Communication payments and other contactless services by resolving fragmentation and interoperability issues affecting NFC software and hardware installations.

Google Inc. is joining the NFC Forum, a nonprofit association that sets technical specifications for how businesses use Near Field Communication technology for payments applications and other services.

Gemalto NV is offering a software package for MasterCard Worldwide’s PayPass contactless payment system, the chip maker announced March 30.

Citing the proliferation of smartphone Near Fear Communication applications, NFC provider Vivotech Inc. next year plans to conduct an initial public offering of company stock to help boost its ability to build more NFC products and systems, Muhammed Khan, founder and president of Vivotech, tells PaymentsSource.