Many small businesses that do not use mobile bill-payment services are unlikely to use them in the near future, new survey data suggest.

Federal Bank Ltd. has become the latest bank to join the interbank funds-transfer service the National Payments Corp. of India launched last year, a spokesperson for the Kochi-based bank tells PaymentsSource.

Google Inc.’s interest in Near Field Communication technology might be more about advertising than establishing its own payments network, observes one analyst.

U.S. Bancorp will be adding a mobile remote deposit capture service to its mobile banking features, the Minneapolis-based institution announced March 14.

Apple Inc. boasts that its iPhone “changes everything,” but against the expectations of many bankers, it may not be changing payments–at least, not this year.

The Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Council has begun using AppNinjas Inc.’s Swipe Credit Card Terminal for iPhone to accept credit and debit cards from consumers buying members’ cookies, the organization announced March 9.

Yespay International Ltd. has released its application programming interface specifications that merchants may use to integrate Yespay’s mobile-based services into their point-of-sale systems, the London-based payment-services provider announced on March 11.

Apple Inc. may not be building a contactless payment capability into its next iPhone.

American Express Co.’s plans to test an application program interface that connects its cardholders with social media giant Foursquare Labs Inc. creates a “powerful combination of digital behavior and spending behavior,” David Wolf, AmEx vice president of global marketing capabilities, tells PaymentsSource.

A year after testing mobile capabilities with its customers, Wow Bao, an Asian restaurant with three Chicago locations, is planning to launch a mobile gift card program with Mocapay Inc. by the end of April, PaymentsSource has learned.

The ongoing fight between Square Inc. and rival VeriFone Systems Inc. around payment security highlights the lack of common technical standards for mobile acceptance devices.

Consumers in India might have to pay fees if they want to manage their bank accounts through their mobile phones, according to a Reserve Bank of India official.

Competition to secure merchant users of mobile payment-acceptance services is on the rise. As a result, many companies have begun offering various options to appeal to small merchants.

Tanla Solutions Ltd. has launched a set of programming tools to allow micropayments within smartphone applications.

VeriFone Systems Inc. is taking off its gloves in the battle for mobile payment acceptance, claiming rival Square Inc.'s device can be adapted to use for fraud.

Regions Financial Corp. has updated its mobile banking capabilities to enable customers to transfer funds among internal accounts, pay bills and receive text alerts about balances and other details.

Hoping to appeal to small merchants looking for a means to process payment card transactions through mobile devices, Impact PaySystem LLC has begun offering a card-swipe device from iPhoneSwiper, initially for free, the companies announced March 5.

CashEdge Inc. has landed Huntington National Bank as a customer for its person-to-person payments software, the New York-based vendor announced March 7.

American Express Co. cardholders that attend the South by Southwest Interactive music festival in Austin, Texas, later this week will be able to secure merchant discounts with their cards through Foursquare Labs Inc., the location-based mobile system that rewards consumers for using its service. Media reports say the two companies are piloting the system with 60 merchants at the festival and are offering a “spend $5, save $5” promotion.

MUMBAI, INDIA–A company that enables India’s banking customers to conduct instant interbank mobile funds transfers is planning to extend the service to enable them to also pay for purchases at merchant locations, the firm’s chief executive told PaymentsSource here March 3 at a technology summit organized by the Indian Banks’ Association.