Starbucks Corp. now includes PayPal Inc.’s payment system as a funding method for its mobile payment application.

Near Field Communication will outlast other mobile-payment technologies such as microSD cards and two-dimensional barcodes, observers contacted by PaymentsSource generally agree.

Mobile-payments provider Zong Inc. has entered the Philippines market through partnership agreements with mobile carriers Globe Telecom Ltd. and Smart Communications Ltd., the U.S.-based company announced Nov. 17.

Mitek Systems, fresh off some major wins for its mobile technology, announced yesterday it broke into the black for its fiscal fourth quarter to the tune of a $180,000 net, compared to a $328,000 loss for the fourth quarter last year.

Recent developments suggest 2011 will be the year that mobile payments take hold in the United States in a big way.

The 200 million wireless subscribers connected to AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. may not be enough for the companies’ mobile payments joint venture to succeed; it still needs to attract large banks and merchants, one analyst says.

When a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January, the country’s government and relief organizations used services tied to mobile phones to pay victims for clean-up work. The program sought to empower Haitians with a means to buy food and other goods and services.

Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA will unveil more details on their joint venture to create a mobile payment network, which will be financially backed by Barclays PLC and Discover Financial Services, as soon as Tuesday, according to people familiar with the situation, Dow Jones is reporting.

Consumers have yet to widely adopt bill payment on smartphones — a trend some say is typical of new bill-pay systems.

Why so many ISOs, acquirers, and point-of-sale software and hardware makers are excited about putting advanced mobile POS equipment into merchants’ hands is not difficult to grasp. Such systems may generate additional revenue not only from existing clients, but also possibly from merchants who previously could not or would not accept payment cards.

More than half of the nation’s largest financial institutions offer mobile-banking services, which continue to evolve from being an extension of online banking to supporting person-to-person funds transfers and other payment capabilities, according to a new report from First Annapolis Consulting Inc.

Bling Nation Ltd. said Tuesday that its mobile contactless payment system will be accepted by the regional grocery chain Brookshire Grocery Co.

Mobile banking provider MShift said yesterday it is partnering with RDM Corp. to provide remote deposit capture over Mshift’s mobile banking applications for the iPhone and Android platforms.

With mobile access now widely accepted as a consumer channel, more banks are turning their attention to businesses.

Oxigen Services Pvt. Ltd. has signed a service agreement with Luup International Ltd. to launch mobile-payment services in India, Luup International announced Oct. 29.

Apple Inc.'s iPhone payments system is coming closer to reality.

Jack Henry & Associates Inc. and its competitors say there is high interest in offering new consumer technologies such as mobile remote deposit capture and mobile banking in general.

TCL Corp., a China-based mobile-phone manufacturer, has inked a deal with China UnionPay in which the companies will provide mobile handsets that support payment functions, the companies announced earlier this month.

AT&T Inc. has signed partnership agreements with three mobile-payment companies that enable its wireless customers to charge online purchases for such digital content as games and music directly to their mobile-phone bills.

Apple Inc.’s MFi licensing program for devices designed to work with mobile Apple products has certified Blue Bamboo’s P25-M mobile printer and card reader, the China-based point-of-sale terminal maker announced Oct. 29.