ViVOtech and DeviceFidelity announced a joint solution they say brings contactless mobile payment, loyalty, transit, ticketing and coupon redemption capabilities to leading smartphones, including BlackBerrys and iPhones.

Apriva, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based wireless-payments company, on Sept. 8 announced the release of its AprivaPay wireless point-of-sale application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

Vodacom Pty. Ltd. is teaming with Nedbank Ltd. to launch the M-Pesa mobile cash-transfer service in South Africa, the mobile operator announced last week.

Tyfone Inc. has received $5 million in financing from HDFC Holdings Ltd., Polaris Software Labe and Ojas Venture Partners, the provider of mobile-banking and mobile contactless-payment technology announced Sept. 7.

The mobile banking train hasn’t left the station yet, but time is running low to be considered an early adopter before the service becomes ubiquitous among banks. In the case of Bank of the West, which introduced its new mobile platform in late August, now’s the time to jump in as more banks will likely view mobile as a must-have in the near future.

A prepaid card company is trying to drive down fraud with an application that replaces plastic cards with virtual accounts that users access with mobile phones.

Consumers are willing to purchase high-ticket items such as concert tickets through mobile-payment services, although many are dissatisfied with the process, according to a survey Netsize NA released this month.

Experts say Android is the hottest smartphone for mobile banking, but when it comes to payments, the Seattle coffee retailer hopes there is still a big opportunity in the increasingly neglected BlackBerry.

Virtual gift card provider Giftango Corp. on Sept. 1 released a software-development kit that enables mobile-phone application companies to develop gift card products consumers may use at the point of sale or redeem online.

Inner Fence, which makes the Credit Card Terminal application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, on Sept. 1 announced it is shipping the Credit Card Reader, which attaches to an iPhone’s dock connector.

Visa Inc. hopes to prove to banks that a contactless payment chip in a mobile phone is a much more compelling product to consumers than the same chip in a plastic card.

VeriFone Systems Inc. plans to use its acquisition of Way Systems Inc. to attract more merchant interest in its mobile-payment systems. But the deal also eliminates a competitor, analysts say.

To boost its mobile-payment strategy, VeriFone Systems Inc. announced Wednesday it has acquired the assets of Way Systems Inc., a point-of-sale terminal and gateway services provider for mobile merchants. The purchase price included a $6 million upfront payment and an earn-out payable in one year of up to an additional $3 million if certain performance targets are met.

Cimbal Inc. is bypassing any future business models centered on Near Field Communication payments with a mobile-phone application that mimics NFC functionality but without the use of an embedded chip in the handset.

Mobile banking may one day be the channel of choice for members, but OnPoint Community CU here must battle infrastructure issues and perceptions of inadequate security before that happens.

Intuit Inc. is enhancing its GoPayment mobile credit and debit card acceptance service with a card reader designed to attach to Apple Inc.’s iPhone.

Various unregulated new mobile-payment services proliferating in the U.S. could be putting certain consumers at risk for fraud, Consumers Union, a nonprofit consumer-advocacy organization, announced Aug. 24.

Fiserv is offering a mobile remote deposit service, a move that could rapidly expand the adoption of a technology that is becoming a must-have feature at many banks.

China’s Union Mobile Pay service’s transaction sales volume exceeded 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion or 3.1 billion euros) in 2009, a spokesperson for the mobile payment service provider tells PaymentsSource.

Mobile banking is gaining more popularity with the underbanked than it is with conventional bank customers.