Economy

Bank of America, which is testing the use of QR codes for payment at five merchants and uses the same technology at the teller line, reports success in using the codes to enroll customers in its mobile banking app.

Call it a sign of the times, but something is definitely changing as face-to-face purchases of bitcoin are booming worldwide.

First Trade Union Bank has unveiled FT Pay, a mobile payment and loyalty app powered by LevelUp. The relationship represents LevelUp's first foray into the traditional banking industry with a technology it has typically sold under its own brand.

A common thread unites smart cards, mobile payments and cloud-based computing: all promise better security. But those gains are ofren negated by aging, vulnerable hardware.

Merchants are objecting to the U.S. EMV transition because of what they view as difficult technical challenges, unwarranted expense and payments industry politics.

Square Inc. now allows its merchants to establish an online store through the Square Register app.

With its newest update, Lemon Wallet is offering a 15-day free trial of its paid Wallet Plus service, a marketing scheme to whet consumers' appetites for the payments-capable mobile wallet it plans to roll out in the next couple of weeks.

Much must still be clarified about the new currencies and few have developed viable or secure business models that warrant defensive movement from the traditional banking sector just yet.

Choosing the right technology vendors can differentiate independent sales organizations and provide a competitive advantage.

Australian bank anticipates that IBM's Jeopardy-winning computer will help financial advisors provide quick yet valuable advice.

Vocalink, a London-based payments provider, is launching a new company called Zapp, which enables consumers to make real-time payments with their mobile device by linking their mobile phone number to a bank account.

Square Inc. is active in the U.S., Canada and Japan — and a recent post to its Twitter account indicates its next move is imminent.

Lending Club is backing Tritium Racing and its 73-foot offshore trimaran (now named after its sponsor) in the Transpacfic Yacht Race, which begins in July near Los Angeles and finishes in Honolulu. Its CEO, Renaud Laplanche, will be on the race crew.

Season ticket holders of the Washington Nationals professional baseball team will soon pay for concessions and souvenirs with the same smart card they use to enter Nationals Park.

Banks may believe they can provide the best mobile wallet experience — but most have done very little to create their own product.

RuPay debit cardholders in India can now use their cards to make online purchases, using Acculynk's PaySecure online PIN pad authentication.

Barclays has introduced a new feature on its Pingit person-to-person money transfer application that brings retailers in the U.K. into the mobile payments fold.

Money transfer provider Xoom is making a push for mobile payments to improve the experience for the recipient of a money transfer.

Mary Gerdts came from humble beginnings but re-created herself as a business leader. Along the way, she helped ISOs win the respect of the payments industry.

Intuit now lets iPad owners who use its GoPayment mobile card reader scan credit and debit cards with the tablet's built-in camera.