Mobile payments

As wearable technology advances, it is taking a back seat to the designs that will have these high-tech features woven in.

In the spirit of a rising tide lifting all boats, we hope Apple figures out ways to add value to the mobile commerce ecosystem, not just be another isolated technology with limited value to merchants and consumers. Because Apple has work to do.

The blackout at Powa Technologies has some in payments industry circles wondering whether the company’s sudden collapse is a sign of harder times for fledgling fintech companies.

Chase Pay is tied to the issuer's 94 million credit, debit and prepaid card accounts, representing half of U.S. households. Depending on the perspective, this means Chase's wallet either starts with — or excludes — half of the market.

The smallest merchants, such as food trucks and local restaurants, will be some of the toughest to convert to EMV, but Lavu Inc. sees an opportunity to use Bluetooth instead.

Users of Ingo Money now can cash a check and instantly send the funds to multiple accounts via a smartphone, including PayPal accounts.

Chinese banks will reportedly pay half of what U.S. banks are forking over to support Apple Pay, a sizable gap that's due to Apple's relative fame in different parts of the world and the sizeable hype behind the product's U.S. launch in 2014.

Zain Group, a telco based in Kuwait, has launched a mobile money service in Iraq with eServGlobal, a provider of mobile money and value-added service solutions for telco providers.

Chase Pay, JPMorgan Chase's mobile wallet, has just landed an unlikely early partner with a history of going it alone: Starbucks.

As mobile payments migrate beyond smartphones, Visa is offering Visa Ready to manufacturers of wearables, automobiles, appliances and other connected devices.