Mobile payments

From fairly humble beginnings three years ago with the low-fee Bluebird prepaid Amex card and the Serve platform, Walmart has gotten more and more aggressive — and welcoming — with payments innovation.

Bitcoin Direct has a heavyweight behind its latest digital wallet – literally.

Near Field Communication has been the burr in the saddle of emerging payments technology these past five years.

Glacier Restaurants, having examined the wide array of choices to tap mobile technology, has concluded that the best entry-level mobile transaction is the digital gift card.

When it comes to online commerce, the point at which money changes hands has often been the moment a sale falls apart.

It's impossible to predict the future, but many companies in the payments industry have already made commitments that will shape the year ahead. Here are a few things to expect in 2016.

Since the dawn of the modern mobile payments era, Starbucks has positioned itself as the poster child for how the technology can resonate with customers. And it's not about to rest on its laurels.

Square has long enjoyed the first-mover advantage that came with democratizing payment acceptance. But as the payments industry advanced and Square's own needs became more complex, the company is more challenged than ever to stay relevant, even to the merchants who accept credit cards only because Square made it easy.

It's hard to come by hard data on consumers actually using mobile wallets to pay in stores, but these consumers do exist.

Moscow-based startup Cardberry is planning to launch an app and device to streamline discount and loyalty cards.