Mobile payments

Swedish startup Truecaller has become the newest entrant in India’s busy digital payments space, via a tie-up with ICICI Bank Ltd. to offer a local mobile-payments service.

With AmazonFresh Pickup, a brick-and-mortar extension of its grocery delivery services, Amazon is edging further into the crowded grocery market with a model that downplays the process of wandering the aisles of a physical store. But unlike some of Amazon's other retail efforts, this one is not as big a departure as it first seems.

Given the pressures of cart abandonment and showrooming brought about by digital marketplaces, traditional retailers are trying lots of ways to fight back with digital techniques of their own.

It's difficult for acquirers to have the proper payments technology available when merchant interest peaks. This is even more difficult as efforts such as Smart Cities and Internet of Things initiatives overwhelm retailers with options.

As trends in payments technology take hold or taper off, it's safe to say that one is firmly entrenched: The shift to mobile and integrated point of sale devices.

As multi-factor identification becomes the norm, biometrics can be one or more steps that consumers can easily execute.

Technology never stands still, and even the most successful mobile wallets in the market need to keep pace with the needs of consumers and merchants. A few are making changes that position them for new markets and platforms in the near future.

Esso gas stations in Canada have launched the Speedpass+ mobile payment app through Imperial Oil, giving motorists the option to pay for gas through their smartphones.

As connected devices expand in use and add payment capabilities, retailers and technology companies will need to move fast to stay safe and ahead of the curve.

Royal Bank of Canada has long been enthusiastic about payment technology that most other banks usually see as long-term projects.