Mobile payments

The spread of new payment technology and omnichannel commerce are changing the way people shop during the holiday season, even in brick-and-mortar stores. Here are a few noteworthy trends this season.

Few of Apple's numerous patent applications make it to market, but if the consumer electronics giant follows through on one filed last week, iPhone users may have the Siri virtual assistant helping them with person-to-person payments through the iMessage platform.

EBay Inc., struggling to turn itself around and catch up with dominant Amazon.com Inc., has invented a new day: Mobile Wednesday.

The app will be available at 7,500 Starbucks locations in the U.S. and 1,400 Best Buy locations, and is part of a much broader rollout that's expected to last into early next year.

India's cash crisis may threaten the country's traditional wedding season. Uber is attempting to solve some of the problem with a new car booking service.

Biometrics has long had an interoperability gap. Visa is trying to address that with a new project that brings flexibility to biometric options.

The Scan & Go mobile app went live last month at Sam’s Club, allowing consumers to scan their own items as they shop and pay within the app, an innovation that could cut down on checkout lines.

Charitable giving is a big part of contactless payment innovation, and Quest Payment Systems is hoping to gain share in the Australian non-profit market.

Connected devices is the key innovation behind Optus and Frank Green's coffee cup that can also support contactless payments.

The two-year old APASS has helped Alibaba persuade wealthier consumers to up their spending at Tmall and Taobao shopping emporiums.