Mobile payments

Despite a reputation for being the go-to P2P app of digital natives, Venmo is once again pushing its market in the opposite direction with the debut of a plastic card.

From its origins as the fuel card operator Wright Express that launched 35 years ago, the fleet card provider WEX has aggressively expanded to other corporate sectors including travel and health care. But fleet cards still inspire some of the company’s most interesting innovations.

Called Mezu, the P2P platform has been live for about a week and uses a location-based code to execute payments, avoiding the need to even share usernames or other identifying information to move money.

Mobile and digital technology are expanding use cases for reloadable prepaid cards beyond their heritage as a tool primarily for the unbanked consumers. Furthermore, mobile commerce is driving broader acceptance of digital versions of both prepaid and retail gift cards.

Payment processors have increasingly become full-service providers from equipment to security measures and, most recently, some mobile and omnichannel options.

Scan-and-go payments and other mobile technology can redirect store resources toward more personal service to keep consumers in stores, according to Julian Wallis, retail director at Rambus.

Longtime Starbucks boss Howard Schultz was so invested in the company's mobile payments strategy that he once stepped down from his day-to-day duties to focus his full attention on the tech initiative. Without his involvement, will Starbucks lose its edge in fintech?

As contactless cards continue their momentum in the U.K., new use cases are popping up for the tap-and-go technology.

As competition from the bank-powered Zelle mounts, the popular social P2P app Venmo is phasing out support for online payments in favor of its mobile app.

Microsoft is the latest to try to help a big retailer jettison cashiers — and the latest to discover how hard that is.