Mobile payments

The U.S. trucking industry has benefited from key improvements in fuel-payments technology, with streamlined mobile apps from the likes of WEX and Comdata steadily replacing clunky, older paper-and-plastic fleet card programs for buying fuel, services and lodging on the road.

Banks have long believed that the key to sparking mobile payments is better incentives, but U.S. Bank is taking that to the extreme with a new product that pays triple points for such purchases.

Shopify is approaching merchants on two different fronts, launching a new card reader and a "Shopify Pay" app that are both free to current clients.

Tencent Holdings Ltd. is shutting down a popular feature on WeChat that allows iPhone users to tip emoji and content creators to comply with Apple Inc.’s policy on in-app purchases.

The deal with PayRange could expand consumer adoption of a mobile payments app for vending machines that uses a Bluetooth-enabled dongle that connects to a consumer's mobile app.

On Track Innovations will provide mobile EMV payment acceptance for the large cage-type vending machines that Outdoor Vending Solutions uses to sell bulk items at various sites within state parks in Texas.

New mobile wallets and digital payment innovators are threatening banks' traditional relationships with consumers, forcing banking to respond.

Google can make up ground on its rivals with its new bank collaboration. But it will need help to expand the strategy quickly.

Efforts to combine mobile wallets and loyalty programs have had mixed success over the years, but many companies are undeterred. Here are a few that are working to find the right mix of technologies.

South Africa doesn't rank as high on Mastercard's mobile readiness rankings as some other countries, but a need for convenience and security is drawing more attention to the channel, particularly among the young.

Shelton Shugar, the new CIO of Barclaycard U.S., shares his thoughts on fintechs, the merits of cloud computing and paying through Amazon Alexa.

From fraud to ongoing EMV issues and the challenge of getting to the top of consumers' wallets, there are no shortage of payments challenges facing credit unions.

Facebook is enhancing is transaction technology as payments increase in popularity on messaging apps.

Shugar has previously held technology positions at eBay, Yahoo, Verisign and The Thomson Corp., among other companies.

As mobile apps that allow consumers to order and pay before reaching the retailer expand, traditional hardware providers are rushing to adopt the technology, as evidenced by Ingenico's expanded Five Guys deployment.

The company's selling product that's similar to a store-branded card, but without the physical plastic. It hopes to appeal to small or midsize stores that don't want to run their own credit programs.

Bank of America has added new features to its mobile banking app in an effort to build flexibility in mobile wallet options and more closely tie payments to financial services.

Australian regulations recently denied banks the right to negotiate with Apple Inc. to directly add Apple Pay to their digital apps, but the victory may do little for Apple, considering consumers in the country appear to have little interest in using mobile wallets.

As more of China's citizens engage in travel and commerce across the nation's borders, more companies want to help them pay and collect money. Many of China's dominant payment brands are extending their reach globally, but U.S. and European companies are also focused on this audience.

Singapore-based ride-sharing company Grab is looking to expand its reach in Indonesia through its acquisition of Kudo, an e-commerce platform for unbanked consumers who would be unable to use Grab's own digital payment platform.