Mobile payments

U.K.-based Rambus Ecebs, a provider of mass-transit ticketing technology, is harnessing Host Card Emulation (HCE) for its new service supporting a virtual ticketing app that can replace physical transit cards.

For much of the past few years, U.K. railroad systems have been using smartphones to display tickets as bar codes or other forms of digital fares.

In markets such as Africa there's a huge market for mobile payments, but a regulatory environment that has not caught up

U.K. supermarket giant Tesco has long supported Apple Pay at its contactless-enabled checkout locations, and now it also supports mobile payments through a proprietary app it’s rolled out to its nearly 7,000 stores.

Kenya Commercial Bank is working with Visa to bring the first mobile payment solution to its customers in East Africa that utilizes a quick-response code for e-commerce and in-store transactions.

The e-commerce company is expanding the buy buttons from one-off buttons used in the home to order items like soap or toilet paper.

The deployment comes as Singapore is in the midst of a broad digital initiative for the entire city.

The parent of Alipay is also investigating uses for biometrics and artificial intelligence.

Rather than killing off the plastic card, smartphones are strengthening it. Many issuers' card accounts are more valuable than ever, with perks made possible only through the development of smartphone apps.

As payments become "invisible," easier execution will also make transactions more safe and power marketing programs

German car maker Daimler AG has acquired PayCash Europe SA as part of its plans for a broad range of new vehicle-related mobile payment services dubbed “Mercedes Pay," in the latest deal linking automobile manufacturers with payment providers.

Mastercard is launching a mobile payment platform to help farmers be more aware of the needs for produce sales in East Africa, calling it the first use case from technology developed at Mastercard Labs in Nairobi, Kenya, which opened in 2014.

The technology revolution requires ISOs and agents to pursue merchant relationships based on a range of services in addition to traditional hardware.

Bigger isn't always better; as card issuers compete to bring in more spending, many are rethinking the way they offer rewards. Some of their approaches focus on streamlining redemption, while others dabble with cutting-edge technology such as virtual reality.

Banks have traditionally used consumer products to serve small businesses. The growth of alternative payment options means banks may lose customers, particularly among young business owners.

Mobile payments company Net Element has partnered with the Russia's Airbnb-like short-term accommodation company Sutochno.ru.

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Around the same time PayPal spun off from eBay Inc. to become its own company last year, it also took on the global money transfer provider Xoom. This acquisition may have been overshadowed by PayPal's bigger news, but it remains key to the company's post-eBay strategy.

The annual Consumer Electronics Show is full of big ideas, from Internet-connected toasters to AI toothbrushes. A few inventions revealed at this year's show could have big implications for payments.