Mobile payments

Of all the initials small to mid-sized merchants hear during the digital payments migration—"EMV," NFC," "mPOS"—an older abbreviation may finally pry open the door to widespread payments automation: CRM.

Google is launching its Hands Free Payments app in the South Bay region of the San Francisco area, making it available on a test run at some McDonald's, Papa John's and other local restaurants. The model somewhat resembles an approach attempted years ago by PayPal and Square.

Samsung Pay now supports cards issued by Wells Fargo, giving it compatibility with 70% of the U.S. credit and debit card market.

Finding a parking spot is never fun, especially when traveling to an unfamiliar area. But as cars get smarter, so do parking payments.

Quick service restaurants often have to make technology decisions faster than other restaurant categories, and the regional fried chicken chain Zaxby's is no exception.

Square Cash has changed a lot since it was introduced as an almost purely email-based person-to-person payments service in 2013, but the addition of its Cash Drawer feature is perhaps the biggest game-changer.

In mobile banking technology, remote deposit capture is ancient history. But there's one area that history seems to have forgotten: Business payment automation.

Mobile payments have failed to wow consumers in the 15 months since Apple Pay launched, but adults under age 25 may provide a clue to the technology’s future.

Several major announcements took place at 2016's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but just as much activity was happening outside of the event. These big reveals demonstrate the increasingly global and digital nature of the payments industry.

Interac, the Canadian debit network, has frequently spearheaded contactless payments innovation. It is now taking steps to extend this tradition to mobile commerce.

As wearable technology advances, it is taking a back seat to the designs that will have these high-tech features woven in.

In the spirit of a rising tide lifting all boats, we hope Apple figures out ways to add value to the mobile commerce ecosystem, not just be another isolated technology with limited value to merchants and consumers. Because Apple has work to do.

The blackout at Powa Technologies has some in payments industry circles wondering whether the company’s sudden collapse is a sign of harder times for fledgling fintech companies.

Chase Pay is tied to the issuer's 94 million credit, debit and prepaid card accounts, representing half of U.S. households. Depending on the perspective, this means Chase's wallet either starts with — or excludes — half of the market.

The smallest merchants, such as food trucks and local restaurants, will be some of the toughest to convert to EMV, but Lavu Inc. sees an opportunity to use Bluetooth instead.

Users of Ingo Money now can cash a check and instantly send the funds to multiple accounts via a smartphone, including PayPal accounts.

Chinese banks will reportedly pay half of what U.S. banks are forking over to support Apple Pay, a sizable gap that's due to Apple's relative fame in different parts of the world and the sizeable hype behind the product's U.S. launch in 2014.

Zain Group, a telco based in Kuwait, has launched a mobile money service in Iraq with eServGlobal, a provider of mobile money and value-added service solutions for telco providers.

Chase Pay, JPMorgan Chase's mobile wallet, has just landed an unlikely early partner with a history of going it alone: Starbucks.

As mobile payments migrate beyond smartphones, Visa is offering Visa Ready to manufacturers of wearables, automobiles, appliances and other connected devices.