Mobile payments

From fairly humble beginnings three years ago with the low-fee Bluebird prepaid Amex card and the Serve platform, Walmart has gotten more and more aggressive — and welcoming — with payments innovation.

Bitcoin Direct has a heavyweight behind its latest digital wallet – literally.

Near Field Communication has been the burr in the saddle of emerging payments technology these past five years.

Glacier Restaurants, having examined the wide array of choices to tap mobile technology, has concluded that the best entry-level mobile transaction is the digital gift card.

When it comes to online commerce, the point at which money changes hands has often been the moment a sale falls apart.

It's impossible to predict the future, but many companies in the payments industry have already made commitments that will shape the year ahead. Here are a few things to expect in 2016.

Since the dawn of the modern mobile payments era, Starbucks has positioned itself as the poster child for how the technology can resonate with customers. And it's not about to rest on its laurels.

Square has long enjoyed the first-mover advantage that came with democratizing payment acceptance. But as the payments industry advanced and Square's own needs became more complex, the company is more challenged than ever to stay relevant, even to the merchants who accept credit cards only because Square made it easy.

It's hard to come by hard data on consumers actually using mobile wallets to pay in stores, but these consumers do exist.

Moscow-based startup Cardberry is planning to launch an app and device to streamline discount and loyalty cards.

Samsung plans to expand its Samsung Pay service to more phones in 2016, including its lower-priced models.

The pimples and beauty marks of the mega-retailers’ CurrentC mobile wallet are on display for all to see during the app's ongoing beta test prior to its planned rollout next year.

A London-based startup aims to allow consumers to use Bitcoin as a form of payment – even with merchants that haven’t started using the digital currency.

UAE Banks Federation (UBF), an association of 49 banks in the United Arab Emirates, this month said in it will move ahead with plans to develop a mobile wallet accessible to its members in 2016.

2015 was the year EMV began taking hold at the point of sale, with effects that rippled through nearly all other payment channels. Here's a look at how the payments industry is adapting to the changes brought on by EMV-chip cards.

Apple Inc. grabbed the early worm in mobile payments with Apple Pay's late 2014 launch, combining an intuitive mobile payments system for consumers with the buy-in of major banks and merchants. But the tech giant’s first-mover advantage never seemed to materialize.

Of all the companies in the payments landscape, few have changed as much as PayPal has in the past year. And heading into the new year, the newly independent alternative payments company is showing no signs of slowing down.

The concept of a high-tech multipurse card with a built-in display may seem out of place in a world where many of the same functions can be handled by mobile wallet apps, but some entrepreneurs remain committed to the idea of a futuristic plastic card.

ParkJockey plans to integrate PayByPhone's software into its mobile parking application.

Revel Systems has opened a new office in London to facilitate its growing business in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.