Mobile payments

Banks give toasters to new customers, but what can tech companies give? The companies behind Android Pay and Samsung Pay hope to entice users with as much as $25 in gift cards (which, yes, can still be used to buy toasters).

Banks are positioned well to be the trusted digital intermediaries, especially in the business-to-business segment, but only if they stay ahead of the innovation curve.

Crowdfunding platform provider Veterans Call has launched a payment application that allows users to donate to veteran charities from their mobile phones and pay through their phone bill.

Following its promise to make mobile point of sale products a key revenue-driver for the company, Verifone Payment Systems released a new mobile card reader for independent and micro merchants.

Google Wallet was seemingly sidelined this year when Android Pay replaced it as Google’s flagship mobile payments app, but a recent update to the Wallet app shows that Google still sees potential in the aging brand.

Google's mobile wallet, Android Pay, can now be used for in-app purchases on Android devices.

UnionPay has partnered with more than 20 commercial banks to launch its QuickPass mobile wallet service in Beijing.

It can often seem that some of the biggest names in payments were established a long time ago in a galaxy far away, and today are constantly defending their empires from scrappy startups launched by digital natives.

Visa has begun rolling out the Visa Token Service in the Asia Pacific region, starting with United Overseas Bank in Singapore.

The uncertain state of the prepaid card market doesn’t faze Texas entrepreneur Houston Frost, who has relaunched the Akimbo prepaid card, a concept he’s championed since 2011.

Though it seems as if the Merchant Customer Exchange has been stuck in the same mud the past year — still testing its CurrentC mobile wallet with no true launch date set — much has happened to support those who believe the retailer joint venture could still land squarely on its feet.

Wirecard Group and Alipay are collaborating to provide European retailers with barcode technology enabling Chinese tourists to make point of sale payments using the Alipay mobile wallet app.

A lot happened in 2015 to advance digital security, but a lot also happened to challenge the status quo and force merchants and banks to rethink their strategies. Here are some of the key changes that took place in the past year.

Even though Walmart has been a key member and driving force behind the Merchant Customer Exchange joint venture to establish a new mobile wallet, the retailer's addition of Walmart Pay to its mobile app is consistent with strategy, and will lead to a wave of individual bank and retailer initiatives.

One of the leaders of the retailer-driven Merchant Customer Exchange mobile payment system, Walmart is stepping out with its own alternative to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Android Pay.

For mobile commerce provider Cardfree, landing a deal with Dunkin' Donuts to upgrade its app to include pre-ordering and payment is like a trip to the past.

Vodafone is extending M-Pesa to Ghana, making it the 11th country to offer the mobile money service to unbanked consumers in developing markets in Africa, India and Europe.

As wearable computing transitions from fantasy to fashion, developers are starting to consider the distinct risks that arise when payments migrate away from smartphones.

FitPay's alternative approach to wearable payments has gotten a boost from Comerica Bank and RocketSpace, which have chosen FitPay as the winner of the Wearable FinTech Startup Challenge.

Mobile ticketing and payment provider Masabi has received $12 million in funding from various investors, including MasterCard.