Mobile payments

The volume of payment apps is reaching critical mass. From retailers to coffee shops to airlines, companies across virtually every industry have developed a mobile app to make the payments experience simpler and faster for their customers – and to gather more data on who they are and how they spend their money.

Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf — which plan to merge under the name "Diebold Nixdorf" — were already in the midst of major projects to digitize bank branches and retail stores before the pressure from mobile devices led them to join forces to keep pace with innovation.

Chase Visa cards are now compatible with Samsung Pay, the smartphone maker's mobile payment system that combines magnetic secure transmission and Near Field Communication.

Small business professionals using the New Zealand cloud accounting software Xero can be alerted on their finances through Apple Watch.

Mobeewave combined two Canadian staples — hockey and contactless payments — to test a technology that allows smartphones to pay 'each other,' and is now taking the concept on the road to other markets.

As shopping gets more digital, so does fraud. The rise in technology at shoppers' fingertips provides many new channels for scammers to exploit.

Black Friday will mark a new milestone this year, when mobile devices for the first time will account for about half of all online purchases during the first weekend of the holiday shopping frenzy, according to a new study.

There's no shortage of upstarts trying to cut cost, time and risk out of global money transfers. To maintain its position, Western Union is investing in the technologies it finds the most promising while keeping others at arm's length.

Apple Pay has gone Down Under, reaching its fourth country since its 2014 launch in the U.S.

Dunkin' Donuts, in a bid to catch up to the technology prowess of Starbucks Corp., is testing on-the-go ordering and delivery service in some U.S. markets.