Mobile payments

For a time, the European payments market was considered fertile ground for the creation of a third card network to compete against heavyweights Visa Europe and MasterCard. This third network never came to be, but European banks kept the idea on the back burner as a way to compete against or even bypass the major card brands.

In wearables, one size doesn't fit all. Some Apple Watch owners may never use Apple Pay; others may consider it a must-have feature.

Visa's agreement to reunite with Visa Europe positions the global card brand to better address a world where payments and commerce have fewer borders.

Digital commerce and payments company Mozido has named R. Todd Bradley as its new chief executive.

To improve its commerce and restaurant management offerings, Heartland Payment Systems has acquired Digital Dining, a provider of software that enables handheld point of sale devices to interact with conventional fixed terminals.

Apple Pay hasn't gone too far with consumers in its first year, but it has nevertheless established a solid footing with merchants, banks and two generations of its own handsets. And Apple has many powerful rivals that are eager to surpass it.

FIS is taking a major step toward completing its ongoing project of making it possible for people to pay for fuel without getting out of the car.

If Visa and MasterCard seem to be shining an extremely bright spotlight on their tokenization efforts, it's because they view it as vital to their survival.

Starbucks Corp. now gets 21% of its U.S. sales in company-owned stores through its mobile app, and its new order-and-pay system looks to be just as popular.

MasterCard is talking to Merchant Customer Exchange executives about what role the card brand could play in the retailers' CurrentC mobile wallet, but the card brand insists it is just an interested observer in the merchant mobile wallet venture.