Mobile payments

Expanding upon an existing partnership, cloud-based e-commerce provider Bigcommerce and mobile card acceptance provider Square Inc. will offer retailers a new way to manage inventory from physical and online stores.

Philip Campbell, founder of London-based startup Kerv, has produced a smooth, shiny piece of wearable tech that aims to tap into the growing market for contactless payments.

Apple Pay has been out for a year, so many of its partners have had time to reflect on the various issues it has faced since launch. Bank and credit union executives shared their experiences at SourceMedia's 2015 PayThink event at the end of September.

As quick-service restaurants increase their support for buy-online-pickup-in-store—as Starbucks did last week and as Taco Bell is doing this week—they are pushing customer convenience and reduced lines.

In Canada, there is no Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay. But there is a Royal Bank of Canada mobile wallet, despite the bank being challenged to explain why it has been so aggressive on the mobile scene.

Twitter's goal of becoming a payments engine has gotten a boost, as Bigcommerce will support Twitter's 'buy buttons.'

A year after its launch, Apple Pay has infiltrated numerous banks and merchants and two generations of Apple handsets. But its actual usage isn't close to living up to the hype.

Like most financial institutions, First Financial Credit Union was not an Apple Pay launch partner. And because of that, it was able to deploy Apple's mobile wallet with just $2,500 in marketing costs.

Pushing for more businesses to convert to electronic payments rather than using paper checks, the Remittance Coalition plans to have a working model in place next month for a business-to-business payment directory and network.

When Samsung Pay launched in the U.S. on Monday, it did so on schedule but with less issuer support than had been expected, with only Bank of America, Citi, American Express and U.S. Bank announced as participants.

As Uber-like business models perpetuate, bringing more contractors into a world where their job functions are handled primarily through a mobile app, there are still some pain points for which plastic is well suited.

South Korean purchases via Samsung Pay have topped the equivalent of $30 million U.S. as of Sept. 20, according to the first figures released by Samsung.

Verifone has entered an agreement to use Barclays' Pingit mobile payment app as part of Verifone's PAYware Ocius mobile gateway. Initially, this deal will support only e-commerce sites but Barclays said the pair may bring the technology to the physical point of sale in a later phase.

Competition is heating up among mobile wallet makers, but not everyone is racing toward the same goal. Many are starting to look past Near Field Communication-based contactless payments, championing newer technologies as well as reviving older business models.

Once placed inside of payment cards, computer chips can catalyze uses well beyond merchant security, argues MasterCard's Carlos Cornejo, who adds the card network plans to expand card utility through the mix of chips and tablets.

Canadian credit union cooperative Desjardins Group is offering mobile credit and debit card readers for small businesses.

Retailers beware: Starbucks is changing consumers' expectations in mobile payments yet again.

The convenience store chain 7-Eleven will let consumers pay bills at its stores through an app from PayNearMe.

High fashion and contactless payments collided this week on the catwalk at the London Fashion Week event as Near Field Communication rings stole the show.

The U.S. restaurant industry is still challenged to fit EMV-chip card payments into an ordering and payment structure built around cash and magstripe cards. The vendor MyCheck sees this uncertainty as an opportunity to win restaurants over to its mobile payment system.