Mobile payments

The explosive growth of mobile applications has inspired financial firms to create tools that aim to make it easier for customers to save, budget, pay bills and send money to friends and family. But the rise of the app has also opened up financial firms to a host of security issues and privacy concerns.

Jack Dorsey is following in the footsteps of his Silicon Valley idol – Steve Jobs.

Apple's plan to launch Apple Pay in the U.K. with the support of a solid number of issuers came as no surprise — except for the omission of Barclays, the leading issuer and acquirer in the country.

Apple is doing a lot more with its mobile wallet, with a focus on making Apple Pay a more palatable option for retailers. The company is also making moves to beef up the features visible to consumers and expand to new regions.

Jack Dorsey will be doing double duty soon. The 38-year-old Missouri-native will be serving as the interim CEO of Twitter, while also continuing to serve as the CEO of Square Inc.

Banks are under significant pressure to modernize payments or lose customers to more nimble digital challengers. But regulatory obligations, which at times hold banks back from being innovative, are also the reason banks become the hero in resolving disputes over charges.

Spindle has revised its Yowza mobile shopping app to fuel further engagement with consumers through its commerce platform.

Apple Pay's launch was seen as so bank-focused that some retailers griped or outright rebelled against the Apple mobile wallet. But today, Apple made a major peace offering to the merchant community — and it's working with Square to make that happen.

The traditional cash register is making way for new technology based on tablets, smartphones and other, sleeker devices. These products open up a range of new capabilities for the retailer and the consumer.

After hearing that his friend organized an adult hockey team and ended up losing about $3,000 each year that he fronted for ice time because he never got paid back by others, Ian Andrew Bell came up with the idea for RosterBot.

At the Wayfair network of retail brands, more people are using its mobile commerce apps, but only a smaller percentage are on board with using those apps to make purchases.

Qiwi, a Russian payment services company is working with Beeline Russia to allow its customers access to Qiwi's digital wallet service.

Another year brings another attempt by Google to develop the winning formula that will allow it to compete long-term in the mobile payments war.

U.S. Bank in Minneapolis has updated its mobile corporate payments to allow the use of virtual card accounts, which give users a temporary 16-digit number to execute transactions.

The rapid pace of change has forced payment companies to collaborate more often, a posture that will help the industry in the future, even if EMV and other innovation disrupts the market.

Visa and Verifone hope to reach merchants that are anxious to follow the shopping experience as consumers make purchases through a combination of apps, websites and in-store visits.

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is already working with the features of the upcoming Android operating system that Google previewed last week, with the goal of improving the usability and security of mobile payments.

JPMorgan Chase is now live on clearXchange, a multi-bank person-to-person transfer network that it helped found in 2011, but the competitive landscape for P2P has changed a lot in the intervening years.

Google Inc., looking to expand its mobile capabilities, has acquired Pulse.io Inc., which specializes in making applications faster and more responsive.

One of the iconic images to come out of Google's Android Pay presentation last week is its app loaded with one American Express card — and three retailer loyalty cards.