Mobile payments

Google probably could have hired anyone it wanted to be chief financial officer. For those trying to ascertain why Google chose Ruth Porat of Morgan Stanley, her experience in banking is likely one of her key selling points.

Selfies, or self-portraits typically taken with a smartphone's camera, are an all-too-common consumer habit. And the practice is now migrating to formal business use, such as for authentication.

Zumigo, an identity provider, is expanding the reach of its mobile location verification service to online merchants.

Mobile payments will replace cash and cards. Or the technology will stall for lack of consumer interest. It all depends on which report you read.

Matt Swann, who was in charge of Amazon Register and the defunct Amazon Wallet, has left Amazon.com for a role at Citigroup, according to a report by TechCrunch.

The mobile wallet market takes no prisoners. Startups and big companies have an even playing field, and many have already scrapped one or more products — while others have given up the fight entirely.

In just one week, Swedish company Seamless has expanded its SEQR mobile payment service to three more countries in Europe.

Everlink Payment Services has created a prototype wearable payment device that works with Interac Flash.

Flint Mobile is joining the many technology companies that are evolving from their roots as payment providers to become enablers of a broad range of services.

The coffee chain announced plans on March 18 to begin testing delivery in New York and Seattle, with the iconic 102-story office tower serving as its Big Apple proving ground. In New York, customers will order through a Starbucks website and eventually transition to its mobile app.

Apple's Near Field Communication-based wallet was not universally welcomed by banks and merchants, but the in-app Apple Pay system is steadily gaining momentum as more retailers see it as a way to latch onto Apple's cachet without overhauling their point of sale.

Facebook's Messenger app will soon let users send funds to one another, and the social network's use of payments to drive advertising and other business services is unlikely to stop there.

Of the many smartwatch apps teased during last week's Apple Watch reveal, only one came from a bank: Citigroup.

Apple gets it. The way to make things appealing is to make them simple, convenient and valuable for consumers.

Fime has updated a validation tool with Barnes International for issuers to test Visa's cloud-based Host Card Emulation processes and payment tokens for contactless payments.

Square's decision to scuttle its consumer-facing Order app shines an uncomfortable spotlight on the challenges inherent in creating technology that appeals to both consumers and merchants.

Wirecard, a German white-label electronic payment provider, will offer its "boon"-branded mobile payment app to Drillisch, a German telecommunications provider.

The mobile wallet landscape has always been dynamic, and recent consolidation and upheaval have changed it once again. As older products fade or rethink their model, newcomers are bringing bold new ideas to market.

Sibling rivalry can be fierce. While Visa Europe pushes its own technology for online and mobile commerce — setting the stage for Apple Pay in the U.K. — its brother VocaLink is readying the launch of Zapp, a payment system that that cuts the card networks out of the equation by directing purchases through bank accounts.

Square has boosted its technology capabilities while expanding its presence in Canada through the acquisition of Toronto-based Kili Technology Corp.