Mobile payments

Capital One plans to take advantage of two major marketing initiatives — its support of Apple Pay and sponsorship of the Orange Bowl – to give its bank-branded mobile wallet a boost.

As new technology such as Apple Pay spark fresh interest in using smartphones for payments, many card issuers are striving to make the most of this enthusiasm. But for banks, the end goal isn't the point of sale.

When you are a company that started out 125 years ago as National Cash Register, you've had to reinvent yourself a few times.

The City of New York intends to develop mobile payment options for those paying fines for parking violations.

Chevron Oil Co. is planning to support Apple Pay at its gas pumps in early 2015, despite longstanding fears among consumers that using a cell phone while fueling is a fire hazard.

Apple Pay's October debut was arguably the biggest story in mobile payments in 2014. But it's only the prologue of a larger conflict set to heat up in the year ahead.

Square is committed to its diversification strategy, furthering its transformation from a simple mobile point of sale provider to a company that also handles small-business loans, marketing and e-commerce.

2014 was a big year for payments. Disruption came from within the financial services industry and from outsiders like Apple and Walmart. Mainstream payment companies had to respond to these new competitors as well as adapt to fresh attention from regulators and fraudsters.

Huntington National Bank in Columbus, Ohio, has announced plans to support Apple Pay.

As computing devices get closer to the body and more Internet-connected, payment platforms will have to be flexible enough to work in a vast number of environments, according to PayPal's Joel Yarbrough.

The point of sale technology provider TouchBistro is partnering with Uber to provide free transportation service to restaurant patrons in Toronto.

A technology called "host card emulation" made a big splash when it became part of the Android operating system in late 2013, but 2014 marked the year in which the tech became a foundation for future mobile wallet development.

Mobile payments service provider Calpian released new growth figures for its Money-On-Mobile unit in India.

For MasterCard's Mung Ki Woo, the future of payments is an app that unlocks new consumer habits by literally unlocking their doors.

While many mobile wallet companies look to complement credit and debit card acceptance, South Africa's SnapScan is focused on merchants who accept only cash.

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., will accept Apple Pay as a companion to its own contactless payment cards and wristbands.

MasterCard will host a series of hackathons in different countries to spot innovation in digital payments.

There is a lot of competition in mobile payments, and sometimes it takes an odd idea for a product to stand out. These banks, card networks and other companies dared to bring something new to the market, but only a few can claim the risk paid off.

Starbucks, an investor in Square, will not use Square's order-ahead app as the coffee chain pushes ahead with its own mobile ordering technology.

LevelUp, a mobile payments provider known for its playful office culture — and a CEO who prefers to be called a chief ninja — may need to mature as its competition gets serious.