Mobile payments

The Royal Bank of Canada, an early adopter of wearable technology, is adding host card emulation (HCE) technology to the RBC Mobile App, enabling Android smartphone users to make contactless mobile payments through any carrier.

Apple is planning to take its new mobile payment system into the U.K. and other parts of Europe in the coming year, though its current fee structure for banks may not be as easy to export.

Bancroft & Associates has added Spindle's credit and debit card payment acceptance to its online property management payment platform.

White-label mobile payments and commerce provider Mozido LLC has acquired mobile wallet provider CorFire, which developed mobile wallets for retailers like Dunkin' Donuts, to fuel its global expansion.

For American Express' Nik Sathe, developers with no experience in the payments industry are among the best to hire.

A South African company called FlickPay wants to win over the country's retailers with a flexible fee structure for offering deals and loyalty programs through its smartphone app, but it operates in an increasingly crowded mobile payment market.

Intuit's Mint personal financial management site has rebranded the Check app, which the company purchased this year, to tie its payment capabilities to the Mint brand.

Rather than try to change consumers' behavior, Barclaycard is acting on research it conducted of 2,000 consumers who told the U.K. issuer what type of wearable payment device they'd prefer. Their preference: gloves.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against Sprint Corp., alleging it illegally processed improper third-party billing charges – marking the first time the agency has pursued a telecommunications firm.

Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. now offers Chicago transportation systems and its patrons a single mobile app for ticketing and contactless fare payments.

Adyen joins the ranks of financial technology companies to receive big money this week, announcing a $250 million funding round today.

NCR's Silver point of sale system has integrated SCVNGR's LevelUp mobile wallet and customer loyalty app.

The mobile point of sale provider ShopKeep is releasing hardware that is compatible with Apple Pay's Near Field Communication payment system and EMV-chip cards.

WEX Inc. has launched a new mobile application that searches for the most cost-effective gas station based on their location rather than just showing the price of gas.

Samsung is planning to launch a contactless mobile payment system in 2015 in partnership with payment company LoopPay, tech news site ReCode reported Dec. 16.

The field of P2P competitors has grown significantly since JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo founded clearXchange LLC in 2011, and the mega-banks' initiative still looks very much like it did three years ago.

After spending 2014 digging out of fiscal slump, Verifone is setting up for an aggressive product rollout in the year ahead as it recovery shifts into high gear.

Initiatives such as Apple Pay and the upcoming CurrentC wallet are placing pressure on banks and retailers to accommodate the higher transaction speed, volume and performance expected on smartphones and tablets.

The e-commerce provider Spindle has partnered with the payment processor TekTango to provide point of sale hardware with bundled payment processing services.

Many disruptive technologies come from startups, but just as many seem to come from companies that have been around for decades. Whether developing a new system in-house or providing a necessary proving ground for a partner, these older companies are bringing fresh innovations to the payments industry.