Mobile payments

Apple Pay is a watershed moment that will do more to stimulate mobile commerce than the sum of all previous efforts. But it also has an impact on branding that should make it part of a broader mobile menu for banks and retailers.

The Chicago Transit Authority approved the free Ventra Android and iOS app this week, but riders won't be able to use the app for tap-and-go payments with Near Field Communication-enabled smartphones until early 2016.

As Apple Pay launches Oct. 20, the new mobile wallet will be put to the test. It has the prestige of Apple and the participation of hundreds of card issuers, but it also faces several challenges that may be difficult to overcome.

Starbucks Corp. is testing its first order-ahead mobile application this year in Portland, Oregon, in a bid to speed up service and boost sales.

Three massive companies, Alipay, Apple and PayPal, are on a collision course as they move to shake up the global e-payments market.

Apple, which launches its mobile wallet on Oct. 20, has convinced more than 500 banks to support Apple Pay by early next year.

American Express Co. is pulling new levers to build its business with small merchants and drive mobile wallet adoption, emphasizing its work with Apple Pay.

PayPal is on track to handle 1 billion mobile transactions this year, but the company can't yet say it will benefit from the imminent launch of Apple Pay.

American Express Co. said third-quarter profit rose 8.1 percent, beating analysts' estimates, as customer spending increased.

The growing prevalence of Internet-connected devices, along with a seemingly endless string of data breaches, is creating more opportunity to convince retailers to safeguard sensitive account data through new technology.

I'd be hesitant to say that mobile payments are ubiquitous today, but during a four-day trip to Texas, I got to see just how far the technology has come when I lost my physical wallet with all my plastic cards.

The merchants and issuers invested in Apple Pay must maintain a strong emphasis on employee education — especially if the stakeholders want Apple's mobile wallet to avoid the fate of the many previous payment technologies that sought to displace plastic cards.

OpenTable has released its mobile payment offering in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

PALM BEACH, Fla.—Handling transactions is secondary for the tech giants now entering the payments industry, says Diane Offereins, Discover Financial Services executive vice president of payments.

Early next year, consumers in New Zealand will have the option of making payments through the Semble mobile wallet.

PALM BEACH, Fla.—Few at the Electronic Transaction Association's Strategic Leadership Forum would deny Apple Pay could help prepare the nation for mobile payments and rescue Near Field Communication from obscurity.

Mobile wallets, at their most basic, enable consumers to manage their accounts and/or make purchases without cash or cards. On top of that foundation, many companies have come up with inventive features to set their apps apart.

A future where consumers make payments with wearable devices is not far off, especially in Spain where CaixaBank is working with Gemalto to launch a contactless EMV payment wristband.

Square's diversification strategy has landed in coffee shops, as the company has upgraded an application that uses location-sensing technology to more closely match pre-order preparation with consumer arrival.

The introduction of Apple Pay as a mobile wallet competitor illustrates that the payments landscape calls for partnerships and collaboration, rather than a “winner take all” mentality.