Mobile payments

PayPal, Square and other companies are building multipurpose apps that can access traditional bank accounts — or make them obsolete.

PayPal, Square and other companies are building multipurpose apps that can access traditional bank accounts — or make them obsolete.

The retailer's mobile app didn't allow sales staff to earn commissions. An arbitrator's ruling requires Macy's to update its app — and signals another complication in the shift to all-digital payments.

The debate over whether NFC or QR codes is the best technology to adopt persists. So far, there has been plenty of room for both.

The debate over whether NFC or QR codes is the best technology to adopt still persists today. So far, there has been plenty of room for both.

The Los Angeles bank's service, offered in partnership with the fintech Extend, enables card controls and uses tokenized account numbers to improve security.

The tech vendor allows merchants using the Clover point-of-sale platform to accept PayPal and Venmo payments, a move that serves the company's continuing focus on full omnichannel experiences for its merchants.

The quick adoption of financial technology, coupled with remote work, requires firms to focus on internal innovation as well as customer-facing advancements.

Amid success stories like Apple Pay, Google Pay and the Starbucks app, there are many wallet apps that failed to gain traction — or squandered it when they did. But there is a lot to learn from their experiences.

User experience and efficiency matter. Consumers aren't going to do something more difficult just for the technology, says Computop's Jed Danbury.