Mobile payments

In the technology market, making the jump from early adoption to the mainstream is the difference between becoming the next iPad and becoming the next Laserdisc. Mobile wallets find themselves in this very position today as a next-gen product in need of a push to reach their tipping point.

Consumers in the U.K. are being encouraged to sign up for a new payments system that will allow person-to-person transfers to a mobile phone number.

VeriFone Systems had five of its Payware EMV-enabled mobile card readers approved for the Visa Ready Program.

Credit bureau Equifax Inc. is leveraging its trove of consumer data to streamline the purchasing process on the Web and mobile devices.

PayPal now offers the chip-and-PIN version of its PayPal Here mobile card reader to merchants in Australia.

Vodafone's M-Pesa mobile money service, known for quickly developing a devout following of users in Africa, will help the telecom expand in parts of Europe that its more high-tech payment offerings can't reach.

MasterCard's payment processing subsidiary DataCash is leveraging the card network's development arm to lure merchants with a mix of technology that includes mobile payments, digital marketing and augmented reality.

The quick-service restaurant industry has a strong appetite for mobile payments as a way to make fast food sales happen even faster.

Much like Africa, India is proving to be fertile ground for mobile money services, and payments processor Calpian plans to extend its reach in the market.

The telecom-driven mobile money provider M-Pesa has expanded to Europe, with cash-heavy Romania as its first market.

Already a major card issuer in the military market, Navy Federal Credit Union is working to expand its merchant services business through new agreements with Square and TSYS.

Square is accelerating its integration with third parties to save the time and resources it would take to develop the business technology it needs to stay competitive in an increasingly sophisticated and crowded mobile payments marketplace.

University students and faculty in Spain, Brazil, Chile and Mexico can use their mobile phones to gain access to buildings and make payments at on-campus restaurants through technology provided to Banco Santander by digital security provider Gemalto.

Already a major card issuer in the military market, Navy Federal Credit Union is working to expand its merchant services business through new agreements with Square and TSYS.

Even the biggest success stories in mobile payments have skeletons in their closets. But each company learned from its mistakes and was quick to adapt.

McDonald's customers in Thailand now have the option to make credit card payments to a mobile device as part of the McDelivery 1711 service.

BlackBerry once seemed to be a good bet for mobile payments, with a large installed userbase even when iPhone and Android handsets were still considered a luxury rather than a necessity.

LevelUp is offering users a monthly cash back bonus for linking a debit card as a funding source for its mobile payment app.

Allied Payment Network and Malauzai Software plan to use video and chat to develop new mobile payment methods.

Payzone, a provider of payment technology for retail stores, hotels and restaurants, is planning to offer Seamless' SEQR mobile wallet to its approximately 20,000 clients.