Mobile wallets

Transit systems provide a clear use case for mobile payments, allowing commuters to avoid lining up at ticketing machines when they're already in a rush to get to their destination. But many of the perks of mobile wallets, such as targeted offers, don't apply to them.

Consumers are increasingly positive about loyalty programs, mobile ads, chatbots and making a purchase from a smartphone, despite an early resistance to changing their payment habits when mobile wallets debuted years ago.

Technology never stands still, and even the most successful mobile wallets in the market need to keep pace with the needs of consumers and merchants. A few are making changes that position them for new markets and platforms in the near future.

Starbucks customers will soon be able to send Starbucks gifts to other iOS device users via Apple Inc.’s iMessage platform with Apple Pay.

The 'pays' and PayPal are among the technology companies that have build mobile wallets. As these apps add financial services, banks must consider building their own apps.

Underbanked consumers will have an incentive to initiate mobile payments through PaySwag, an application that will issue rewards for using a smartphone to make a payment and allowing redemption at any time.

Ukraine-based KredoBank has launched a digital wallet that uses host card emulation (HCE) technology to enable contactless mobile payments with Android handsets, and it’s backing the new service with a promotional campaign to win prizes on Facebook.

Google Wallet may have passed the in-store and in-app payments baton to Android Pay late in 2015, but it has simplified its person-to-person payment capabilities by extending its Gmail integration to Android phones.

The technology from MCX's CurrentC wallet, which never formally launched, will get new life with Chase Pay, which debuted in 2016 with Starbucks, Best Buy and commitments from MCX members such as Walmart.

The move may prove particularly helpful in reaching rural parts of India, where the latest smartphone technology has not arrived.