Mobile wallets

Samsung is exploring the development of a smartphone-based cryptocurrency wallet, according to a recent patent application the electronics giant filed in the U.K.

Nearly a year after Chinese phone maker Huawei announced plans to expand Huawei Pay internationally, the mobile payment service has gone live in Russia, its first foreign market.

Mobile payments technology has fallen short of expectations in major markets, particularly the U.S., where less than 10 percent of consumers routinely use devices to pay in stores — despite more than four years of aggressive development from large technology companies and banks.

Walmart is already a retail heavyweight, and it has never shied from innovative projects to change the way people pay.

The turning point was Apple Pay, which Discover did not support until September of 2015, nearly a year after the mobile wallet's launch.

Paysafe has partnered with Paytm Canada, the Toronto-based division of Indian mobile payments juggernaut Paytm, to improve the capabilities of Paytm's Canadian app, which currently supports utility and bill payments.

Part of the issue is that in the U.S., contactless cards didn't pave the way for mobile as they did in other regions. Without widespread acceptance of contactless cards, merchants were put in the position of being asked to upgrade their terminals for mobile without any promise that the investment would pay off.

In the past few years the Chinese government has loosened restrictions on foreign travel, enabling millions of its citizenry to visit foreign lands. Along with a greater ability to travel is the enhanced prosperity Chinese consumers have reaped at home — and now bring with them on vacations to purchase foreign goods.

UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG are among a number of Swiss companies being investigated by the local antitrust authority over whether they boycotted international mobile payment services to promote a domestic competitor.

Kenyans using the M-Pesa wallet to make payments and receive funds can now send cross-border payments through a connection with Western Union's global platform.

After Rooam's initial launch of its nightlife payment app in its home base of Washington, D.C., the company has agreed to acquire a similar payment app provider to pave the way for its launch in Chicago.

Customers can access personalized offers through the banking provider’s app, which means every time they earn rewards, find new deals and receive a helpful reminder of a bargain they do not want to miss, writes Mehmet Sezgin, CEO and Founder of MyGini.

What keeps execs up at night in the payments, retail and banking industries? Quite a lot, including disruption from tech giants and competition from foreign rivals.

Despite the fervor over mobile wallets and banking, one day consumers may never need to open a dedicated bank or payment app.

Grab and Mastercard have formed a partnership extending the reach of the ride-hailing app by making a prepaid card available to Grab’s 110 million users across Southeast Asia.

Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. and Canada will be able to use Alipay at HMSHost-operated restaurants in most major airports.

Indian wallet provider Paytm has entered the Japanese market in a joint venture with SoftBank Group and Yahoo Japan.

The payments industry stood out as an active market for mergers and acquisitions during the first three quarters of 2018 with a 33 percent increase in transactions over the same period last year.

To remain competitive, retailers must always have one eye on the future. Mobile wallets offer a strategic platform for retailers to harness and promote emerging payment models, writes Julian Wallis, retail director at Rambus.

PayPal and Walmart are offering a cash-in and cash-out service from PayPal accounts within Walmart stores. It's the first time Walmart, one of the founders the defunct Merchant Customer Exchange, will accept a third-party mobile wallet.