Mobile wallets

The pandemic and subsequent economic crisis have raised the stakes, since the government’s role in recovery and how stimulus is delivered — and policies impacting the goals of card and technology companies — will be largely determined by the philosophy of leadership.

The Trump administration has barred the use of TikTok and WeChat inside the U.S., including a direct ban on WeChat Pay, setting up potential retaliation against U.S. companies that could interrupt international payment flows.

The humble QR code — invented for automobile manufacturing in 1994 — had been on the rise as a payment method for many years, but the pandemic expanded its use in the U.S. in some unforeseen ways.

In countries where the use of cards is less prevalent, other digital payment methods, particularly mobile wallets, are proliferating, changing the payments landscape rapidly and radically, says Standard Chartered's Tarek Elyafi.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced retailers and consumers alike to consider the benefits of shopping via a mobile app, providers of shopping and loyalty apps were seeking partnerships with security vendors to deploy fraud prevention technology.

Donor management provider Pushpay has added new software that will help churches target donations through digital channels while providing more interactions and communication within congregations.

Walmart’s membership service undercuts Amazon Prime on price and offers myriad perks, including access to streamlined checkout and deliveries — two areas where Walmart has struggled in the past.

Remitly has added 11 new mobile wallets to its network, almost doubling its reach to 300 million consumers, to meet demands for cash alternatives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Viva Wallet's cloud-based payments service will soon reach merchants in 23 European countries through an expanded acceptance agreement with Japan’s JCB card network. The move comes a few weeks after the Greek fintech became a bank.

Unicomer Group, Latin America’s equivalent of Best Buy, has teamed up with YellowPepper to develop a digital credit app that acts as a financial services center for underbanked and unbanked consumers.

The shift to electronic payments during the coronavirus has led to a notable increase in in-app debit card payments—particularly via Apple Pay—along with higher levels of direct debit and P2P debit card transfers.

On-demand delivery service Rappi is leveraging its huge customer base to provide financial products to Latin American consumers through partnerships and joint ventures with fintechs and banks.

Ant Group is planning one of Asia’s largest IPOs while the world’s afflicted by a global pandemic, political turmoil and historic economic stress. Despite the chaos — or perhaps because of it — the timing could be right for Ant to challenge the global order in e-commerce and digital payments.

The coronavirus pandemic has generated more interest in pay-at-the-pump apps, a growing segment of the payments industry that may not have grown fast enough to be ready for the sudden surge of interest in contactless payments.

Vodacom's Tanzania M-Pesa wallet is expanding its money transfer services throughout Africa, enabling more than 200 countries globally to now send money to and receive it from Tanzania.

More than a dozen large European banks plan to launch a payment system that would rival U.S. payment companies and technology firms, an idea that hasn’t worked in the past but may have a better chance given the current global health, economic and political crises.

To get an edge in the rapidly expanding earned wage access market, Branch is extending mobile contactless capabilities to its Mastercard debit account by adding Apple Pay and Google Pay to its app.

Latin America is seeing a surge in digital wallet adoption as governments seek ways to disburse coronavirus aid to vulnerable citizens, and consumers look for safe alternatives to cash.

SolarisBank and Visa have provided the technology to enable Vivid Money to launch its mobile banking app in Germany with virtual cards and cash-back rewards.

Paysafe is expanding the reach of its Skrill digital wallet to U.S. consumers who will be able to use it to send funds to 18 countries.