Mobile wallets

A new report from PSCU shows increases in spending levels and transaction volumes, along with a surge in mobile wallet usage during the holiday shopping season..

Two of the largest U.S. fueling station chains are adopting technology that separates the act of pumping gas from the transaction — and in the process, enabling that the purchase of fuel to become a gateway to in-car shopping.

The payments industry is a hotbed of innovation, and many of its larger players are eager to claim patents on new developments.

The move to dump passwords in favor of more flexible authentication will likely happen in clusters, with schools providing many of the factors necessary.

In the near future, payments will be part of the shopping experience itself. Technology that lets customers pay in the fitting room – or automatically, as they walk out of a store – will likely become an everyday reality, says Wirecard's Susanne Steidl.

Banks can remain competitive in a more crowded field by offering attractive rewards through easy-to-navigate, secure microsites, says Informa Financial Intelligence's Gina DeCorla.

The NFC Forum, the global standards body and advocacy association for the use of NFC, released the specifications to improve communication speed and the ability to use NFC in areas in which "noisy radio environments" might cause interference.

Amazon is starting the new year with a major payment technology deployment at more than 11,500 gas stations, providing the e-commerce giant with an added leg to its rapidly expanding payments network ranging from checkout-free stores to Whole Foods to its own planned grocery chain.

The term “Amazon effect” is a term increasingly used to represent a digital-first business model where interactions with partners and customers centers on web-based application programming interfaces.

The winner of this next phase of development won't be an app. Instead, it will be almost invisibly woven into the DNA of the internet of things.