NFC

The slow and difficult EMV migration has slowed major adoption of contactless cards, but there are signs that momentum may be turning around.

Cash is still the most popular payment method in the U.K., but contactless cards and mobile payments gained significant momentum over the past year, according to new data.

In recent years, companies have aggressively reinvented the card-reading dongle to fit their brands and absorb new technologies like EMV and NFC. But few have succeeded in doing away with the dongle entirely.

Bank of America will tokenize BofA cards across Mastercard and Visa portfolios in the U.S., supporting PayPal's mobile wallet.

Mobile wallets have failed to excite many consumers, but Canada has an extreme case of paralysis underscoring the stark need for ongoing incentives to get consumers to change their payment habits.

Mobile QuickPass NFC payments are accepted at nearly a half million point-of-sale terminals outside of China, and QuickPass QR code payments have been available in Hong Kong and Singapore for about a month.

Punchh is betting NFC will be widespread, and it hopes to get an edge with clients with a direct connection to Apple Pay, enabling consumers to simultaneously earn and redeem restaurant loyalty program points.

Due in part to the U.S.'s lackluster adoption of contactless cards, mobile wallets had a slow and difficult time gaining hold among consumers and merchants that were unfamiliar with the tap-and-pay process or didn't have the right technology. The opposite problem plagues Canada, where contactless cards are so widely used that mobile adds little value.

The latest news on Apple Pay only serves to reinforce that everything within Apple’s ecosystem is on its terms. For that reason, developers can never be complacent — if native iOS functionalities are core to a third party app’s business proposition, that provider is in for a rude awakening.

LG is officially throwing its hat into the mobile payments arena with the launch of LG Pay in Korea. Available only on the flagship LG G6 handset, its technology has a lot in common with Samsung Pay, but may not be much of a challenge to its rival if it should come to the U.S.

Contactless cards are becoming the global standard for most markets except in the U.S., where tap-to-pay card distribution lags far behind the rest of the world, according to the Smart Payment Association (SPA), a Munich-based organization that tracks global card manufacturer data.

Upgrading a mobile point of sale device developed in the magstripe era to EMV could be a hassle for the merchant and the vendor alike. Or it could be as simple as replacing the battery.

The shift in payments at hospitality businesses such as restaurants is hard enough, but it's made even more challenging by the pace and breadth of the changes.

Samsung, terminal manufacturer Ingenico and Swiss app developer Smartlink are teaming up on an odd premise: Rather than treat wearables as vessels for a mobile wallet, treat those devices as a handful of bills and coins.

TriMet, the regional transportation system based in Portland, Ore., recently began a test of a reloadable fare system and later this year it will add Near Field Communication-based payments via bank cards and smartphones to its pilot.

A broad pilot to test contactless open-loop payments on Singapore's trains and buses will go live March 20, according to local mass-transit authorities and Mastercard, which is sponsoring the initiative.

Mobile payment solution providers and issuers may now use Global to ensure ExpressPay HCE apps are performing in line with Amex’s specifications.

The merchants increasingly have to manage different technology for contactless and card payments, leading to a terminal upgrade.

The battle between banks and Apple Pay in Australia has global implications, but there is a notable rift within the banks' ranks that drives home just who benefits and who suffers by Apple getting its way.

While Apple battles a group of large Australian banks over terms of its mobile payments app, it has entered separate deals with ING Direct and Macquarie.