The competition to turn mobile phones into wallets has turned up lots of options as handset manufacturers, telecommunication companies and other stakeholders battle to control how the phone is used to execute payments.

Hoping to improve on its new-user sign-up total a year ago, Exxon Mobil Corp. this year is adding a month to a promotion that gives Speedpass users 15 cents off each gallon of gas they buy.

When something is amiss at a location relying on tight security, officials often immediately implement a systems “lock down.” Imagine the same scenario on a merchant’s payment system, and one can start to understand how PaySecure software works.

LAS VEGAS–The relatively late timing of the U.S. move to adopt the EMV smart card technology means it could dodge some of the headaches other countries experienced in shifting to EMV.

Visa Europe plans to acquire a 15% minority stake in mobile retail payments provider Mobile Money Network Ltd., the European payment system provider announced March 7.

In its second annual Mobile Banking Scorecard, Internet testing and monitoring company Keynote Systems has dubbed JPMorgan Chase & Co. as the large bank with the best overall mobile-user experience, best functionality and best ease of use.

LAS VEGAS–Brace for more merchants to begin developing proprietary digital wallets at the same time they announce their participation in broader wallet schemes.

TradeHill, the Bitcoin exchange that shut down unexpectedly in February, is now blaming Dwolla Corp. for its demise and is suing the payment provider for $2 million.

Merrill Halpern received an “unexpected benefit” when traveling recently in Europe without an EMV smart card in his wallet. He got a free cup of coffee from a coffee shop employee who felt sorry for him because she couldn’t initiate the transaction on her terminal with just Halpern’s signature.

Online food-delivery service Eat24.com has increased the number of ways its hungry customers can pay for food from their favorite restaurants.

Tabbedout, whose mobile application allows customers to pay a bar or restaurant tab using their phone, is boosting its attraction by adding PayPal as a payment option.

LAS VEGAS–Pushing a new mobile-wallet scheme is tough when each week seems to bring news of more potentially daunting new contenders.

Although the mobile contactless-payments market is still in its infancy, NPD In-Stat is projecting that by 2016, the number of payments made with the tap of a mobile device will approach 9.9 billion.

Following a data breach, merchants are required by law to notify a host of authorities and agencies, a daunting task that presents an opportunity for ISOs and agents.

New U.S. consumer credit data from CreditForecast.com, a product of Equifax and Moody's Analytics, projects a rebounding consumer environment along with recovering home and auto markets in 2012.

Debt from student loans in the U.S. increased to $867 billion in the quarter ending Dec. 31, up from $865 billion in the previous quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

LAS VEGAS—Near Field Communication technology may be slipping in its perception as the presumed dominant technology emerging mobile payments efforts ultimately will harness.

Some tweaks to its travel-related fraud-protection strategies helped an Iowa credit union last year to reduce its credit card charge-offs by 16%.

The fight against fraud is an ongoing one for most banks, particularly as fraudsters figure out increasingly cunning ways to defang the security walls that bankers build.

CUNA Mutual Group sees great opportunities for credit unions in the mobile banking channel, but there are significant obstacles to overcome.