Mobile


UK mobile payments held back by security and complexity

With only one in five UK consumers using their mobile to make payments, new research suggests that the technology is being held back by consumer fears over security, lengthy sign-up processes and problems making payments outside of individual schemes.

MasterCard, C-SAM Continue Global Wallet Initiative with Japan Launch (Aug. 29, 2013)

Aug. 29, 2013 MasterCard is joining with mobile payment technology provider C-SAM and mobile wallet service provider DNP to bring a white-label NFC-based mobile wallet service to Japan. The service will integrate MasterCard’s PayPass Wallet Services contactless payment technology with C-SAM’s mobile transaction platform and DNP’s mobile wallet services, enabling merchants to offer their customers […]

Fiserv Banks on Rise of Tablets with New Mobile Banking Service (Aug. 29, 2013)

Aug. 29, 2013 Financial services technology provider Fiserv Inc. is seeking to capitalize on the recent boom in tablet-based banking with a new turnkey mobile banking app specifically for tablet users. The Mobiliti: Tablet service is being offered to banks and credit unions, which can use the system to offer their tablet banking customers a […]

TSYS Inks Deal with Discover to Process In-Store PayPal Transactions (Aug. 26, 2013)

Aug. 26, 2013 Another element of PayPal Inc.’s in-store payments strategy fell into place today with the announcement that TSYS has inked an agreement with Discover Network to process PayPal transactions at U.S. brick-and-mortar locations as part of the PayPal in-store payment acceptance partnership announced last year with Discover. TSYS’s involvement will provide an expanded […]

Vodafone Expands Availability of M-Pesa (Aug. 26, 2013)

Aug. 26, 2013 Vodafone continues to expand availability of M-Pesa throughout India as it readies the launch of the money service in at least two other countries by the end of this year. As an expansion of its partnership with ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, M-Pesa is now available to consumers in Delhi, […]

PayPal Inks Deals with MICROS, Mercury Payment Systems (Aug. 22, 2013)

Aug. 22, 2013 MICROS Systems Inc. and PayPal Inc. this week announced a strategic global collaboration that will pave the way for thousands of restaurants and other hospitality industry businesses using MICROS’s payment platforms to add PayPal as a POS and mobile app payment option. MICROS, used in more than half a million businesses around the […]

MCX Picks FIS to Develop M-Commerce Platform (August 2013)

July 11, 2013 Another major piece of MCX’s jigsaw puzzle fell into place today with the announcement that payments technology provider FIS will provide the payments processing platform, including transaction routing and settlement, for the retail consortium’s evolving mobile commerce system. Jacksonville, Fla.-based FIS will execute mobile payments at participating retailer outlets in combination with […]

Isis Tightens Mobile Wallet Race with Serve Integration, Chase Commitment (August 2013)

By Kate Fitzgerald, Emerging Payments Editor  Isis, the mobile wallet system backed by AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile, Verizon and three major card networks, is gathering steam as it nears its national rollout, with a new co-branding effort with American Express Co.’s Serve payments platform providing the latest push forward. Amex earlier this month announced plans to […]

Q&A with David Hunter, Ukash

Ukash recently has undertaken a slate of major new initiatives, expanding its Paybefore Award-winning platform to offer a full spectrum of services to cash-preferred consumers.

YellowPepper spices up Latin American mobile payments

A new mobile payments network called YellowPepper has launched in Colombia, marking the beginning of a massive project to bank the unbanked and sweep away the dominance of cash across the Spanish-speaking Americas.

Groupon Gets Physical, Adding Traditional POS to Merchant Offering (Aug. 20, 2013)

Aug. 20, 2013 Groupon bucked the mPOS system from the outset with its unique merchant pricing strategy, and its latest move to embrace traditional payment terminals seems equally novel as mainstream acquirers like Chase Paymentech are now getting into dongles. Groupon last week said it will add traditional credit card terminals to its merchant payments […]

MasterPass Adds 16 Australian Payment Providers (Aug. 20, 2013)

Aug. 20, 2013 Sixteen Australian payment service providers have added MasterCard’s MasterPass as a payment option for their electronic merchant clients. Announced at the Online Retailers and E-Commerce Expo in Sydney, the agreements brings MasterPass to thousands of online merchants, who will add a MasterPass button to their online checkout, enabling shoppers to make purchases […]

M-Payment Platform Targets Colombia’s Unbanked Mobile Users (Aug. 20, 2013)

Aug. 20, 2013 A mobile payments network aims to bring financial services to Colombia’s unbanked consumers and move the country’s economy away from cash. The Miami-based network, known as YellowPepper, thus far has signed up 12 Colombian banks for its system, which includes a virtual payment card, P2P and mPOS capability, according to a report […]

Demystifying m-commerce

Payments made via mobile devices are fast becoming de rigueur as tablet sales are expected to overtake personal computers by 2017. Shane Fitzpatrick  addresses five common myths about m-commerce and how to capture online revenues. Smartphones are already more popular globally than desktop PCs and of the 1.875 billion phones to be sold in 2013, […]

Equity Firm Shells out EUR600 million for Majority Stake in Skrill (Aug. 19, 2013)

Aug. 19, 2013 One of Europe’s largest private equity firms has acquired a controlling stake in U.K.-based online payment system Skrill. Funds advised by CVC Capital Partners doled out EUR 600 million (US$801 million) to nab a 75 percent stake in Skrill from Bahrain-based Investcorp. Founded in 2001 as Moneybookers, Skrill is among the world’s […]

Online Payment Provider Stripe Enters U.K. (Aug. 19, 2013)

Aug. 19, 2013 San Francisco-based online payment startup Stripe has expanded its services to the U.K. The company’s platform enables merchants to accept network branded payment cards online by integrating a few lines of code on their Websites. Already active in the U.S. and Canada, Stripe’s client list includes Foursquare and Redditt. The company has […]

EC Gives OK to Spanish Mobile Commerce Venture (Aug. 15, 2013)

Aug. 15, 2013 A mobile commerce partnership between Spanish telecom provider Telefónica and two Spanish banks has been given the green light by the European Commission (EC), paving the way forward for what the companies are calling Europe’s first full joint venture between financial institutions and telecom operators. In its ruling, the EC said there […]

Blog: For Mainstream Adoption, Mobile Payments Require Consumer Trust—and a Compelling Experience (August 2013)

By Ginger Schmeltzer, Fiserv In July, The Clearing House announced that it would pilot an “industry-wide dynamic credentialing solution” to improve the safety and soundness of digital payments. According to the announcement, The Clearing House is partnering with its member institutions to create a “secure cloud” that protects mobile payments at the point of sale […]

Blog: How to Think Like a Startup (Part 1) (August 2013)

By Joe DeSetto, Emerging Payments Blogger The payments startup culture, as it currently exists, is now mature enough that established firms in even highly regulated, slower moving industries can learn a thing or two from how these smaller, faster, younger tech companies think. While size, scope, market, finances and level of success varies widely upon […]

Credit Association Partners with EnStream for Canadian Mobile Wallet (Aug. 14, 2013)

Aug. 14, 2013 EnStream, the mobile payments joint venture between Canadian telecom providers Rogers Communications, Bell Corp. and TELUS Corp., has inked a deal with credit union association Desjardins Group to enable Desjardins’ banking customers to add payment cards to NFC-enabled smartphones. Under the partnership, Desjardins can offer its own branded banking app that’s compatible […]

Interactive Data launches mobile data app

A new trading app has been launched by Interactive Data subsidiary eSignal, which promises to help traders use the iPad to obtain information and market data on the move. A subsidiary of Interactive Data, eSignal is based in California. The firm’s technology is targeted at making it easier for traders to get access to real-time […]

Canada’s Desjardins financial cooperative pushes NFC offering

Canada is seeing a fresh push to promote near field communication (NFC) services after Canadian cooperative financial group Desjardin signed a deal with mobile money solutions provider Monitise and a joint venture with the nation’s three largest mobile operators.

Chase Joins mPOS Race (Aug. 13, 2013)

Aug. 13, 2013 Chase today jumped into the mPOS race, offering a free mobile card reader for small business customers that has a few frills but a somewhat more traditional pricing plan, according to an announcement from Chase Paymentech, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s acquiring and processing subsidiary. Like Square, which galvanized the mobile payments market […]

CloudZync Debuts U.K. Wallet (Aug. 13, 2013)

Aug. 13, 2013 Another mobile wallet provider has entered the fray in the U.K. British startup CloudZync has launched its Zync Wallet app for iOS and Windows phones, with an Android version to follow soon. Thus far, 280 merchants in London have signed on to accept Zync Wallet, which works by generating a QR code […]

One American in three uses mobile banking

One in three US adults now uses mobile banking in their day to day lives– a rise of almost double since 2011, according to new research from the US Pew Research Centre.

Isis Links with Amex’s Serve; Expands Chase Connection (Aug. 12, 2013)

Aug. 12, 2013 American Express Co.’s prepaid brand Serve will get a slot in the Isis mobile wallet when the mobile commerce venture rolls out nationally later this year, which could boost Serve’s awareness among its intended audience of underbanked consumers. Today JPMorgan Chase & Co. also said it plans to expand its relationship with […]

PayPal Unveils Facial Verification for In-Store Payments (Aug. 12, 2013)

Aug. 12, 2013 Shoppers in the London borough of Richmond now can use their photos to verify their identity when making in-store purchases with PayPal’s mobile app. A new pilot in the company’s U.K. home base enables a user to find nearby shops and restaurants that accept PayPal, then check in by clicking on the […]