Mobile Wallets

The holiday shopping season may be coming to a close, but mashups between mobile-wallet providers, merchants, payment card networks, and card issuers are likely to continue indefinitely as all groups seek more transaction volume from consumers. Apple Inc. has been active this holiday season. In one promotion, Apple is offering …

The seemingly unending growth in online shopping is doing more than closing physical stores. The point of sale in the stores that remain is changing, and along with it, payments providers, says Javelin Strategy & Research in its “2017-2021 Retail Point of Sale Payment Forecast.” As consumers continue to increase …

The Chicago Transit Authority, an early proponent of open-loop fare payments, announced Monday that the general-purpose payment feature in some of its fare cards will expire Dec. 31. The operator of the nation’s second-largest transit system says riders did not embrace the idea of a CTA-provided general-purpose prepaid account coupled …

Apple Inc. on Monday officially entered an increasingly crowded arena of players looking to carve out a share of the market for person-to-person payments. Apple Pay Cash, which the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant first announced six months ago, went live following the release of iOS 11.2, Apple’s latest operating-system update …

Target Brands Inc. finally unveiled its long-rumored mobile-payments service. Announced Monday, Wallet resides in the Target app for iOS and Android devices. Consumers can only enroll a Target RedCard, available as a debit or credit card, in the app. Target gift card enrollment is coming, too, the company says. To …

Online payment processor Payza announced Monday that its customers can now use funds in their Payza accounts buy alternatives to Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency market leader. The news comes six months after Payza launched a service enabling customers to sell so-called altcoins such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Monero, and Zcash. …

Amazon.com Inc. is recruiting outside software developers and merchants to create functions that work with its Alexa voice-command system and the Amazon Pay service so that consumers can make purchases using their Amazon payment credentials at both physical and online merchants. Seattle-based Amazon made the announcement at its big Amazon …

Less than a month after winning the contract to bring contactless fare payments to New York City’s vast subway and bus system, Cubic Transportation Systems won a $575 million contract from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to replace the CharlieCard, a fixture in Boston, with a modernized fare system centered …

Mobile technology has enabled people to be connected virtually anywhere and use their smart phones for pretty much anything, including gaming, photography, GPS navigation, and online shopping for both big and small purchases. However, there is one element of smart-phone technology that isn’t being utilized to its fullest extent. Adoption …

The average holiday shopper will purchase four gift cards this year, and spending volume on them will rise slightly over last year, according to results of a new survey conducted for the National Retail Federation. Based on reports from 7,439 consumers about their holiday shopping plans, the Washington, D.C.-based NRF …