Five big players are slugging it out to win what has proven to be all-too-elusive: consumer and merchant adoption. Here’s a close look at the Big 5’s strengths and weaknesses. (Editor’s Note: This is the first part of a two-part examination of the current landscape for mobile payments. Look for …

By Jim Daly Leading wire-transfer providers The Western Union Co. and MoneyGram International Inc. both reported big growth in their online businesses in the first quarter while merchant acquirer Heartland Payment Systems Inc. posted strong increases in charge volume. • They’re still a small portion of its overall business, but …

Right now, all eyes are on the next six months.  But what about after the liability shift?  What happens then? Whether or not any particular merchant is ready for EMV by Oct. 1, payments executives are figuring on two things as pretty much sure bets after that date. One is …

Prepaid cards may find favor among younger consumers, one survey finds, while another reports prepaid card programs sport a wide range of fees. Also, armored-car company Brink’s has jumped into the prepaid card mix. Fees on 31 prepaid card programs surveyed by Bankrate.com are scattershot, with the types and amounts …

By Jim Daly Square Inc. on Monday introduced a business-oriented version of its Square Cash person-to-person payments service aimed at displacing checks. The merchant processor also unveiled so-called “$Cashtags,” which Square touts as a simple and fast way for people to get paid through Square Cash. Dubbed Cash Pro for …

The viral popularity of peer-to-peer payments among younger consumers hasn’t gone unnoticed at the massive social networks that serve their needs for instant communication. Facebook Inc. on Tuesday said it has introduced a P2P payments service on its Messenger platform and will be rolling it out across the country “over …

Chicago-based BMO Harris Bank on Monday unveiled a mobile app for cardless ATM cash withdrawals and claimed it has the nation’s largest network of ATMs configured for smart-phone-based withdrawals. Meanwhile, ATM manufacturer Diebold Inc. said it bought a Canadian software company as part of a strategy to offer more software-based …

  Consumers wielding multiple credit and debit cards in their wallets have yet another service to use to consolidate them into one electronic payment card. Stratos Inc. on Tuesday introduced its Stratos Bluetooth Connected Card that enables consumers to load multiple cards onto the electronic device. The card begins shipping …

The Gimlet Eye This magazine has been covering near-field communication (NFC) technology for payments at least since early 2006, when the first big field trial took place at a stadium in Atlanta. So we’re conversant with the advantages and drawbacks, the drama and the doldrums, associated with this exciting mobile-payments …

Funding is pouring into payments technology at a furious rate. Now startups and established firms alike are wondering: How long can it last, and what’s the long-term impact? If one thing is certain about the six years or so that have passed since the financial crisis, it’s that nobody can …