While many brick-and-mortar retailers were disappointed with sales for the 2012 holiday season, online merchants posted respectable gains in the mid-teens, according to new reports. Internet usage tracker comScore Inc. reported on Thursday that e-commerce volume hit $42.3 billion in the November-December holiday shopping season, up 13.8% over $37.2 billion …

It’s only human nature to be captivated by the new, the emerging, the sensational. In the case of mobile payments, about which we have heard much in recent months, many payments watchers have fallen head over heels for technologies that are not only new, but, shall we say, “cool.” But …

Spot Credit And Mobile Fuel Online Sales There’s been an awful lot of buzz about mobile payments the past few years, and now the payment method is starting to register. Indeed, 2012 marked the first time mobile-originated transactions accounted for a meaningful share of online purchase volume, says Beth Robertson, …

Peter Lucas Last year’s Google Wallet hack should have been a wakeup call, but security experts are still plenty nervous about wallets. What’s being done to shore up security? When Google Inc.’s digital wallet was breached last February by security experts from not just one, but two, points of entry, …

It’s coming sooner for some players than for others. Here’s why—and how to be a survivor.  By John Stewart and Jim Daly If you’re a purveyor of mobile wallets or a vendor of mobile-acceptance gear, you don’t have to be told that you have plenty of company. What’s less clear …

Elizabeth Whalen The long-awaited test of the telco-backed Isis mobile wallet is under way in Salt Lake City and Austin. What are merchants experiencing? Many in the payments industry believe in the bright future of mobile payments and the potential benefits to consumers and merchants. But after the much-anticipated launch …

Jane Adler Facing pricing pressures from new competitors in their traditional business, the wire-transfer companies are seeking new growth opportunities. New technology is highly disruptive to established markets, and the payments business is no exception. Consider recent developments in the traditional wire-transfer business. As technology and consumer demand change the …

For even small businesses, a potential gold mine in customer information lies buried in the payments data that routinely flow in every day, says Rick Berry. Your customers may be shopping nearby or running errands in the vicinity, but when they suddenly receive your coupon or offer, they impulsively purchase …

As we prepare to close out 2012, we thought we’d look back at the year’s major developments and pinpoint the ones that generated our biggest news stories. Here’s our list, arranged chronologically. Not surprisingly, given the events of the year in electronic payments, the list is dominated by mobile-payments and …

Mobile payments are the all the rage in the banking, retailing, and software industries, but the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is cautioning banks to keep a short leash on their mobile-payments vendors. The FDIC also warned in a recent report that banks’ role in mobile payments could be reduced as …