A freeze on approvals of mobile applications for card acceptance by merchants, announced in November by the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), will likely be lifted some time before the end of the year. Top officials with the Wakefield, Mass.-based organization tell Digital Transactions News the Council is working …
Read More »Consumers Still Skeptical of Mobile Payments, But Attitudes May Change Soon
Despite the hype about mobile payments, most consumers still aren't comfortable using smart phones to pay for things, according to new research from the Bank Administration Institute and Hitachi Consulting. That, however, could change, and change soon. The study also shows that debit remains consumers' preferred payment choice, though its …
Read More »Eye on Mobile: Starbucks Pilot Goes National, Acculynk Goes Mobile, And Mitek Logs Clients
In the largest U.S. chainwide expansion yet seen in mobile payments, Starbucks Coffee Co. announced on Wednesday it is extending its proprietary, prepaid mobile payments pilot to all of its U.S. company-owned stores. The move brings the chain’s Starbucks Card Mobile App to almost 6,800 stores and increases the number …
Read More »Intuit, North American Bancard Bring Free Card Readers to Mobile Payments
Mobile payments are getting increasingly competitive, and this week the competition ratcheted up even more. Intuit Inc., maker of the QuickBooks accounting software for small businesses, is now offering a free credit card reader for smart phones to merchants using its GoPayment mobile service. Intuit also is waiving monthly service …
Read More »Android Users More Interested in Mobile Financial Services, Report Shows
While the news in smart phones this week has been all about Verizon Wireless’s announcement that it will start marketing the iPhone next month, the news that may well be of more importance to mobile payments and mobile banking is the hot streak that Google Inc.’s Android operating system is …
Read More »Android’s Surge Creates a Three-Way Market for Payments Developers
As developers of applications for smart phone-based payments and incentives map their plans for what promises to be a breakthrough year in mobile financial services, evidence continues to pile up that they will have to reckon with a market split between three main operating systems. “The race for the lead …
Read More »NFC Phones Poised for a Worldwide Boom, But U.S Mobile Payments Will Lag
The global market for smart phones with near-field communication technology (NFC) will heat up in 2011, opening the way for contactless payments via mobile phones, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. But while the U.S. is poised to be a breakout market for NFC at some …
Read More »Eye on Mobile: A Google Deal Comes to Light; A Visa Offers App
Google Inc. continues to cement its early grip on mobile payments, as indicated by the disclosure on Monday that the online search giant has acquired a small company in Toronto whose technology purports to enable payments, promotions, and advertising over mobile phones. News of the deal follows in the wake …
Read More »Cardlytics Looks to Mobile to Expand Reach of Card-Linked Rewards
Companies are starting to bet that consumer interest in electronically delivered offers and rewards is spilling into the mobile channel. In the most recent example of this trend, Cardlytics, an Atlanta-based firm whose technology lets consumers redeem rewards by using a bank-issued payment card, this week announced a tie-in with …
Read More »Google’s NFC Phone: A Good Start, But Lots of Issues Remain
As with other recent moves toward contactless payments via mobile phones, Google Inc.’s introduction of a smart phone equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology comes shrouded with question marks, say mobile-payments players. Google’s move, which it announced on Monday in conjunction with the rollout of a new, NFC-supporting version of …
Read More »
