Google Inc.’s decision to kill its application programming interface for digital-goods sales may have more to do with the expense and complexity of the market than with any underlying strategy to retreat from the digital-wallet business overall, experts say. Google on Thursday announced it will shut down the 2-year-old API …
Read More »Mocapay Seeks Wider Distribution Through a New Link With Merchant Link
By Jim Daly Mocapay Inc., one of the nation’s pioneers in mobile payments, hopes to expand its small footprint through a new distribution agreement announced this week with Merchant Link, a gateway and data-security service owned by JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s merchant-acquiring unit, Chase Paymentech. Founded in 2007, Denver-based Mocapay …
Read More »Mozido Adding More MasterCard Mobile Payments Products
Financial and marketing services company Mozido Inc. says it will use MasterCard Inc. payment and security products to expand its services. Austin, Texas-based Mozido provides mobile payments, loyalty and offers programs to merchants, and has a white-label mobile app. This move means that Mozido products will include MasterPass, MasterCard’s …
Read More »For the First Time, Consumer Use of Mobile To Buy Physical Goods Exceeds 50%, Report Says
In the past 12 months, 51% of consumers purchased a physical good using a mobile phone, the highest percentage in five years, potentially signaling a greater propensity for consumer adoption of mobile wallets, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. That is up from 45% in …
Read More »BitPay’s Mobile Wallet App Features One-Tap Payment
Bitcoin merchant-services provider BitPay Inc. has launched an app to enable one-tap Bitcoin payment at the point of sale. Dubbed Bitcoin Checkout, the app is available now for smart phones and tablets using Android. An iOS version is planned for Apple Inc. devices. The app, when loaded onto a smart phone …
Read More »MCX Chief Davidson Strikes Defiant Tone While Touting Benefits of CurrentC’s Wallet
By John Stewart Merchant Customer Exchange LLC (MCX) has launched its CurrentC mobile-payment service with “thousands” of consumers in “several American cities,” the program’s chief executive said on Wednesday. The “consumers,” employees of retailers that make up the Needham, Mass.-based MCX consortium, are part of a pilot for the fledgling …
Read More »LoopPay Debuts CardCase, Working On Tokenized Data System
Mobile payment provider LoopPay Inc. launched the LoopPay Card and CardCase, accessories meant to make it easier to use the mobile-payment service. After downloading the free Loop Wallet from the iTunes or Google Play stores, the user connects a Loop device to the phone. The user creates an account …
Read More »CPI, Sequent Pair Up on NFC Provisioning Service for Banks
CPI Card Group is working with digital issuance and wallet platform provider Sequent Software Inc. on CPIMobile, a service to deliver secure digital credentials to near-field communication (NFC)-compatible smart phones. CPI announced Monday. NFC is a two-way protocol that enables mobile devices to share data in a secure environment. CPIMobile …
Read More »With Its McDonald’s Deal, Softcard Gains More Access to Everyday Spend for its NFC Wallet
While Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay mobile wallet has been grabbing the headlines, the telco-controlled Softcard mobile-payments service this week lined up another major fast-food chain. Consumers now can use their Softcard mobile wallets to pay for purchases at U.S. McDonald’s locations. Formerly known as Isis, Softcard is a smart …
Read More »Theft of Users’ Email Addresses Overshadows MCX’s Attempt To Blunt ‘Misinformed’ Comment
By Jim Daly and Kevin Woodward Just hours after Merchant Customer Exchange LLC (MCX), the retailer-backed developer of the CurrentC mobile-payments service, posted a response to reports about some of its members dumping Apple Inc.’s rival Apple Pay service, the company notified customers that “unauthorized third parties” had obtained email …
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