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A slate of eight director candidates supported by a dissident shareholder group won election on Sunday at a special meeting of shareholders held by On Track Innovations Ltd., a vendor of contactless-payment solutions. The election, which expands the company’s board to 11 directors, hands control over the 22-year-old Israeli company …
Read More »Contactless And Mobile Payments at the Olympics: Definitely Not a Medal Winner
Which was the big payments winner at the Summer Olympic Games in London, which ended Sunday? Answer: Cash, a contender that’s entered every Olympics ever held. Contactless cards and mobile devices accounted for very few payments, according to a Celent LLC analyst who visited two different Olympic venues last week. …
Read More »ViVOtech Sells Hardware Unit To Concentrate on NFC Software
ViVOtech Inc., a pioneer in contactless payments and near-field communication (NFC) technology, disclosed Monday that it sold its card-reader business to ID Tech, a manufacturer of smart card readers and point-of-sale hardware and identity-verification products. The subject of reports last week that it was laying off people and possibly going …
Read More »Tyfone Announces Patents for Design that Reduces NFC Antennas for Mass Production
Tyfone Inc. on Monday announced it has been awarded a pair of U.S. patents that the Portland, Ore.-based company says should make it easier to manufacture in commercial quantities key elements for mobile payments based on near-field communication (NFC) technology. NFC is a two-way contactless technology that allows, for example, …
Read More »Google Starts Selling a Wallet-Equipped Smart Phone Directly to Consumers
Google Inc. breathed a bit of new life into its struggling Google Wallet franchise on Tuesday with the announcement that it is releasing directly to the public a new Android-powered phone that features the Wallet app. The so-called unlocked device, a Nexus smart phone, will work on any carrier network …
Read More »Google Seeks to Bolster Prepaid Capabilities for Its Wallet with Deal for TxVia
Google Inc. on Monday thrust itself into the prepaid processing business with its acquisition of TxVia Inc., a 5-year-old processor based in New York City. The deal, which apparently closed immediately on undisclosed terms, allows Google to take over technology and network connections that could prove useful as it struggles …
Read More »Isis Announces Its First Issuers As It Readies for Two-City Pilot This Summer
In a move that could indicate a thaw in the long cold war between banks and wireless carriers in the mobile-payments business, the carrier-controlled Isis venture on Monday announced a trio of major banks are the first to sign on as issuers on its platform. Indeed, with the Isis wallet …
Read More »In a Sneak Peek at Its Mobile Wallet, Isis Says Product Will Come with Preloaded Cash
The Isis mobile wallet, set for release in two U.S. cities this summer, will feature a prepaid card with cash already loaded and a capability to “follow” participating merchants to receive coupons and other offers. The broad outlines of how the wallet will work were disclosed on Wednesday as Isis …
Read More »Isis Shooting for 1,000 Merchants in Each of Two Test Cities When Launch Starts in July
The Isis mobile-payments platform plans to go live at about 1,000 merchant locations in each of the two cities it has targeted for what it calls a “soft launch” this summer, according to officials with the company. While Isis will not identify the merchants it is talking to, it is …
Read More »Mocapay Expects To Hit Its Stride with a Revamped Business Model And Technology
Mocapay Inc., one of the earliest startups in the mobile-payments space, finally is poised to go national with new partners, a different pricing model, and a broadened set of technological options that its president says makes payments by smart phone easier for merchants and consumers. Mocapay launched in 2006 and …
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