MasterCard

Google negotiates with music labels, ultrabooks could add tap-to-pay, and Kobo copies Amazon by putting ads in its cheaper Touch e-reader.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

By next year, you'll be able to place an order for a book on Amazon by tapping your smartphone to your ultrabook.

At least, that's what Intel and MasterCard are envisioning. The companies said today they were working jointly to allow customers to pay for online purchases by tapping special MasterCard-powered PayPass cards or phones by their computer.

The introduction of the tap-and-pay feature on the ultrabook underscores the proliferation of devices capable of making and receiving mobile payments, a burgeoning field that has attracted power players such as Google. A smartphone with Google Wallet, for instance, will be able to work with an ultrabook. The feature also comes as more people take to their computers for online transactions instead of heading out to brick-and-mortar stores. … Read more

All the purchases you make with your MasterCard or Visa could be used to provide you with more-targeted ads as you surf the Web, a new report claims.

According to today's Wall Street Journal, the credit card companies are currently trying to work out a system whereby purchases consumers make in a brick-and-mortar store can be used to deliver more effective ads online.

A MasterCard document obtained by the Journal outlines some of the company's plans, which included linking Web users with purchases. According to document, the credit card provider said it believes "you are what you … Read more

SAN DIEGO--While the mobile-payment players acknowledge that partnerships are necessary for long-term viability, many are gearing up for some chaotic times.

The idea of a digital wallet and the opportunities that come from moving payments onto the smartphone were major themes at the CTIA Enterprise & Application show. American Express executive Dan Schulman used his keynote address to call for more alliances, noting that, "no single company can do this alone." The prospect of mobile payments was also the focus of one of the more prominent panel discussions today.

It's not hard to see why. Beyond getting … Read more

NEW YORK--It's been a long time coming, but the mobile-payment revolution may finally be here.

MasterCard, one of the major credit card issuers eyeing the market for years, is set to launch its service in the U.S. with partner Google. The company is the exclusive credit card issuer for the launch of Google Wallet, a digital-wallet application for Google Android phones.

Google Wallet lets people store credit card information, gift cards, and loyalty cards in a digital format on their phones. And using short range wireless technology known as near field communications, or NFC, it allows people to … Read more

A year from now, MasterCard and its PayPass tap-to-pay network will serve as a cornerstone of mobile-payments in the U.S.

At least, that's according Ed McLaughlin, head of emerging payments for the world's second-largest payments network.

"The PayPass functionality will serve as an anchor," McLaughlin said in a recent interview with CNET.

Those are bold words considering the mobile-payments business is still in its infancy. But MasterCard has reason to be confident. It's the only credit card company to play a role in both of the major burgeoning alliances, including the Google Wallet initiative … Read more

The mobile and banking industries have been all abuzz lately about offering consumers the ability to pay for items through their cell phones. But how do consumers actually feel about this?

Survey results released yesterday by MasterCard tried to gauge how comfortable people would be using their cell phones to pay for items on the go at stores, restaurants, and other retail outlets. And like many surveys focused on new technologies, this one showed a fairly big gap in feelings between the young and the not-as-young.

Among those 18 to 34 years old, 63 percent said they would be at … Read more

The FBI is on the hunt for the hackers responsible for a recent wave of cyberattacks launched in defense of WikiLeaks.

FBI agents yesterday executed more than 40 search warrants in the United States as part of their ongoing investigation. Pointing to the group Anonymous, which has taken responsibility for the attacks, the FBI said that the distributed denial of service (DDoS) assaults were facilitated by software the group makes available as free downloads.

Late last year, PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and other companies were hit by DDoS attacks triggered by activists in support of WikiLeaks after the companies cut off … Read more

The FBI has seized a server in Texas as part of its hunt for the groups behind the pro-WikiLeaks denial-of-service attacks launched in December against PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, and others, according to a report.

During a December 16 raid, agents seized a server at Tailor Made Services, a Dallas-based co-location, or server-hosting, facility, and copied two of its hard drives, according to The Smoking Gun Web site, which said it has obtained the FBI affidavit in support of a search warrant for the seizure.

It's not clear what was found on the drives, The Smoking Gun reported, saying that … Read more