payments

NFC seeps into bloodstream of Mobile World Congress

BARCELONA, Spain--NFC (near field communication) technology has been around for some time now, but as of yet it's failed to hit a level of ubiquity in our devices that would galvanize more businesses to adopt it. That, however, is changing fast.

While most think of NFC as solely a new payment solution, companies are constantly finding new ways to implement it.

NFC is essentially a new way to exchange information from one device to another, wirelessly. It's different from other wireless technology in that it requires the two devices to be within a centimeter of each other. Hence … Read more

PayPal co-founder Levchin launches e-commerce startup

PayPal co-founder Max Levchin is bringing his e-commerce business smarts to a mobile-payments startup he's launching called Affirm, according to AllThingsD.

What's different about Affirm from other mobile-payment companies, like Square and Stripe, is that it's goal is to make payments happen with as few clicks as possible -- similar to how buying something on a desktop computer works.

"We are trying to get as close as possible to one-click, which has always been the case on the desktop," Levchin told AllThingsD. "In mobile, it has become an imperative to be able to buy … Read more

Visa's plan to spur NFC mobile wallet adoption may hit a snag

Visa's new partnership with Samsung to embed its PayWave technology directly into Samsung devices could help kick-start NFC-enabled payments around the world. But U.S. wireless subscribers may be left out of the frenzy.

Samsung and Visa announced the partnership, which is part of a new partner program for Visa, at the Mobile World Congress tradeshow in Barcelona today. Specifically, Samsung will incorporate Visa's PayWave mobile payment applet into future Samsung devices such as the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4. Visa will also make it easier for customers to tie their Samsung phones to financial institutions and their personal … Read more

Countdown begins for Galaxy S4 reveal

Monday's CNET Update does it with stylus:

The mother of all mobile trade shows, Mobile World Congress, kicked off in Barcelona. Today's video roundup highlights the buzz over Samsung, WebOS and a new way to talk to your phone:

- Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S4 on March 14

- Visa's mobile payment program will be built into the Galaxy S4

- More on MasterCard's mobile payment plan, MasterPass

- First impressions of the Galaxy Note 8 tablet

- Samsung HomeSync to rival Apple TV

- WebOS lives in future LG smart TVs

- HP tries tablets again with the Slate 7 … Read more

Galaxy S4 will incorporate Visa's mobile payment program

BARCELONA, Spain--Samsung's next flagship smartphone will play a key role in Visa's mobile payment ambitions.

The two companies unveiled a partnership today in which Samsung would incorporate Visa's PayWave mobile payment applet in its future devices, as well as use Visa to make it easier for customers to tie their Samsung phones to a financial institution and Visa account.

While not referenced specifically, the upcoming Galaxy S4 will be the flagship product for Visa's program, according to a person familiar with the partnership.

Samsung will be part of the Visa Ready Partner Program, which was announced … Read more

How MasterCard plans to transform mobile purchases

BARCELONA, Spain--The hype around mobile payments is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the coming transformation for how people purchase goods and services.

That's according to Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer for MasterCard, who spoke with CNET about his company's vision.

While at the Mobile World Congress conference, MasterCard unveiled its MasterPass system, which addresses not only mobile payments, but also all forms of digital transactions. MasterPass is designed for purchases made in stores, online, or on the phone.

"It's a foundation for moving to a world beyond plastic," McLaughlin … Read more

PayPal readies launch of mobile payments system in Europe

PayPal unveiled new hardware today that will allow it to take its in-person mobile payment system to Europe, expanding the lead it has in the international market on rival Square.

PayPal Here, which launched last March in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong, will debut in the U.K. this summer for its first foray into the European market. The eBay-owned payments processor plans to eventually offer the service to other countries on the continent.

About the size of a smartphone, the payments processor's new gadget will accept credit and debit cards under the Chip and PIN … Read more

Square unveils 'Business in a Box'

Square today unveiled its "Business in a Box" package, a bundle including all the components needed for a small business to start taking payments on the company's Square Register platform.

With Square Register, almost any business can accept payments wirelessly from customers' mobile devices. The system lets businesses use an iPad instead of a cash register, and gives them an accompanying set of analytics tools, while customers download the app, sign up, register a credit card, and then pay automatically at any of the hundreds of thousands of merchants running Square Register.

The new bundle includes two … Read more

NFC: Not just for mobile payments anymore

Move over, mobile payments. NFC is finding other ways to make itself useful.

In fact, paying for items with one's phone seems to be the least common use for the close-range connectivity technology right now, at least based on gadgets unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show. Rather, essentially all products using NFC shown at the recent confab employed the technology in one of two ways: To set up a sort of digital handshake between a mobile device and another gadget or as a way to share information between products with just a tap.

"NFC really simplifies things," … Read more

Apple offers installment payments to customers in China

Apple is trying to make it easier for customers in China to pay for its products.

The company has posted to its Chinese Web site a new installment plan, allowing customers who pay 300 yuan (about $48) or more for an Apple product to pay in installments. From now until January 23, Apple is offering interest-free payments for up to 12 months. If customers choose 18- or 24-month installments, interest will be assessed at 6.5 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively.

When customers check out on Apple's online store, they'll be given the option to pay in … Read more