payment

Voters chat with Obama on Google+ Hangouts, Apple surpasses Hewlett-Packard in PC shipments (if you count iPads, that is), and almost everyone would take your call while on the toilet.

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

T-Mobile is getting into the mobile payments business with the help of Square.

The carrier announced today that its small-business customers will be able to get the Square credit card reader at select T-Mobile stores. When the reader is connected to a supported smartphone, the device allows business owners to swipe customer cards and have the money from the transactions automatically deposited into their bank accounts the next business day.

T-Mobile has become the first carrier to offer the increasingly popular mobile payment reader, but unfortunately for the carrier's customers, Square's technology will only be available in a handful of stores … Read more

If you follow any of my coverage, then you know I have a healthy interest in mobile payments.

When people think mobile payments, they think about the act of paying for goods by waving a smartphone at the cash register. But I'm more interested in the implications that come from the capability. You're seeing it now with the introduction of Google Wallet, which wants to use payment history to better serve discounts and advertisements. It's what comes next that is so exciting.

But as we're seeing with Google Wallet, as well as other attempts to bring … Read more

Google Wallet does a good job of storing passwords but doesn't encrypt the entire credit card number, balance, and other information, a research firm said today after testing the application on a rooted device.

Data that is stored on the device in various SQLite databases in unencrypted form also includes name on the card, the last four digits of the credit card, card limit, expiration date, transaction dates, and locations, ViaForensics said in a report titled "Forensic security analysis of Google Wallet."

In addition, the application created a recoverable image of a credit card that could provide … Read more

Verizon Wireless denied claims that it was blocking the Google Wallet mobile payment application on the upcoming Galaxy Nexus.

"Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false," the company said in a statement today. "Verizon does not block applications."

Google Wallet, unlike other applications, needs to be integrated into a secure part of the phone that is proprietary to Verizon, the carrier said. As a result, Verizon and Google are still in commercial talks over the issue.

The issue is a rare instance in which Verizon and Google haven't been … Read more

Shopkick, a mobile check-in and rewards app, and Visa are hoping consumers are in a holiday-shopping mood.

The two companies announced a partnership today to offer a faster way for consumers to earn "kicks"--Shopkick's version of rewards--which can be redeemed for gift cards, gadgets, and other goodies. Shopkick works when a user walks into a retail partner: enter the store and get your kicks. With the new offer, users get additional kicks when they purchase their goods using a linked Visa credit or debit card.

Shopkick gets a major partner in Visa and offers its customers … Read more

"Carry less + live more" is how the RumbaTime Go might be marketed if it gets off the ground.

This standard digital watch comes with a contactless payment chip on the back so you can ditch your wallet. It also has a medical ID number in case you end up on the ground yourself.

It's now a Kickstarter project by RumbaTime, which makes low-cost timepieces that recall the Swatch craze of the 1980s. … Read more

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

SAN FRANCISCO--For a guy who's done his share of industry disrupting, Jack Dorsey is sure eager to opine on tech's softer side.

Today at GigaOm's RoadMap conference here, Dorsey took the stage for nearly half an hour and dished mostly about love, empathy, hyper-personalization, fun and whimsy--as it relates to tech of course.

And why not?

As Twitter's co-founder and Square's CEO, Dorsey, 34, is a sort of bon vivant of entrepreneurship. With his hip styling and pithy and sober delivery, he looks and talks the part. As he straddles leadership roles at two of … Read more