payments

Consumers Union: Beware when buying by cell phone

T-Mobile USA customers who purchase digital goods online and opt to have the charge show up on their phone bill are vulnerable to fraud, according to Consumers Union.

The consumer advocacy group said today that the carrier's mobile-payment plans aren't covered by standard protections that guard against fraud with credit or debit card charges.

"Mobile payment products promise a new, convenient way to pay but consumers could end up losing money if something goes wrong with their transaction," said Michelle Jun, senior attorney for Consumers Union, in a statement.

As the technology industry salivates over the … Read more

Researchers find avenues for fraud in Square

LAS VEGAS--Researchers at the Black Hat security conference today revealed two ways the Square payment system, which turns any iPhone, iPad or Android into a point-of-sale credit card processor, could be used for fraud.

Adam Laurie and Zac Franken, directors of Aperture Labs, discovered that they can transfer money from a stolen card into their bank account associated with Square without having to swipe a card through the Square dongle card reader. To do this, they used code written by Laurie that lets them feed magnetic stripe data from a stolen card into a microphone and convert it into a … Read more

The major players in mobile payments

The mobile payments universe is expanding at a terrific rate, but the key players are still working their angles to convert amorphous opportunity into real, viable services that retail-hungry Americans will trust and use.

The companies are getting closer every day, as corporate heavy hitters bring weight, money, and experience to nimble start-ups through a web of partnerships. Traditional credit card brands, online payment companies, carriers, and smartphone manufacturers are all jumping into the game in various ways by joining to form coalitions, buying up tiny mobile payment start-ups, and attacking rivals' credibility by going straight for the panic button … Read more

T-Mobile wades into mobile payments

T-Mobile USA inched into the mobile payments arena today when it said it would allow customers to purchase goods and services through their phones.

The carrier said it would extend its carrier billing to digital content such as music and games which can be bought with the browser on the phone. Instead of entering credit card information, a customer would authorize the purchase through the phone number account. The charge for the song or game would show up on the person's next phone bill.

It's just the latest development in the rapidly changing mobile payments area, which has … Read more

Square handling $4 million daily in mobile payments

PayPal mobile payment rival Square has said that it now processes approximately $4 million daily in mobile payments, $1 million more than Square advertised it handled at the end of May.

Square has clearly sailed beyond any shadows cast by the nasty volley begun by CEO of competitor VeriFone, Doug Bergeron, and answered by Square's CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey that called into question the security of Square's credit-card reading attachment for mobile devices.

Instead, the increased processing numbers reflect Square's booming growth, a rise that has been bolstered by a sizable investment from Visa … Read more

Verizon, American Express partner on mobile payments

Verizon Wireless and American Express said today that they're partnering to let customers order goods through their phone by typing in their phone number.

During the coming months, Verizon will start integrating American Express' Serve, a digital payment and commerce platform, into its phones and tablets. Unlike other initiatives, designed to let consumers pay by tapping their phone to a payment device at a store, Serve will let buyers make online purchases while on the phone.

It's just the latest step toward enabling phones to make payments, a white-hot field that's attracted a wide-ranging assortment of players … Read more

PayPal exec: It won't be easy to compete with us

Companies hopping into the payments business--with particular focus on mobile--will face unexpected challenges as PayPal did in its early days, according to an executive for the digital payments service provider.

"Being in the payments business is harder than saying you're in the payments business," Sam Shrauger, vice president of global product and design for PayPal, said in an interview with CNET today.

While not naming any specific companies, his warning was clearly leveled at players such as Google, which recently unveiled its Google Wallet feature and plans to roll out a payment system in select cities later … Read more

Gartner: 141 million to use mobile payments in 2011

The number of consumers paying for items via their mobile devices will shoot past 141 million this year, says new data out today from Gartner.

That figure is a 38.2 percent increase over 2010, when mobile-payment users hit 102.1 million. The amount of money generated via mobile payments is expected to reach $86.1 billion this year, up almost 76 percent from the $48.9 million seen last year.

The surge in mobile payments will come despite the slow adoption of mobile-payment technologies.

The mobile, retail, and financial industries have been rushing to roll out near-field communication (NFC) … Read more

Google brings in-app payments to any Web app

Google has rolled out its in-app payment service for any Web developer.

The service was first announced in May at Google's I/O Conference. The feature allows developers to offer single-click payments from their applications. At launch, Google touted the platform's simple integration into a respective Web app, saying that it only required the addition of a single line of code.

When Google first announced in-app payments, the company said it would be made available only to Chrome Web Store developers. However, Google said yesterday that its in-app payment system is now "available for all Web application … Read more