digital wallet

Apple's Passbook isn't the most supported application out there, but it's starting to get some love.

McDonald's is among a few companies now offering support for Apple's new Passbook application. Dubbed McDo France, the application allows people to place an order and pay for it from their iPhone. From there, users receive a QR code that can be scanned at 45 McDonald's restaurants in France.

In addition, both Eventbrite and Airbnb recently updated their apps with Passbook functionality. Now, Eventbrite users who purchased tickets to local events will be able to add them to … Read more

The wireless carriers' mobile-payments joint venture, after a slow start, is picking up some steam.

Isis, a partnership between AT&T, Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile, has lined up 50 merchant partners, including heavy hitters like Coca-Cola, Macy's, and Foot Locker, as it gets closer to rolling out its service in trials in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The merchants indicate a level of confidence in the venture's ability to roll out a widespread mobile-payment system, which would allow consumers to use specific smartphones to tap and pay for their goods and services. Beyond the big … Read more

NEW ORLEANS--Think there are too many digital wallets out there? MasterCard would disagree.

The No. 2 payments processor today unveiled PayPass Wallet Services, its own take on the digital wallet. Initially, it will pop up in the form of a payment icon at merchant Web sites. The wallet will allow users to store all of their cards, and MasterCard plans to distribute developer tools to allow other wallets to work with its network. The move is an attempt to broaden PayPass beyond contactless payments and into something more ubiquitous.

MasterCard is just the latest to be lured in by the … Read more

When I was a kid growing up in Montreal, I spent more than a year filling a big brown bottle with pennies. When they reached the top and I poured them out, I was crushed that they totaled less than 20 bucks.

Ever since, I've had little love for the lowly Canadian cent -- it's 2.35 grams, mostly steel, and has been nothing but dead weight in my pockets. The government now feels the same and has announced that the Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing pennies this fall.

"Pennies take up too much space on … Read more

Will Google Wallet survive? That's a question that's been looming during the first six months of the the digital wallet program, which has been plagued with issues such as security concerns, minimal consumer use, and few carrier and retail partners willing to support the new technology.

Despite the setbacks, the Web giant isn't planning to close up shop quite yet. Rather, it's looking at different ways to improve its product, including possibly courting AT&T and Verizon mobile carriers and exploring revenue sharing with them, according to Bloomberg.

Google Wallet enthusiastically launched last September and … Read more

Folks interested in buying movies can either get them at brick-and-mortar stores or online. Now the film studio Twentieth Century Fox is trying a new tack aimed at combining the two, albeit in a convoluted fashion.

Fox has partnered with Taubman Centers, which operates shopping malls across the country, to create virtual storefronts in Taubman's physical shopping malls.

The storefronts are "wallscapes" that feature photos and titles from Fox movies. Users can scan a QR code found on the wall using iPhone or Android phones that will direct them online to finalize their purchase. After that, the … Read more

PayPal introduced a redesigned digital wallet at SXSW 2012 in Austin on Tuesday, which is promised to launch this spring.

Some of PayPal's new digital wallet amenities go beyond just payments, but rather reinforce the platform as a one-stop shop for mobile commerce in general.

For example, users will be able to create personal lists for different shopping situations as well as create budgets by purchase amounts and other metrics.

Then there are a lot of other features that carry over from PayPal's browser platform such as being able to switch from one funding source stored in your … Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Isis, a mobile-payments joint venture among three of the major wireless carriers, is taking the slow and steady approach to its mobile wallet. And it appears to be working.

The venture, formed from an alliance between Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile USA, said today that BarclayCard, Capital One, and Chase will place their debit and credit cards into the Isis mobile wallet. The agreement marks a further strengthening of the circle of partners for Isis.

While Google has shot out with its Google Wallet service, Isis has taken a more methodical approach in its digital wallet, lining … 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