latest in mobile commerce Archives

Chinese search engine Baidu creates new OS for smartphones

09/07/201109/07/2011 John Montgallo

Baidu has announced that it will be taking another step that can be compared to Google in that it is getting set to launch its very own operating system for smartphones. Baidu is a Chinese company that is commonly referred to as the “Google of China”, as it runs the biggest search engine that country. Its smartphone operating system will be called Baidu Yi. Currently, the foundation of Baidu Yi is Google Android software, on top of which the entire OS experience has been constructed. However, in the future it…

Western Union adds new payment entity combining online, prepaid card, and mobile business

08/31/201108/31/2011 Stephanie Beck

The biggest payment transfer company in the world, Western Union Co., has announced that it will be combining its online, prepaid card, and mobile business to create a single new entity which will provide consumers with a larger number of services and will grow their customer base. The official online portal for the company, westernunion.com, provides payment transfer services among two hundred countries around the world. This portal will now become a new element of the Western Union Ventures unit, under the leadership of Dianne Scott, the company’s chief marketing…

Radio Shack poised to begin accepting mobile payments through Google Wallet

08/26/2011 Stephanie Beck

Radio Shack has announced that it will be one of the first retailers that will be taking advantage of the latest mobile payment technology being offered through Google Wallet. This announcement follows a press conference made by Google in June, when it divulged its new partnerships with credit card companies and banks that would bring near field communications (NFC) payments to phones running on their Android operating system. The start of the service was through the Nexus S phone, but NFC will be a part of all future Android phones,…

Tablet devices to be used for mobile payment by 2012

07/07/2011 Jorge Gonzalez

VeriFone has announced its new Payware Mobile Enterprise for Tablets, which will be allowing tablet users to pay for their purchases with their mobile devices through a simple card reader technology. Near field communications (NFC) technology is already being implemented in smartphones to make it possible to use them to purchase items at a point of sale by waving them or tapping them over a proper POS system. However, it is believed that this will not be readily available for another two to three years. That said, it is anticipated…

Visa unveils plans for a mobile wallet to be released far before Google’s offering

07/06/201107/06/2011 Stephen Vagus

Visa is entering the mobile commerce arena with its recently unveiled plans to develop a mobile wallet to compete with Google’s offering. Visa, the global payments technology powerhouse, is joining the growing number of tech and financial companies pushing the world toward a cashless society. Visa’s payment platform will make use of NFC technology, as is the norm for such endeavors, but the company seems to have been developing their mobile wallet for some time. Despite only recently revealing their plans to release such a product, Visa has announced…