Digital wallets

It seems that every year, at least since Apple Pay launched in 2014, it’s the “year of the mobile wallet.” And each year, like clockwork, the banks end up disappointed in the lack of traction in mobile wallet usage and adoption.

Along with activating contactless payments at its store terminals, Costco has opened its checkout lines to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay. But there’s a catch.

Each of these wallets has developed its own personality — and, presumably, its own must-have feature to pull consumers and merchants away from the competition.

Samsung Pay is adding Chase Pay as a funding option, combining the strengths of two very different approaches to mobile payments.

With just two partnerships, eBay is cutting off a big opportunity for community banks.

The new alliances follow EBay’s February announcement to gradually shift its payments processing business from PayPal to Adyen.

The commercial that shows a landlord using Apple Pay Cash and iMessage to pry rent out of a tenant is meant to elicit a chuckle, but it also shows how P2P providers must aggressively communicate the capabilities of their apps.

In the evolution of mobile wallets, many companies have toyed with the idea that rewards would be a key driver for adoption. Others insist the improvements in speed and convenience are compelling enough on their own. Apple has parlayed both concepts into its promotions.

Apple Pay became available in Norway Wednesday for customers in Nordea Bank AB and Santander Bank to begin with.

The advancement of digital wallet technology in the past five years may be having a numbing effect on e-commerce merchants, who favor familiar brands over big-name wallet apps.