virtual wallets

Mike Mozart

Tap Or Scan Here To Pay: Know Your Mobile Payment Apps

Mobile wallets and payment apps: they’re supposed to make it simpler and easier to pay for stuff, or at least let us grab lunch when we’ve forgotten our wallet. Yet there’s now a wide variety of payment apps out there, including systems that are only for one brand of phone (Samsung Pay, Apple Pay) or only for one retailer (Walmart Pay). Which can you use for what purpose? Which is compatible with ancient smartphones? [More]

Will Making Gift Cards Entirely Virtual Make Them Better?

Will Making Gift Cards Entirely Virtual Make Them Better?

We at Consumerist have long taken a stance against gift cards: they’re like giving someone a gift of cash, only with rules and limitations. What’s the point of that? There’s a whole secret economy in unused gift cards in America: up to 20% of the things are never used up. But some planned changes to gift cards could theoretically make them easier to spend and harder to lose. [More]