American Express Serve

Serve is the American Express reply to both Google Wallet and PayPal (PayPal vs Amex Serve). It has been criticized for not providing anything new that PayPal was not offering a year ago, and this was last year. However, just this Feb 16, 2012, American Express Serve released a statement that it would be operating with the same technology as Google Wallet – making a transaction or sale through the use of an NFC card reader and smartphones. 

 You can set up an account online at www.serve.com and deposit money into it from an existing checking/savings account, other Serve users or credit card. It’s very much like PayPal. Serve has the support of a major financial institution in American Express, which may help some people feel more at ease whereas PayPal has always taken a “we are not a bank” stance. Serve isn't a bank either, but American Express has a good stature.