Bailey Reutzel

Plastyc Inc. now does business as Banking Up, a name that signifies the direction in which it is taking its prepaid offerings, iBankUP and the UPside Visa card.

BitInstant, a purchasing platform for Bitcoin, is ramping up security by implementing Jumio Inc.'s Netverify software.

Impactorg, a consortium developing mobile payments products for merchants, partnered with Zipmark Inc. to use its digital check service to streamline consumer reloading of its mobile wallet.

Visa Inc. and Ethoca Ltd. have partnered in an effort to thwart online payment fraud attempts, which they expect to increase as the U.S. shifts to the EMV-chip card standard at the point of sale.

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a philanthropic organization, began accepting donations in ripple or XRP, the native digital currency of the Ripple network.

Text2Pay, a mobile billing application for online purchases, now allows merchants to accept Bitcoin, the decentralized virtual currency.

Taco John’s, a West-Mex fast food chain, is launching the cloud-based FreedomPay Commerce Platform at more than 400 locations nationwide.

Chirpify, which handles payments over social media, is launching a direct payment processing option, overcoming its reliance on PayPal’s service.

Consumers today are social media addicts, and Getonic is aiming to use their Facebook and Twitter habits to the advantage of online merchants.

Microsoft confirmed that the company will eliminate Microsoft Points, its digital currency, in favor of pricing digital content in local currencies.

Tango Card is pitching its online gift card platform as a way to let big companies provide small-dollar awards to their employees.

Mobile payments company, Boku Inc. and PlayJam, which provides a platform for games on televisions, are working together to allow consumers to make purchases on smart TVs.

July Systems provides tools for merchants unfamiliar with programming to put together revenue-generating mobile experiences — with a hint of social media and a dash of mobile commerce.

Microsoft Corp. is now using the processor WorldPay's alternative payments program to increase adoption in China.

Check has partnered with Alltel Wireless, allowing Alltel customers to track and pay bills on their smartphones with Check's Money & Bills app.

With the government cracking down on digital currency players such as Liberty Reserve and Mt. Gox, many ask whether it's a move to squash the development of virtual currencies and what action the government will take next.

Blackhawk Network Inc. is working with Monitise PLC to enable U.S. consumers to purchase gift cards on their smartphones through their financial institution's mobile banking site.

LevelUp has made numerous changes to its mobile-payments technology as it has aggressively spread its system to new consumers and merchants alike.

Wex Inc. will provide clients of Globalia, a travel services provider in Europe, with the Wex Travel Solution virtual payment options.

Believe.in, a U.K. company that provides technology for accepting donations online, has a no-fee structure that allows charities to receive donations using technology from Stripe.