U.S.

In a move designed to strengthen its capabilities for integrated payments, processor and technology provider Total System Services has agreed to acquire Cayan for $1.05 billion. The news shortly follows another deal valued in the billions — Thales agreeing to buy the chip maker Gemalto for $5.4 billion.

While at Klarna, Billingsley collaborated with Modo as part of a partnership between the two companies.

One of the world's largest bitcoin exchanges, bitFlyer, has landed in the U.S. with a focus on institutional investors — a move that suggests bitcoin's days as a payments instrument are still a long way off.

Messenger is one of Facebook's most requested services in the U.K. and France, making these markets ripe for the platform's new P-to-P payments capabilities. But in taking the service internationally, Facebook may also reveal its limitations.

A rising tide of Chinese dealmaking in the U.S. is spurring Congress to propose tighter measures to restrict investments that are increasingly viewed as a threat to America’s national security.

The U.S. and Canada are far behind Europe and Asia in contactless adoption in general. A handful of mass transit agencies are stirring hopes about NFC fare payments, but even these cities are taking a cautious approach to open-loop payments.

UL Transaction Security has teamed up with Zurich-based payment software engineering firm Abrantix to create a robot to automate the typically tedious, manual process of payment terminal testing.

Klarna’s instant online financing for purchases is gaining a foothold in the U.S., where the Swedish company is testing a subscription-based financing approach starting with golf clubs from TaylorMade Golf.

The preparations underscore the trouble Chinese buyers face in persuading the panel that investigates foreign acquisitions to greenlight takeovers.

Mobile wallet adoption in the U.S. is slow, and the payments industry has only itself to blame.

Square Inc.'s addition of mobile chip-and-PIN in the U.K. and Australia markets is setting a precedent that some in the U.S. are loath to follow.

Fiserv's acquisition of U.K.-based real-time payments provider Dovetail Group Ltd. is a move made with a global vision in mind.

Payments are getting more complex as business gets more global, adding channels and expanding ways to sell. Part of the strategy at the matchmaker crowdSPRING is to find a match of its own: AliExpress, Alibaba's online marketplace. It’s also considering a foray into virtual currency.

The simple act of moving money can have a big impact on any political movement, so banks and payment networks are often caught up in issues of national importance. Here are some recent instances where payments and politics came head-to-head.

China's Alipay already has broad global reach—its mobile wallet is accepted at more than 100,000 retail locations in 70 international markets—but in North America it’s just getting started.

Starbucks has hit a mobile payments milestone, with 30% of all U.S. transactions now coming through mobile, and to smooth operations surrounding its popular Mobile Order & Pay service, the company is introducing digital-ordering specialists at its busiest stores.

Klarna recently received a banking license in Sweden, and is in the midst of an international expansion.

Mass transit systems have been proven as an effective way of introducing new technologies and driving adoption in many regions, but in many ways they are still vastly behind schedule.

Visa said its investment in Klarna will advance online and mobile commerce across Europe, but there are broader implications for other markets and consumer groups.

LG is officially throwing its hat into the mobile payments arena with the launch of LG Pay in Korea. Available only on the flagship LG G6 handset, its technology has a lot in common with Samsung Pay, but may not be much of a challenge to its rival if it should come to the U.S.