Merchant

EBay Inc.’s PayPal Inc. unit during the first quarter March 31 continued to expand its global foot print while its other payment unit, Bill Me Later, became a more mainstream payment method in the U.S. with 42% growth to $324 million from $228 in total payments volume.

Cash, not cards, remains the most widely used payment instrument in Australia for low-value payments, a recent Reserve Bank of Australia payments-use study reveals. Cards, however, are the dominant payment method for mid-value payments ranging from AU$50 (US$52 or 36 euros) and AU$500.

The opportunity to capitalize on the explosive growth in payments as the industry steadily moves to electronic and mobile platforms is attracting many new players and business models, but the winners ultimately will be those who can leverage payments on a massive scale, according to Citigroup Inc.’s top enterprise executive.

Visa Inc. has invested an undisclosed amount of money in Square Inc., the start-up company that lets merchants accept card payments through a small square-shaped device that plugs into smartphones.

Existing payments-industry giants are at risk of becoming obsolete if they do not begin experimenting soon with new payments technologies and finding innovative partnerships to meet the changing marketplace demands, according to Dan Schulman, group president for enterprise growth at American Express Co.

SunTrust Banks Inc. and MasterCard Inc. April 27 launched an open-loop reloadable prepaid card that doubles as a student ID card.

Amazon.com Inc. has launched its Checkout by Amazon payments service in Germany, the company announced April 27.

The rise of prepaid debit cards is helping payments processor Total System Services Inc., also known as TSYS, expand as it works to grow its payments volume.

Diebold Inc. announced April 27 that its income dropped 90% to $2.5 million in the first quarter from a year earlier.

There are more indications that card data was obtained by fraudsters after the data breach at Sony Corp.’s PlayStation Network.