Technology

Even in an alternative universe that exists only in cyberspace, real money is vital to the economy. Digital payments company Skrill hopes to bridge the real and virtual worlds to benefit its digital wallet.

Starbucks, which handles 16% of its in-store sales as mobile payments, is looking to push that number even higher. Its evolving strategy combines its mobile app, its gift card and its rewards program into a powerful package.

Monitise is pushing aggressively into new markets to build its profile, but mobile financial services' impact on traditional technology development is threatening the company's relevance.

Many companies are fed up with passwords, but the next step isn't so clear. Biometric authentication is winning favor, but LiveEnsure contends there is a less intrusive way to verify identity.

Starbucks Corp. named former Juniper Networks Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kevin R. Johnson as its next chief operating officer, underscoring the role technology now plays at the coffee chain and mobile-payment innovator.

Data breaches have hit many retailers hard over the past year or so, and Stage Stores is doing everything it can to make sure customer payment data can't be exposed.

The processor Total System Services Inc. has entered into an agreement with terminal maker Ingenico to support a wide range of payment types, including magnetic stripe, EMV, Near Field Communication and Apple Pay.

Mergers and acquisitions among payments companies rose 44% in 2014 compared to the year before.

New, experimental consumer marketing programs have played a significant role in the way technology has upended the payment business in recent years. And Visa is looking to get in on the action.

While the payments industry is far ahead of other industries such as health care in adopting encryption, choosing the right method is still a challenge.