Technology

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., the Chinese e-commerce operator headed for an initial public offering, is in talks to regain a stake in the Alipay payments affiliate, according to a person familiar with the matter.

PayPal is launching a new logo and brand campaign to appeal to a broader audience.

Bringing a point of sale terminal to market isn't as easy as it used to be. Since the introduction of contactless and mobile payment tech, the number of tests a manufacturer must pass for certification is "unbelievable," executives at U.K.-based Spire Payments say.

Sports Fusion and MasterCard processing subsidiary DataCash are working to unify the normally siloed purchasing experiences at sporting events.

For a technology still in the midst of evolving, mobile payments attract an overwhelming amount of interest. Competition between payment systems is intense — as the Wall Street Journal recently noted, AngelList’s mobile payments startup roster includes more than 640 players.

When mainstream banks reacted to Target's holiday-season breach by reissuing cards, their biggest worry was active accounts. But for a prepaid card issuer like Green Dot, the inactive cards on retailers' shelves were also a significant concern.

Perhaps the biggest question swirling around this week's Finovate conference is: why are mobile payments still more hope than reality?

Facebook's payment system has processed $3 billion in transactions for developers, with 100 of its developers making over $1 million a year through Facebook.

WEX's conversion of ExxonMobil's Esso European card business is progressing, as the corporate payments company also extended its work with ExxonMobil to include Asia and South Pacific markets.

Owners of Sony's PlayStation 4 video game console, which launched in November, can now use PayPal to purchase games and other media from the console's built-in PlayStation Store.