Technology

Beacons, or Bluetooth Low Energy transmitters, are seeing a burst in popularity as components of mobile payment systems. The devices, which can be roughly the size and shape of a nightlight, allow retailers to detect a mobile app user's presence in the store.

MasterCard and Visa have formed a new group to improve efforts in the U.S. to migrate to the EMV-chip cards other security methods.

Clinkle Corp., a San Francisco startup that specializes in mobile transactions, has appointed Josh Brewer as its vice president of design.

The Electronic Transactions Association is lobbying Congress to enact a uniform national data breach reporting standard that would replace a welter of contradictory state and local rules.

The Swedish e-commerce firm Klarna, which offers a service that lets customers make online purchases and pay for them later by invoice, has completed its purchase of the German payment network Sofort.

Knab, a branchless bank based in Amsterdam, is aiming to attract 250,000 customers by 2017 through the promise of smoother payments.

Yapital Financial AG has signed a five-year agreement with security and payment gateway provider ReD to deliver fraud protection services for its European payment system.

Wirecard, based in Munich, Germany, is supporting mobile ticketing services from sunhill technologies GmbH, which allows motorists to pay for parking from a smartphone.

A new partnership between online shopping service provider Billeo and mobile billing firm Danal aims to give smartphone shoppers fewer hoops to jump through when making a purchase.

Target Corp., still reeling from a security breach that exposed the personal information of tens of millions of customers, is seeking a new top technology executive to help prevent future attacks.