Cardfree, a mobile payments provider run by several of the people who designed the successful Starbucks mobile payment app, is using cloud-based technology to simplify the process of deploying its technology as it eyes international markets.

Mobile point of sale provider Appetize is targeting entertainment venues and music festivals, a niche that's often a testing ground for payments technology.

Check, a bill pay app owned by Intuit, has launched a feature some financial institutions have been positioning as a competitive differentiator: the ability to pay paper bills using the smartphone camera.

At first blush, the new Visa Checkout looks a little too similar to the V.me digital wallet it replaces. But in nearly every aspect of redesigning the product, Visa found some excess baggage that needed to go.

Facebook is testing a feature that will let users shop directly from its website.

MasterCard will add support for in-app purchasing to its MasterPass digital wallet next month, and has already signed up customers to deploy the feature.

Getting retailers to add mobile payments – or even ban credit cards in favor of mobile – is not impossible. But it just might be easier to get merchants on board with mobile if they haven't even accepted their first payment.

There have literally been dozens of tablet-based point of sale solutions introduced to the retail market and with reason. The demand for a better point of sale software solution has been increasing rapidly.

eBay's two most "extraordinary events" from the first half of the year were a now-resolved conflict with activist investor Carl Icahn and a cyber-attack that created financial headwinds. It is not yet actively searching for a new PayPal president.

Visa introduced a new digital payment system July 16 called Visa Checkout, replacing the V.me digital wallet that formally launched in 2012. The idea is to move away from the "digital wallet" concept and convey a message of simplicity.

Payza is adding new features with the goal of helping merchants improve their conversion rates.

More merchants are interested in accepting payments on tablets and phones, and they have many choices of providers. What are banks and vendors doing to set themselves apart? (Image: ShutterStock)

Powa is reaching out to individual software vendors around the world in an attempt to accelerate integration of its point of sale tools with local mobile apps.

WorldRemit is targeting mobile wallets in emerging markets in a bid to eventually set a standard for international mobile money transfers.

Australian supermarket Coles is launching a tap-and-go mobile wallet to customers this week.

Apple has launched an automated account loading feature in Japan, a product that eliminates the need for plastic gift cards and may signal the beginnings of a pure digital wallet.

First Data Corp. has added technology from Perka, its customer loyalty subsidiary, to its Clover Station point of sale tablets. This is the latest of several updates First Data has made to boost the appeal of its Clover offering.

Visa has made an investment in digital transaction company DocuSign, giving the card network closer ties to a suite of technology that automates payments documents.

As Square's competitors pile on features to win business from the mobile payments pioneer, the company may be seeking to one-up its rivals by adding non-payment services.

The alternative payments provider Dwolla insists that regulating Internet traffic will hurt startups, and it is among a group of companies that will argue this point before the Federal Communications Commission on July 15.