PayPal wants small businesses to go global.

Powa Technologies Group is buying Hong Kong-based mobile payments processor MPayMe.

Google has made its Instant Buy API technology compatible with Apple devices.

Tax compliance provider Avalara has made many connections within the payments industry to respond to merchant demand for built-in tax reporting functions at the point of sale.

Imagine that one day people from your country’s rural areas start paying with their mobiles. Would it be strange? Definitely. That would mean they are more advanced in mobile payments adoption than the majority of people living in cities, who still prefer to use plastic.

While banks struggle to get consumers to use Near Field Communication-enabled phones for mobile payments, the video game industry is having blockbuster success with NFC technology.

PayPal is rebranding its Bill Me Later instant credit product to PayPal Credit.

Barclays' April Fool's Day joke last year was a video about PayWag, a contactless payment system built into dog collars. In hindsight, maybe this wasn't a prank but an early prototype for bPay, the company's new payment-capable wristband for humans.

Expresscoin is launching a digital currency purchasing platform that the company says will offer the "personal customer service" that has been missing from the Bitcoin environment.

As Monitise debuts its new mobile design and development service, it's weighing how its clients view payments as a complement to their other business lines.

American Express Co. is entering partnerships that aggressively take aim at a very specific segment of spending: fare for taxis and other hired cars.

Just before eBay selected David Marcus to run PayPal in 2012, it named a number of executives who could have been prospects for the role. Now, as Marcus leaves to take a job at Facebook, some of these other executives may be in line to fill his shoes — but PayPal may also seek out new talent.

With PayPal president David Marcus leaving to join Facebook, the social network is positioned for a substantial market share grab in the digital payments industry.

Payment services entrepreneur Boris Kim has been elected chairman of Moscow-based Qiwi's board of directors.

Enabling payments for online services is the next big opportunity in e-commerce, says Carl Theobald, CEO of digital transaction technology company Avangate.

Israeli contactless payment technology provider On Track Innovations (oti) is expanding its reach to enable self-service payments on several fronts.

PayPal President David Marcus is leaving the eBay unit to lead Facebook's messaging products.

American Express Co. reached a deal that will allow customers of car-service firm Uber Technologies Inc. to book rides using rewards points.

Apple's plan to introduce a new Lightning connector for headphones, potentially replacing the standard 3.5mm jack, could give mobile payment companies a major hardware headache.

Amazon.com Inc. will enable scheduled payments of fixed or variable amounts in attempt to attract businesses that rely on subscription-based or recurring transactions.