SCVNGR's LevelUp has begun a campaign to urge users of its mobile wallet to fund payments from a debit card instead of a credit card. The end goal is to get its transaction fees as low as possible, while filling a void left by merchants who switched away from another pricing model it boldly called Interchange Zero.

In the technology market, making the jump from early adoption to the mainstream is the difference between becoming the next iPad and becoming the next Laserdisc. Mobile wallets find themselves in this very position today as a next-gen product in need of a push to reach their tipping point.

Consumers in the U.K. are being encouraged to sign up for a new payments system that will allow person-to-person transfers to a mobile phone number.

VeriFone Systems had five of its Payware EMV-enabled mobile card readers approved for the Visa Ready Program.

Seeking a stronger foothold in the North American market, the Munich-based online payment processing and gateway provider Pay.On AG has formed a new unit that operates out of New York City.

Credit bureau Equifax Inc. is leveraging its trove of consumer data to streamline the purchasing process on the Web and mobile devices.

PayPal now offers the chip-and-PIN version of its PayPal Here mobile card reader to merchants in Australia.

Vodafone's M-Pesa mobile money service, known for quickly developing a devout following of users in Africa, will help the telecom expand in parts of Europe that its more high-tech payment offerings can't reach.

MasterCard's payment processing subsidiary DataCash is leveraging the card network's development arm to lure merchants with a mix of technology that includes mobile payments, digital marketing and augmented reality.

PayStand has launched an online payments platform that allows a variety of payments modes, including Bitcoin, electronic checks and cards.

The quick-service restaurant industry has a strong appetite for mobile payments as a way to make fast food sales happen even faster.

Much like Africa, India is proving to be fertile ground for mobile money services, and payments processor Calpian plans to extend its reach in the market.

The telecom-driven mobile money provider M-Pesa has expanded to Europe, with cash-heavy Romania as its first market.

Already a major card issuer in the military market, Navy Federal Credit Union is working to expand its merchant services business through new agreements with Square and TSYS.

Every year, the tech industry puts out sophisticated April Fools' Day pranks designed to look too outlandish to be real. But technology is advancing at such a rapid pace that one person's joke is another person's next big product.

Square merchants who sell in the online Square Market can now accept payments in Bitcoin.

Square is accelerating its integration with third parties to save the time and resources it would take to develop the business technology it needs to stay competitive in an increasingly sophisticated and crowded mobile payments marketplace.

University students and faculty in Spain, Brazil, Chile and Mexico can use their mobile phones to gain access to buildings and make payments at on-campus restaurants through technology provided to Banco Santander by digital security provider Gemalto.

The online money transfer provider Xoom Corp. is working with India's Housing Development Finance Corporation Bank Ltd. to allow customers to receive payments instantly into an HDFC Bank account.

2Checkout has developed a hosted online and mobile payment processing system that can plug into a merchant's existing e-commerce site.