Online payments

First Data is bringing a new electronic payment offering to Brazil in collaboration with Bancoob, the banking arm of the credit union cooperative system Sicoob.

Companies like PayPal and Square reward hackers with "bug bounties" for finding and reporting vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by fraudsters, and their welcoming attitude toward the hacking community is paying off.

The launch of Visa Checkout has attracted more interest from consumers than the launch of its earlier incarnation, V.me, according to PNC Bank.

Simon Xie, an Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder and second-biggest shareholder of its finance affiliate that owns Alipay, may become a billionaire as the estimate for the value of the electronic-payment company rose.

Payment technology company ACI Worldwide has completed its $205 million purchase of the security vendor Retail Decisions Plc (ReD).

Web.com, a small-business Web design and marketing company, will promote MasterCard's Simplify Commerce platform in an expansion of the companies' e-commerce partnership.

Online payment provider paysafecard is offering its customers a plastic prepaid MasterCard card to extend the company's e-commerce offering into the physical retail world.

Fleet card provider FleetCor's planning a major push into B2B electronic payments, and hopes to get a substantial boost from its planned $3.45 billion acquisition of Comdata.

MasterCard is offering its inControl system in the Asia-Pacific region through First Data, allowing corporations and consumers to manage their online purchases.

Social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, have been enticing but sometimes hostile environments for payments innovation. Some startups are pushing past the platform providers to appeal directly to their users.

Transfast, an international remitter, is launching a money transfer service in Mexico to allow recipients to collect funds in a bank account within minutes.

Payveris is creating a new merchants solutions unit to connect banks, credit unions, consumers and merchants within the digital payments process.

Online cash payment provider Ukash is partnering with Numny, an electronic payment provider, to expand options for consumers in Saudi Arabia.

Virtual Piggy's Oink, a payment platform for teens, will become a payment option for users of Smilegate, a Korean gaming company.

TIO Networks has acquired the assets of VeriFone Commerce Solutions Inc., a Web-based bill payment services provider also known as ChargeSmart.

As consumers extend their spending across the globe, the various hurdles they face are becoming targets of innovation.

MasterCard is putting its digital payment efforts in the spotlight. The Purchase, N.Y. card network is also adding to the number of non-payment services it offers to digitally focused companies.

While banks continue to be optimistic about the potential growth possibilities of mobile photo bill pay, in which customers pay invoices by taking pictures of them, trade groups and imaging experts note the technology is not as straightforward as mobile check deposit.

MasterCard's digital wallet is currently live in 10 markets and the company has plans to add four more countries this year in a push to strengthen the card network's capabilities in an increasingly digital world.

Facebook Inc. is ending a service that lets friends send digital gift cards to each other, as the social-networking service revamps how users can buy goods and services.