Online payments

ACI Worldwide has extended its tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of electronic bill payment provider Official Payments Holdings (OPay).

Fiserv is betting its bank network and a user-friendly interface can make electronic payments appealing to small businesses, a frustratingly hard segment to reach with transaction automation.

PayPal, having long ago charted the state-by-state regulatory waters for U.S. payments companies, is urging a reform to the rules in an effort that could ultimately help other players in its market.

Digital content providers will have more options to accept payments through Live Gamer Inc.'s Pay+ product.

Wells Fargo, which was one of the first banks to offer mobile banking apps to business customers in 2007, has been making some updates. The site allows clients to divide tasks across different people — one person might initiate a payment template, another person may make a payment for that template, and a third might approve the payment, for instance.

Optimal Payments Plc, which is based in Isle of Man, has registered with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement to provide services to Internet gambling businesses licensed by New Jersey.

WePay is enjoying strong volume in crowdfunding payments, and is keeping an eye on regulatory developments that may affect its next opportunities.

LevelUp is launching a "connected app" technology that lets merchants tap into its mobile payment system for online commerce and a variety of other uses.

Virtual Piggy, which offers an online alternative payment system for teens, will run a developers event for participants up to 19 years old in Los Angeles on Dec. 7.

Consumers continue to view their banks as a trusted payments provider, but they view PayPal Inc. as the nonbank to trust the most.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) wants to drastically boost membership in its loyalty program, a move that will necessitate going well beyond its typical geographic and demographic boundaries.

The alternative payment provider Dwolla has launched a credit-based instant payments capability, built on partnerships with banks and credit unions.

The coveted "Millennial" generation of consumers ages 18 to 34 is central to the success of any new payments technology – but this group also has a wide range of financial goals that make it hard to target with a one-size-fits-all product.

Visa and MasterCard have aggressively worked to establish their V.me and MasterPass wallets since launching both products within the past year, and both companies are trying to learn from their past efforts in e-payments.

Although its third quarter net income dropped 7% year-over-year, Discover Financial Services remains confident in the opportunities it has invested in for the future.

Consumers are increasingly jumping form one channel to another when shopping and paying, pressuring issuers and other payment companies to simultaneously accommodate older plastic-card models alongside the Web and mobile commerce.

Wonga, a London-based provider of short-term loans, has purchased BillPay, a Berlin-based online payment and financing platform.

Visa and global e-commerce company Borderfree are offering free shipping from Borderfree's clients to Visa cardholders in Southeast Asia.

While digital initiatives take longer to show their effect in the company's revenue, American Express Co. is still making investments in emerging payments and prepaid cards.

Virtual Piggy will deploy Kount's fraud management technology to provide payments security.