Payments

MONTVALE, N.J. — The U.S. — and credit union — migration to EMV just got a push forward with the formation of the Debit Network Alliance, a new organization comprised of 10 leading U.S. PIN debit networks.

PayPal has invested in Loop Commerce, which offers a software-based gifting service for retailers.

Led by the biggest rise in credit card debt in five months, along with jumps in both auto loans and student loans, consumers increased borrowing by $18.2 billion in October, the Federal Reserve reported.

Mobile wallet providers such as PayPal, Google and LevelUp already allow consumers to add funds by scanning a credit or debit card with a smartphone's camera. Banks can use similar technology to allow customers to open and fund new accounts from a mobile phone.

Square's updated mobile card reader adds a lot of new technology, but its omissions speak volumes about the company's strategy.

State financial regulators have received few applications for licensing Bitcoin businesses even as they've handled many inquiries about them, according to David Cotney, the commissioner of banks in Massachusetts.

PreCash Inc. says consumers using its Evolve Money online and mobile application for cash bill payments will now have the option to use a debit or prepaid card.

The Merchant Customer Exchange has added Exxon Mobil, Rite Aid, Kum & Go and Giant Eagle as participating merchants in its mobile wallet.

MADISON, Wis. — MasterCard is partnering with CUES to underwrite the organization's new Strategic Innovation Institute.

PayPal is increasing investment in mobile systems as the electronic-payment service bets that smartphones will increasingly be used instead of cash and credit cards, President David Marcus said.

The many factors necessary for mobile commerce to succeed are finally converging at the start of the 2013 holiday shopping season.

Monitise is starting with a relatively simple mobile money deployment in Hong Kong, with plans to turn it into a major payments business throughout China.

Clinkle, the mobile payments startup that's attracted high-profile investment form Silicon Valley, has laid off 16 employees.

Singapore commuters using EZ-Link transit payment cards now have the option of adding money to those cards with a tap from a Near Field Communication-enabled smartphone.

DNB is the first bank in Norway to deploy a new Near Field Communication-based mobile payments scheme that will eventually involve most of the country's largest financial institutions.

Square has released a new mobile card reader that is meant to improve accuracy and durability.

Adyen has developed encryption software that protects payment data for consumers shopping online through desktop or mobile devices.

Many payments companies are testing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, which has a wider range, and is considered an alternative to, Near Field Communication for executing mobile payments. BLE-based technologies are also being developed for customers to check into stores and for merchants to deliver marketing and loyalty programs. Here are few companies giving BLE and other NFC alternatives a try.

Entertainment and mobile technology company Pimovi has released CamFusion, a mobile app that enables in-app payments for content accessed by wearable computing.

Square's Jack Dorsey sparked a price war over Japanese credit-card transactions with SoftBank Corp.'s Masayoshi Son. Entrepreneurs like Yukiko Kurano are the biggest winners so far.