Retailers

Total System Services will offer merchants link2pay's single-point login for payment acceptance.

Square is adding global support for its Register merchant services app, a move that allows the company to measure demand in new markets before investing in the distribution of its hardware and other services.

U.K.-based terminal maker Spire Payments has purchased the electronic funds transfer division of STS, a company that provides point of sale payment devices to more than 40 customers across the Middle East.

Mobile payments provider iZettle is expanding into the Netherlands with its payments application, mobile card reader and business management software.

Swipely began promoting its services through ISOs, value-added resellers and other third parties about a year ago, and the channel now accounts for a third to a half of the company's new customers.

It's not just merchants, issuers and technology companies that are using mobile technology to sell new payment services. As a business software provider, Intuit has been uniquely positioned to link its products to a number of payment initiatives.

Square, which made a short-lived attempt at digital gift cards in late 2012, is debuting a new gift card service today with a heavy emphasis on an older payment instrument: plastic.

Apple Pay's launch about a month ago was accompanied by an almost unprecedented amount of hype and media attention, but it takes more than buzz to shift the world to mobile payments, and Apple's job is far from over.

Mobile tech providers are racing to incorporate EMV chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature security into their offerings. But many of these companies are taking fundamentally different approaches to linking EMV and mobile technology.

Square Inc. may have more incentive than other acquirers in urging merchant clients to accept EMV-chip cards, but its pricing strategy could deter some from adopting the secure technology.

There is lots of talk about mobile payments and where banks play, but the real opportunity has less to do with payments and more to do with “mobile commerce services," or all of those things banks (and merchants) can do via mobile to attract, engage, motivate and reinforce customer relationships to protect existing revenue streams and create new ones.

Mobile point of sale technology is gaining traction, though providers say the middle market requires a stronger sell.

Heartland Payment Systems has acquired Xpient Solutions to strengthen its processing capabilities in the quick-service and fast-casual food industry.

NCR's updating its NCR Silver point of sale system to support Bitcoin transactions as retailer acceptance of virtual currency starts to accelerate.

Acquirers are encouraging vending-machine operators to add card and mobile electronic-payment acceptance, which could represent a whole new category of transactions.

Payveris has hired financial services technology veteran Jeff Weikert as president, as the technology company adds new services designed to make smaller financial institutions more competitive with alternative startups.

Brick-and-mortar retailers are chasing a missing link for sales and marketing—the deep customer data that e-commerce merchants easily obtain through online orders and shipping information.

Merchants are enticed by the lure of the huge e-commerce market in China, enough to give a number of early client wins to Alipay's U.S. merchant acquisition effort.

The much-anticipated launch of Apple's mobile wallet was followed by a series of minor disasters for the fledgling payment system. Apple must overcome all of these obstacles if Apple Pay is to succeed.

The card networks are under pressure in a number of countries, providing ammunition for retailers wanting similar cost adjustments in the U.S.