· Technology-testing provider UL says its cloud-based payments test suite has been approved by MasterCard Inc. It is used to test MasterCard mobile-payment applications. UL also says it now supports a new type approval program for mobile devices against an EMVCo standard. · TD Bank Merchant Solutions will offer small …

Our list this year showcases some of the most interesting innovation going on in payments. As we put together this year’s Guide, we were struck by the sheer breadth of innovation the 37 entries that made this year’s list represent. Yes, much of this technology has to do with mobile …

• The Federal Trade Commission is investigating PayPal Holdings Inc.’s popular Venmo mobile person-to-person payments service for possible “deceptive or unfair practices,” PayPal reported in a regulatory filing. PayPal said it received a so-called civil investigative demand March 28 from the FTC for documents and answers to written questions about …

The Electronic Transactions Association, a trade group based in Washington, D.C., that represents the merchant-services industry, has opened an office in San Francisco, its first outside of the nation’s capital. The move is indicative of Silicon Valley’s growing presence within the payments industry and, specifically, within merchant services, says Jason …

• Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook reported at the company’s latest quarterly earnings call that the Apple Pay contactless mobile-payment service “is growing at a tremendous rate” and has more than five times the transaction volume it had a year ago, but he didn’t give numbers. The service, which is …

Merchants attempting to create more digital experiences in their stores and restaurants because of consumer expectations are finding security of payments to be a significant challenge, finds the “Step Up The In-Person Experience” report issued by Forrester Consulting Inc. Commissioned by tablet point-of-sale maker Revel Systems, the report examines how …

• The PCI Security Standards Council said it will publish version 3.2 of the Payment Card Industry data-security standard this Thursday. • Ziosk LLC, a provider of tablets for at-table payment in restaurants, announced deals with several entertainment providers for new content on its installed base of 170,000 devices. • …

With just five days remaining, organizations developing so-called faster-payments systems are submitting proposals for evaluation by a consulting firm retained by the Federal Reserve Board’s Faster Payments Task Force. On Monday, The Clearing House Payments Co. LLC, which is building a real-time payments system with Fidelity National Information Services Inc., …

• Global Payments Inc.’s $4.3 billion acquisition of processor Heartland Payment Systems Inc. closed Monday, Global Payments said. The deal, announced in December, gives the combined company more than 8,500 employees and provides services to almost 2.5 million merchants around the world. • Processor Total System Services Inc. (TSYS) renewed …

• SuperCom Ltd., an Israel-based identity-verification company, bought PowaPOS, the tablet-based point-of-sale unit of Powa Technologies Ltd., a commerce company that floundered. Powa’s two other units, PowaWeb and PowaTag, already have been sold. • American Express Co. reported $176.3 billion in U.S. card-billed business during the first quarter, up 4% from a …