Online and, especially, in-store payments are likely to advance in 2014. Banks, retailers and other payment processors are all making strides to simplify their processes and to come front and center in consumers’ minds. Not only ease-of-use, but discounts, record-keeping, and other perks are being employed to lure customers to new payment services.

American Banker has an article that looks at new solutions in PayPal’s Innovation Center and explores the ways that eBay otherwise plans to create more of an in-store shopping experience. As technology blurs the line between online and instore shopping, online providers are establishing in-store beachheads much as in-store retailers had previously expanded online. Similarly, not only are retailers dabbling with digital payments, but banks such as Capital One and U.S. Bank are also embracing discount and merchandizing tie-ins to promote their payment products.

We are still in the early days of the new payment sweepstakes and the ultimate standards and winners are not year clear. But various types of marketing hooks are starting to emerge and evolutionary growth in the sector is quickening.