Retailers don’t like paying the fees for your Apple Card — Bloomberg — “The card, marketed by Apple and backed by Goldman Sachs Group Inc, is designated ‘elite’, which allows it to levy significantly higher interchange fees on each swipe or tap… The cards have long irked retailers. They have no choice but to pay the higher fees for elite plastic if they want to accept any of a network’s credit cards.”
- Report: US retailers must pay a premium for Apple Card transactions
- Tinkoff turns its mobile banking app into a full-service digital marketplace
- German savings banks switch on support for Apple Pay
- Osaka Metro begins Japan’s first face recognition ticketing pilot
- Garanti lets customers use its mobile banking app to top up their transit card
Tinkoff turns its mobile banking app into a full-service digital marketplace
Tinkoff super-app boosts digital leadership in European fintech space — Tinkoff — “The super-app is both our own version of the App Store, with its own mini apps, and the first WeChat-like app in the Russian or any European financial market, featuring products and services from our partners… External partners can connect to the marketplace (via open API) using the ‘app-in-app’ model and offer targeted products and services within the Tinkoff app.”
German savings banks switch on support for Apple Pay
Savings banks introduce Apple Pay — Der Spiegel (translation) — “After much hesitation, the savings banks and additional German banks are now offering the Apple Pay mobile payment service… 371 out of a total of 379 German savings banks have now introduced the digital payment service. More than 50 million people can use the service immediately.”
Osaka Metro begins Japan’s first face recognition ticketing pilot
Osaka Metro unveils ticket gate with facial recognition tech — The Japan Times — “The trial period, set to run through September next year, will be conducted at four stations: Dome-mae Chiyozaki, Morinomiya, Dobutsuen-mae and Daikokucho. Each station will have facial recognition gates developed by four different firms to compare their functionality… The subway operator aims to introduce the gates at all of its train stations by fiscal 2024, ahead of the 2025 World Expo in the city of Osaka.”
Garanti lets customers use its mobile banking app to top up their transit card
Istanbul travel card top-ups are fast, easy, and free with Garanti BBVA’s mobile app — BBVA — “To take advantage of this feature, customers simply need to register their card with the app. They can then add to the balance directly from their Garanti BBVA account, free of charge. Customers can also refill travel cards for friends and family.”
Interflora lets customers use Alexa to order and pay for flowers
‘Alexa, send flowers’: Order a bouquet in time for Christmas using only your voice — Interflora — “Global flower delivery company Interflora has become the first UK retail brand to launch a complete end-to-end ‘V-commerce’ service, with just one simple voice-based transaction making it possible to send flowers via Alexa and check out with Amazon Pay, all without lifting a finger.”
Mastercard pilots decentralized digital identities
Mastercard brings digital identity to real world tests — Mastercard — “The pilot will test a new way for people to prove their identity without having to carry multiple documents. Instead, the model allows the data to sit with its rightful owner — the user. It will activate a distributed model that blends information stored on an individual’s mobile device and verified by additional reference points, such as an individual’s bank or participating government agencies.”
PicWicToys lets shoppers skip the checkout lines
Toy retailer PicWicToys, which took over the French stores of Toys ’R’ Us last year, has introduced a mobile self-checkout solution designed to ease the strain of shopping with children, by letting customers avoid waiting in a queue to check out and pay for their purchases... More
Cambridge Consultants combines NFC and machine vision for next generation interactive bar
Cambridge Consultants has unveiled an interactive drinks bar that uses NFC to add a new element to the experience of ordering drinks in a busy bar environment... More
American Airlines includes NFC passport reading in mobile app
Passengers flying on international American Airlines flights can now use an NFC passport checking function integrated into the airline’s mobile apps “to head directly to the gate for international flights without having their passports rechecked by a customer service agent”... More
Sheep Inc uses NFC tags to let sweater buyers trace their purchase back to the original fleece
Sheep Inc: The world’s first carbon-negative fashion brand — Evening Standard — “Each sweater comes with an NFC tag on the hem, marked with a unique serial number. When scanned with a smartphone, the full details of the garment’s manufacturing journey and carbon-footprint are unlocked… In amongst all the information and insights on material origins, water usage and production techniques that appear when you scan the tag, is also the name of the sheep who provided the wool for your sweater.”
Chinese banks and carriers to pilot central bank digital currency
China’s central bank likely to pilot digital currency in cities of Shenzhen and Suzhou — Coindesk — “The People’s Bank of China is said to be preparing to launch pilots for its digital currency in at least two major cities. The tests are likely to include the participation of state-owned partners. These comprise the ‘Big Four’ commercial banks — the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China — and three telcos: China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom.”
Danish office workers pilot face recognition payments
Nets trials face payments in Copenhagen — Nets — “Around 1,000 people — all working at Vibenshuset, an office community of 25 companies in Copenhagen — can sign up to participate in the pilot. By linking their face with their employee ID card, they can now pay for their lunch using their face at Kokkenes Køkken’s cafeteria.”
Canadian credit unions add Google Pay support for domestic debit cards
Canadian credit unions expand mobile payments with Interac Debit on Google Pay — Canadian Credit Union Association — “The Canadian Credit Union Association (CCUA) announced today that Access Credit Union (MB), Affinity Credit Union (SK), Assiniboine Credit Union (MB), Innovation Credit Union (SK), Prospera Credit Union (BC), Servus Credit Union (AB) and Steinbach Credit Union (MB) are the first credit unions in Canada to launch Interac Debit on Google Pay.”
JPMorgan Chase to tokenize open banking permissions
JPMorgan Chase, Envestnet l Yodlee sign agreement to increase customers’ control of their data — JPMorgan Chase & Co — “Envestnet I Yodlee is committing to send 100% of its requests for Chase customer data through the bank’s secure API (application programming interface). This will ensure the apps can receive Chase customer data they need while customers control what’s shared with whom…. Because the secure API uses a token-based approach, customers will no longer need to give out their username and password.”
One in three Canadians make mobile contactless payments ‘on a regular basis’
Canadians rapidly adopting new payments channels — Payments Canada — “Contactless payments grew 30% year over year from 2017-2018 with a total of 4.1bn contactless payments (card and mobile) worth CA$129.9bn (US$98.58bn) at the point of sale (POS)… Mobile devices were used by nearly 35% of Canadians for contactless payments on a regular basis in 2018.”
WeChat Pay lets users charge in-store mobile payments to their credit card
WeChat Pay now lets you Quick Pay with your credit card — SoyaCincau — “If you don’t have sufficient eWallet balance, you can now pay directly via your assigned credit card… To make a payment at a store, tap on ‘Me’ in the WeChat app and select WeChat Pay > Quick Pay. On the QR code screen, just tap on ‘Balance’ to change your payment mode from your eWallet balance to your credit card… When the merchant scans your code, the transaction amount will be charged to your credit card and it won’t deduct your eWallet balance.”
TransLink issues Compass Card key fobs
TransLink debuting keychain-sized ‘Compass Mini’ this week — CTV News Vancouver — “The launch of Compass Mini is a part of our commitment to enhance the customer experience,” CEO Kevin Desmond said in a news release. “Compass Wristbands have been a real hit and I’m sure customers will enjoy the convenience and practicality of the new Compass Mini.”
Merivale to let Sydney diners tap table tags to order food and drinks
Merivale kingpin Justin Hemmes is backing restaurant ordering app me&u — Business Insider Australia — “The app uses a beacon and near field communication technology (NFC) to order and pay for your meal on your phone while you’re at a restaurant, cutting out the process of having to flag down a waiter.”
Zhengzhou Metro rolls out face scanning across its subway network
China’s subways embrace face-scan payments despite privacy concerns — AsiaOne — “Since the service began trials in September, nearly 200,000 commuters in Zhengzhou have elected to authorise face-scan payments using a local metro service app… While Zhengzhou is among dozens of Chinese cities to introduce such trials, it is the first to deploy the service across its entire subway network.”
