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: 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.”
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.”
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 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, 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.”
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 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 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 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.”
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.”
PCI Security Standards Council publishes new standard for contactless payments — PCI Security Standards Council — “The primary elements of a CPoC solution include: a Cots [commercial off-the-shelf] device with an embedded NFC interface to read the payment card or payment device; a validated payment acceptance software application that runs on the merchant Cots device initiating a contactless transaction; and back-end systems that are independent from the Cots device and support monitoring, integrity checks and payment processing.”
Grab launches Asia’s first numberless card — Grab — “The physical version of the card is completely numberless, front and back, thus averting the prospect of theft of personal and financial information… The digital GrabPay Card is available in Singapore starting today… The digital GrabPay Card will be launched in the Philippines in Q1 2020, with other Southeast Asian countries to follow in the first half of next year.”
MUFG digital currency finds second life as mobile payment — Nikkei Asian Review — “Users will convert funds from their bank accounts or elsewhere into the digital currency using a smartphone app. The service will use this currency in transactions, which will be handled through QR codes. Money sent via the app can be moved back into an account as cash, allowing for transfers between individuals.”
UK bank NatWest is following its biometric payment card trials with a pilot of a biometric payment fob that lets customers make contactless payments for transactions valued at up to £100 (US$130)... More
Biometrics to secure $2.5tn in mobile payments by 2024 — Juniper Research — “Biometric authentication will be used to secure US$2.5tn worth of mobile payment transactions by 2024, an increase of almost 1,000% on the US$228bn expected to be transacted through the method by the end of 2019.”
Octopus stored value limit increases to HK$3,000 to meet consumers’ greater spending needs — Octopus — “Any customer who possesses a Smart Octopus issued before 1 October 2019 or an Octopus product issued before 1 December 2019 can upgrade the stored value limit from HK$1,000 (US$127.75) to HK$3,000 (US$383.26) via Octopus App or at any Octopus Service Point. Once the stored value limit has been upgraded, customers can also make payment of up to HK$3,000 for each transaction starting from 1 December at over 3,200 retail outlets.”
The volume of transactions made using wearable devices has seen an eightfold increase in Europe over the past 12 months, Mastercard reports, while Australia tops the list of countries where most wearable payments are now being made. More
Hang Seng launches mobile cash withdrawal service — Hang Seng Bank — “Customers in Hong Kong can initiate cash withdrawal instructions on their mobile phones by using the Hang Seng Personal Banking mobile app and then collect their cash at the nearby Hang Seng ATM… At launch, all Hang Seng ATMs will support QR code cash withdrawals and over half will support both QR code and NFC cash withdrawals. NFC connectivity will be extended to all ATMs in the first half of 2020.”
Streamlined for London — Apple — “Paying for journeys on Transport for London is easier with Express Mode for Apple Pay. You don’t need to authenticate your payment with Face ID or Touch ID. Simply tap your iPhone or Apple Watch on the yellow card reader and go.”
