Tech company workers agree to have microchips implanted in their hands — ABC News – “Some workers at a company in Wisconsin will soon be getting microchips in order to enter the office, log into computers and even buy a snack or two with just a swipe of a hand… Three Square Market is footing the bill for the microchips, which cost US$300 each, and licensed piercers will be handling the implantations on August 1.”
Archive for July 2017
Tap-and-go kills the cash cow
Tap-and-go kills the cash cow — Sydney Morning Herald – “Australia has become a nation of tappers, with official figures showing that the card has finally overtaken cash as our most-frequently-used payment method… The Reserve Bank attributes that to several factors, including the widespread rollout of tap-and-go Eftpos functionality. Around one-third of all point-of-sale payments are now made using tap-and-go.”
You can now fund your Abra wallet with your American Express card
You can now fund your Abra wallet with your American Express card — Abra — “This feature will be made available to a small group of Abra wallet users today and will be rolled out to our entire user base in the coming days… With growing acceptance of bitcoin by major retailers and vendors worldwide, it is getting easier to spend funds directly from your Abra wallet every day.”
Wearable ‘Teng’ generators harvest energy from body movement to charge mobiles
Consumers could soon be able to act as their own mobile phone power supply, researchers at the University of Surrey have announced, by simply wearing smart clothing that uses Triboelectric Nanogenerators (Tengs) to harvest and store the static charge generated by their movements... More
Federal Reserve plans to endorse a faster payment system
Federal Reserve plans to endorse a faster payment system — Reuters — “The Federal Reserve on Monday said payments and money transfers should eventually be available in real time… Officials expect to outline next steps in the weeks ahead, Fed governor Jerome Powell said.”
Carrier billing for Apple services spreads to Denmark, Hong Kong, Sweden
Carrier billing for Apple services spreads to Denmark, Hong Kong, Sweden — AppleInsider — “The addition of Denmark, Hong Kong, and Sweden bring the total list of countries supporting carrier billing up to 17, across 29 mobile phone networks. The list of countries does include some major first-world nations, including France, Germany, Italy, and Japan, but the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom are notably still absent from the list, among others.”
TD Canada for iOS now lets you easily add TD cards to Apple Pay
TD Canada for iOS now lets you easily add TD cards to Apple Pay — iPhone in Canada – “TD Canada for iOS has been updated to make it easier to add your TD cards to Apple Pay… This update will assist new Apple Pay users to easily adopt the mobile wallet, as all they have to do is verify their TD cards within the bank’s iOS app, instead of scanning or manually entering numbers within Apple Wallet.”
PayPal to let Citibank and Chase customers pay with loyalty points
Citibank and JPMorgan Chase customers across the US will soon be able to make online purchases using loyalty points as currency at “millions of merchants” that accept PayPal... More
Rambus explores five key reasons retailers should have a mobile wallet
PARTNER NEWS: An 11-page white paper exploring five key reasons that retailers should deploy their own branded mobile wallet service is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
TSB to roll out iris scanning tech
TSB to roll out iris scanning tech — BBC News — “Imagine logging onto your bank account just by glancing at your phone. That’s what some TSB customers will be able to do from September when the bank introduces iris recognition to its mobile banking app… Customers will need the latest Samsung Galaxy S8 to use the new way of accessing their TSB accounts.”
Wells Fargo wants its ‘Control Tower’ to manage your digital financial life
Wells Fargo wants its ‘Control Tower’ to manage your digital financial life — Fortune — “Control Tower will allow Wells Fargo customers to track every place they’ve shared their payment information, whether it be via a device, mobile wallet, or online retailer… If their card expires or is re-issued, consumers can simply push the data for the new card out to retailers and mobile wallets through the Wells Fargo app.”
Mastercard expands QR payments choice
Mastercard expands QR payments choice — Mastercard — “Beginning this month, the company will broaden its solutions to offer QR codes that can be scanned by either consumers or merchants under a common set of global specifications… The company’s consumer-presented solution will allow the merchant to scan a QR code from a smartphone and process the payment through the Mastercard network. It will leverage M/Chip technology to provide a secure way to pay based on EMV infrastructure.”
Amazon Pay Places lets you pay for real-world shopping using your Amazon info
Amazon Pay Places lets you pay for real-world shopping using your Amazon info — Techcrunch — “Amazon is today introducing a new feature called Amazon Pay Places, that allows customers to pay for in-store and order ahead shopping experiences using their Amazon app… Instead of using cash, check, credit or debit while shopping out in the real world, you can just use your Amazon account information. The first implementation of Pay Places involves a partnership with the TGI Friday’s restaurant chain.”
EMVCo standardizes QR codes for mobile payments
Payments standards body EMVCo has published “EMVCo QR Code Specification for Payment Systems: Consumer-Presented Mode”, a technical specification that marks the organization’s first move into standardizing the use of QR codes for mobile payments... More
Mahindra Comviva expands payment options for merchants in India
PARTNER NEWS: Mahindra Comviva has enhanced its PayPlus mobile POS solution to enable Indian merchants to accept payments via Aadhaar, Bharat QR, UPI, card and mobile wallets through a single interface... More
TfL makes it easier to top up Oyster cards while on the go
TfL makes it easier to top up Oyster cards while on the go — Transport for London — “Next month, the new TfL app will launch, allowing customers to top up their Oyster card with pay-as-you-go credit and buy Travelcards wherever they are… It will also allow customers to check how much credit they have on their Oyster card and also provide, for the first time, a ‘low balance’ alert direct on their mobile to help customers ensure they have enough pay-as-you-go credit before they travel.”
Visa and PayPal extend partnership to Europe
Visa and PayPal extend partnership to Europe — Visa — “The European partnership agreement makes it easier for financial institutions to offer their Visa account holders the ability to checkout anywhere PayPal is accepted online… It will also expand the acceptance of PayPal by European businesses that accept Visa in physical locations, providing growth opportunities for Visa, PayPal and their customers.”
P2P payment transactions to exceed $120 billion this year
P2P payment transactions to exceed $120 billion this year — eMarketer — “The transaction value of US mobile P2P payments will grow 55.0% this year to $120.38 billion. This figure is on pace to double by 2021. In 2017, 63.5 million US adults will use a P2P payment app at least once a month, equating to nearly one-third (32.6%) of smartphone users.”
Dubai’s Nol cards can now be used for payment at 1,000 retail units
Dubai’s Nol cards can now be used for payment at 1,000 retail units — Gulf Business — “Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that Nol cards can now be used to make payments at more than 1,000 selected retail outlets… Nol cards are used to pay for public transport systems such as the Metro, Tram, buses and water taxis… The network of retailers accepting Nol cards is projected to exceed 5,000 by the end of this year.”
Swatch partners with eleven Chinese banks for second-generation payments watch
Four new NFC smart watches that make use of China UnionPay’s cloud-based payments service have been unveiled in Shanghai by Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek... More