Mobile wallet spending surges over holiday period — ANZ Bluenotes — “ANZ data show a significant rise in the volume of mobile wallet transactions in December 2017, up 140% on the previous corresponding period… In December ANZ customers favoured their smartphones and wearables for 4.5% of all transactions, compared with 2% for the same time last year. ANZ data show mobile wallet transactions reached 3.9m in December, compared with 1.6m in the same month in 2016.”
Archive for January 2018
Paris church tests contactless donations
Tap and pray: Paris church introduces contactless contributions — France 24 — “On Sunday, the Saint-François de Molitor church in Paris’s 16th arrondissement launched an innovative new technology to transform the old-fashioned wicker basket into a contactless payment terminal… If the scheme is successful, it will be rolled out into more churches around Paris, said Christophe Rousselot, director of financial development in the Paris diocese.”
Westpac integrates mobile banking app with iMessage
Westpac launches iMessage shortcut for customers — Westpac — “The new capability offers Westpac customers a shortcut to access banking services while texting with contacts on their iPhone. By clicking on the new Westpac icon in their text conversation window, customers will be able to make payments, generate a Cardless Cash code and share their BSB and account details without leaving their text message. Westpac for iMessage is an extension of the Westpac Mobile Banking App. Customers with iMessage enabled on their iPhone with iOS 11 and the latest version of the Westpac app (v8.4) will be able to use the capability.”
Amazon opens its cashierless store to the public
Amazon Go cashierless convenience store opening to the public — The Seattle Times — “The store requires customers to scan their smartphone on the way in, tracks them with cameras and other sensors as they browse, and, when they take an item off the shelf, adds it to a virtual cart. Groceries are charged to the customer’s Amazon account when they leave with their goods.”
Six in ten Chinese consumers have experienced a mobile payments security threat
Quick take: Mobile payment fraud rises in China, report finds — Caixin — “A China UnionPay survey of 105,000 people found that 60% had been exposed to some kind of mobile payment security threat, including information leaks, fraud or malicious attacks… Nearly 30% of users reporting mobile payment fraud said QR codes were involved, up from 15% last year.”
Japanese NFC pioneer NTT Docomo to introduce QR code payments
NTT Docomo to start QR code payment — NHK — “Major Japanese mobile carrier NTT Docomo says its subscribers will be able to pay at stores using a QR code… The payments will be added to a monthly bill, or deducted from a credit card. Subscribers will have to download an app on their smartphone to use the service. It will be available at some 19,000 retailers and restaurants nationwide. Docomo says that figure will rise to 100,000 in a year.”
Shanghai Metro installs QR code readers at ticketing gates
Shanghai Metro to accept mobile-app payments — Caixin — “QR code-readers are being installed in all 389 metro stations in the city, which will allow passengers to use an app developed by metro operator Shanghai Shentong Metro Group. The app – dubbed ‘Metro daduhui’ – will connect to the payments systems of Alipay and China UnionPay.”
National Australia Bank integrates with Amazon Alexa
Hands-free banking: ‘Alexa, ask NAB if I’ve been paid’ — National Australia Bank — “The NAB skill for Amazon Alexa will allow customers, who have connected Alexa with their NAB account to ask their Alexa device questions like: ‘What’s my savings account balance?’, ‘How much do I owe on my credit card?’ or ‘Did I get paid this week?’… ‘In the future, we certainly see this experience turning into one where you can pay bills, make funds transfers or even purchase items at the command of your voice.’”
Westpac adds support for Amazon Alexa
Westpac taps into voice technology with Amazon Alexa Skill — Westpac — “Westpac customers can now access their account balance, recent spending history, and reward points status with Alexa… Westpac customers who have enabled the skill and linked to their Westpac account can ask a range of questions relating to their account balance and last 50 transactions.”
Ride-hailing app Grab acquires mobile payments startup iKaaz
Grab announces acquisition of Bangalore-based payments startup iKaaz — Grab — “The rich functionality of iKaaz’ mobile payments platform and its experienced leadership team will accelerate feature development and partner integration of GrabPay, Grab’s payments platform. Already Southeast Asia’s #1 ride-hailing platform, Grab is expanding across all markets in Southeast Asia in 2018 with the goal of becoming the region’s universal payments platform.”
Starbucks tests cashless store concept in Seattle
Starbucks tests no-cash policy at downtown Seattle store — Seattle Times — “Starbucks is experimenting with refusing cash at a posh location in downtown Seattle… ‘The test will help us understand how cashless forms of payment may impact our customer experience,’ the spokeswoman said.”
Wells Fargo adds support for Fitbit Pay
Wells Fargo announces support for Fitbit Pay — Wells Fargo — “Wells Fargo is partnering with Fitbit, the leading global wearables brand, to launch Fitbit Pay to its customers, giving them the ability to conveniently and securely make purchases at merchants whose payment terminals are set up to accept near-field communication (NFC) payments.”
Apple details Apple Pay Cash in updated iOS Security guide
iOS Security — Apple — “When you set up Apple Pay Cash, the same information as when you add a credit or debit card may be shared with our partner bank Green Dot Bank and with Apple Payments Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary created to protect your privacy by storing and processing information separately from the rest of Apple and in a way that the rest of Apple doesn’t know.”
India to add face recognition to Aadhaar biometric ID system
Now, face recognition to authenticate Aadhaar, but with biometrics or OTP — Times of India — “To be made available by July 1, the face authentication option will be allowed in combination with fingerprints, or iris scans, or an OTP to verify the details of Aadhaar users… Face authentication will not require any new reference data as photos of citizens are already on the Aadhaar database.”
Bank of America reports 84% rise in P2P payment transactions
Zelle takes cashless payments to new heights — Bank of America — “Bank of America saw total Zelle transactions for 2017 hit nearly 68 million, an 84% growth rate from the previous year. In Q4 alone, Bank of America processed over 23 million transactions, totaling nearly US$7bn, up 91% from the prior year… Currently, Bank of America has nearly three million active Zelle users, and continues to add thousands of new users every day.”
One in five Brits to make mobile payments in stores this year
UK: Mobile payments still looking to grab a foothold — eMarketer — “Just over 22% of UK smartphone users will use a phone to pay for goods and services at the point of sale (POS) in 2018… China has the largest mobile proximity payments market in the world, with 77.5% of smartphone users doing so this year. Within Europe, the UK’s smartphone penetration rate will rank behind Norway (23.3%), Sweden (33.8%) and Denmark (38.9%) in 2018.”
Rabobank includes value added services in HCE mobile wallet
G+D Mobile Security supports Rabobank in launching a sophisticated and secure mobile payment solution — Giesecke & Devrient — “With the new solution, more Rabobank customers can use the mobile payment service since it no longer requires a special kind of SIM card. Furthermore, mobile payment is only one of the services provided: current value-added services in the Rabo Wallet include parking and customer shop and loyalty card storage solutions.”
Messaging service Line looks to cryptocurrencies for payments
Line explores cryptocurrencies for payment services, sources say — Bloomberg — “The messaging provider is in discussions with multiple companies on using cryptocurrencies for payment services including Line Pay, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The broader goal is to create products that keep users within Line’s ecosystem and keep them coming back to the app, increasing ‘stickiness,’ they said.”
Paytm adds investment and wealth management service
We have set up Paytm Money to focus on investment and wealth management — Paytm — “We are fast evolving from being a pioneer in digital payments to becoming a full-stack financial services company, which offers banking, lending, insurance, and payments. With Paytm Money, we will cover the entire spectrum of wealth management and plan to add more investment offerings going forward.”
India adds tokenization to Aadhaar national biometric ID system
Aadhaar adds fresh security layer with 16-digit ‘Virtual ID’ — Times of India — “UIDAI’s Virtual ID, which will be issued from March, will allow over 119 crore [1.19bn] Aadhaar holders to generate a 16-digit temporary number that can be shared with a bank, insurance company or telecom service provider instead of the 12-digit Aadhaar number. All service providers will have to upgrade their systems to mandatorily allow for the new tool from June.”