PARTNER NEWS: Iceland’s Arion Bank has added NFC mobile payments to its mobile banking app — a key step, the bank has told What’s New in Payments, towards achieving its goal of ensuring the app’s status as the country’s leading all-in-one mobile financial service... More
Presentation of the first European acquirer of the Mir card scheme at the Russian-British business forum — Roscongress — “The ability to make transactions through the Russian system will simplify payment transactions for customers of companies that offer products or services in the Russian market and, as a result, increase their turnover. For the UK, which will be the first launch country, the Mir payment system opens up access to the Russian consumer market.”
Discover and PayPal collaboration gives cardmembers new way to redeem rewards — Discover Financial Services — “Discover cardmembers can now use their Cashback Bonus or Miles to pay for purchases at millions of online stores through PayPal… Once cardmembers link their Discover card with PayPal, they can instantly redeem any amount of their rewards on eligible purchases at checkout.”
Ant Financial to raise a $1bn startup investment fund — Bloomberg — “Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial is planning to raise about US$1bn for a fund that will invest in startups from Southeast Asia to India and help strengthen its foothold in fast-growing mobile internet markets, a person familiar with the matter said. The internet finance company is looking to back more startups in those regions that focus on payments and online finance.”
Olo and pilot brands experiment with in-car ordering trial — Olo — “The online ordering experience is designed for easy pre-configuration of orders, making saved favorites and repeat orders easy. Trial participants can order and pay with the push of a button and follow driving directions to pick up their orders… Nekter Juice Bar and Portillo’s Hot Dogs are the first live brands to participate in the in-car ordering pilot.”
Apple Pay’s Express Transit mode working in parts of London Underground — MacRumors — “Apple Pay’s Express Transit mode has been functional on at least some tube and bus routes in London since last Tuesday or so, according to multiple MacRumors readers… Express Transit mode eliminates the need for users to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode or even wake their device when they pay for rides with Apple Pay.”
Orange Bank launches in Spain — Orange — “Orange Bank in Spain will be 100% mobile based, offering Orange customers a choice of savings account, cheque account, Mastercard debit card, group management, as well as discounts on Orange phone bills.”
Govt to launch universal QR code to make Ghana cashless society — GhanaWeb — “The government will in December 2019 launch a Universal QR code in a bid to make Ghana a cashless society, vice president Dr Mahammudu Bawumia has announced. He says with the code which leverages existing technologies, traders and businesses will be able to receive payments without a point of sale device.”
Government asks SenseTime to lead plans for national facial recognition standards — Caixin Global — “The working group, which also includes Tencent, Xiaomi, and Ant Financial, is overseen by the National Information Technology Standardization Technical Committee (NITS), which is in turn affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. It will also promote the further formulation of facial recognition standards at an international level.”
Bó — the digital bank to help people do money better — is now live in App Store and Google Play — NatWest — “As we’re part of NatWest, people can rely on Bó to keep their money safe. But as a digital bank, built entirely on a separate cloud-based technology, Bó is also able to harness new technology and develop rapidly in line with our customers’ needs and expectations.”
JR East eyes introduction of ‘walkthrough’ ticket gates — The Mainichi — “East Japan Railway Co is looking to introduce ‘walkthrough’ ticket gates at stations that will enable passengers to access gates via a specialized smartphone application. Under the envisaged system, millimeter waves will be emitted from an antenna placed on the ceiling above a gate that will open once data sent from the passenger’s smartphone application has been received.”
Public transportation users in Scotland can now use a smart transit card issued by any of a group of 16 different bus, rail and subway operators to travel on all the services provided by any of the other members of the group... More
Scientists at Northwestern University in the USA have unveiled a prototype ‘epidermal VR’ patch that is powered by NFC and holds the promise of enabling sensory feedback to be added to a wide range of gaming, entertainment, communication and medical applications... More
Netherlands-based supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize has opened Lunchbox, a low-cost cashierless store that lets consumers “shop a small format store in seconds by scanning in, shopping and walking out”... More
China mobile payments maintain rapid growth in Q3 — Xinhua — “Banks in the country processed 27.27bn mobile payment transactions in the period, up 61.05% year on year, said the People’s Bank of China in a report. The value of these transactions increased by 31.52% from the same period of last year to 86.11tn yuan (about US$12.2tn). Meanwhile, online payment transactions by the non-banking institutions were valued at 63.99tn yuan in Q3, up 23.04% year on year.”
Swiss bank Cornèr Banca has launched a biometric payment card that lets customers make contactless payments without being restricted to the usual CHF40 (US$40) contactless transaction limit... More
Bus passengers turning to contactless in record numbers, says First Group — Yahoo! Finance — “More bus passengers paid with contactless and mobile apps rather than cash on First Group’s local bus routes for the first time in its history, the company has revealed. According to bosses, 43% of payments were made by cash, with 45% made through non-cash methods, in the latest push towards a cashless society. The remainder came from ticket sales via third parties.”
Metrorex and BCR offer quick access to 9 metro stations through a new travel payment system — BCR (translation) — “Contactless card payment is available for the moment in the subway stations: Pipera, Aurel Vlaicu, Piața Victoriei 1 and 2, Piața Universitatea, Piața Unirii 1 and 2, Tineretului and Grozavești. The pilot programme will run for about 2-3 months and will be extended later to all subway stations.”
Apple Pay Belarus rollout begins today with BPS-Sberbank — 9to5Mac — “The Apple Pay Belarus rollout began today with the announcement of support by BPS-Sberbank… The bank says that both Visa and Mastercard are supported.”
New Metrolink fares unveiled — Transport for Greater Manchester — “The new early bird offer will utilise Metrolink’s new contactless payment system, which has been used to make more than 1 million journeys following its introduction on 15 July… A survey from last year’s Early Bird pilot showed 53% of customers who had used an early bird ticket had shifted either their journey time (28%), their mode (9%) or both. 48% of customers who changed mode shifted from car and 24% from bus.”