Brazil’s central bank has “ordered Visa and Mastercard to suspend the start of activities or immediately stop using the WhatsApp application to initiate payments and transfers”... More
Central bank blocks WhatsApp payments in Brazil
Author archive:
Eurostar to let international train passengers use biometrics to replace physical tickets and passport checks
Rail passengers using Eurostar services to travel between London and continental Europe are set to be the first to use a new face verification system to board their train “without showing a ticket or passport”... More
Apple unveils NFC car keys
Apple iPhone users will be able to lock, unlock and start vehicles using a new NFC CarKey feature from next month, Apple has announced, with BMW the first vehicle manufacturer to add support for the new service... More
NatWest to test behavioural biometrics for strong customer authentication
NatWest is working on the development of a behavioural biometrics solution for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) that could be used as a replacement for banking passwords, the UK bank has announced... More
EMVCo rebrands Secure Remote Commerce as Click to Pay
Consumer-facing solutions and programmes based on EMVCo’s Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) specifications are now to be known as Click to Pay, the standards body has announced... More
Visa introduces cloud tokens that work across multiple devices
Visa has introduced a new cloud-based token framework that makes it possible for tokens to be enabled “across all of a consumer’s devices” and “are directly integrated with the consumer’s bank”... More
Facebook picks Brazil for first commercial rollout of WhatsApp payments
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now make payments to local merchants and send money to friends and contacts “without leaving their chat”... More
Google Pay to evolve into ‘one-stop portal’ for commerce?
Google is working on “a major overhaul” of Google Pay that will see the service expanding into “a one-stop portal for commerce”, The Information reports... More
Stocard picks Dejamobile to add payments to mobile loyalty app
PARTNER NEWS: European mobile loyalty wallet leader Stocard has added support for NFC payments to its app as it looks to evolve its digital wallet into an all-in-one payments, banking and shopping service... More
EU opens Apple Pay antitrust investigation
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation “to assess whether Apple’s conduct in connection with Apple Pay violates EU competition rules”... More
DCBank backs ‘reverse ATMs’ that turn cash into prepaid Mastercards
Canada’s DCBank has partnered with technology supplier XTM to provide shopping malls and entertainment venues with ‘reverse ATMs’ that let customers instantly convert their physical money into a prepaid Mastercard they can then use to make payments at cashless points of sale... More
Russian grocery retailer uses cashierless shopping technology to create an automated store-within-a-store
Russian grocery retailer Azbuka Vkusa has converted an aisle within one of its Moscow supermarkets to a cashierless store-within-a store, enabling shoppers to use their mobile phone to check in at the entrance to the aisle, add their shopping to their basket and “simply exit when done”... More
ATM industry publishes plan to combat the decline of cash withdrawals
The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has published an ATM and Cash Revival Plan “for an ATM industry hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”... More
CaixaBank rolls out facial recognition ATMs across Spain
Spain’s CaixaBank is to deploy ATMs equipped with facial recognition technology nationwide “with the goal of offering a better user experience and greater security in transactions, particularly in the context of Covid-19”... More
Taiwan to issue stimulus credits to contactless cards and mobile phones
Taiwan is to introduce a Triple Stimulus voucher programme that will enable residents to buy NT$3,000 (US$100) worth of shopping vouchers for NT$1,000 (US$33.34) — or receive an equivalent cashback credit to their card or mobile wallet... More
MTA resumes Omny contactless ticketing installations
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has resumed work on the rollout of its Omny contactless payments infrastructure as part of the first phase of its reintroduction of normal services on the city’s subway and local bus services... More
Japanese banks and card issuers join digital currency study group
Three of Japan’s largest banking groups have signed up to participate in a study group that aims to build a “digital settlement infrastructure using valuable digital currencies”... More
Axis Bank lets Indian merchants accept contactless payments on standard NFC phones
Axis Bank has become the first in India to offer merchants the ability to accept NFC, contactless, QR and remote payments on standard smartphones... More
Octopus lets Hong Kong commuters add their transit card to iPhone and Apple Watch
Octopus transit card holders can now use their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay their fares and make purchases at 35,000 retail outlets across Hong Kong that accept Octopus for payments... More
South Korea to use QR track and trace apps to combat spread of Covid-19
A new system that requires high-risk locations such as bars and nightclubs to use QR codes to log all customers on entry so that they can be easily traced should the venue later be found to have been a Covid-19 hotspot is to be rolled out across South Korea from 10 June... More
