E-commerce giant Alibaba has invested in NFC and RFID specialist Smartrac Technology Group and taken a seat on the company’s board... More
Alibaba invests in NFC product authentication for brands
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Eight in ten POS terminals to support NFC payments by 2022
Shipments of NFC-ready POS terminals reached 24.7m in 2017 — Berg Insight — “The attach rate for NFC was highest in EU28+2 and North America, where 90% and 88% respectively of the POS terminals shipped [in 2017] featured NFC. NFC was also a very popular feature in many other major markets worldwide, including Brazil, Turkey and China… More than 78% of the world’s POS terminals will be NFC-ready in 2022, up from 50% in 2017.”
Ant Financial targets South America and Africa for next phase of mobile payments growth
Ant Financial sees huge growth for cashless payments in South America, Africa — South China Morning Post — “Kenny Man, head of international investment for Ant Financial, said over the next five years, emerging markets including those in South America and Africa will be priority for the company’s global partnerships… ‘China has leapfrogged over traditional credit cards to the mobile wallet. That same change will be even more radical and faster in different parts of the world, whereby people will embrace mobile payments,’ Man said.”
Google Pay rolls out support for P2P payments, concert tickets and boarding passes
Do more with Google Pay — Google — “Today, we’re starting to roll out updates that will let you do even more with Google Pay. Here’s a look at what’s new: Pay friends with the Google Pay app; Save concert tickets and boarding passes; Manage your info in one convenient place.”
Samsung pulls support for Samsung Pay from budget smartphones?
Samsung stops loading mobile payment tool on budget phones — Yonhap News — “Samsung Electronics Co recently stopped embedding its mobile payment system, Samsung Pay, in budget smartphones, industry watchers said Sunday, apparently to save costs by excluding the feature, which has been less popular among teens and senior users… ‘As it costs roughly 5,000 won (US$4.50) per device to apply Samsung Pay, (the company) is apparently seeking to cut production costs by excluding the feature,’ an industry watcher said.”
Gaming hardware maker Razer signs up 300,000 mobile payments users in 48 hours
Razer Pay gains 300,000 users in Malaysia within 48 hours — Razer — “Within 48 hours from the launch of Razer Pay on 4 July 2018, over 300,000 users in Malaysia downloaded and signed up for the Razer e-wallet app designed for youth and millennials… Also within the same 48 hours, over 11,000 transactions were made by first-time Razer Pay users at Berjaya Group stores (such as 7-Eleven and Starbucks).”
Handelsbanken pilots waterproof payments wristbands
Handelsbanken, BankAxept and Evry launch contactless payment from micro bank cards in wristbands — Evry — “This micro bank card makes paying for small purchases quicker and simpler than any other solution currently available to customers. You can, for example, have this small waterproof card in a wristband on the beach so you can buy an ice cream as soon as you get out of the water without having to first fetch your wallet or mobile. We therefore think many people will like this solution and will use it on a day-to-day basis.”
DART opens up its transit ticketing app to private transportation operators
Dallas transit embraces Uber, Lyft and other mobility options — GovTech.com — “Dallas transit riders can do much more than purchase bus or train tickets with the region’s GoPass app. Riders can now use it to book a ride with Uber or Lyft, and will soon be able to schedule other modes of getting around, such as renting a bike on one of the city’s five bike-share apps.”
Survey finds money saving product recommendations will drive adoption of open banking
Brits cite money saving product recommendations as the biggest incentive to use open banking — Equifax — “Two fifths (40%) of Brits willing to share their bank transaction data with a new lender would do so if it provided them with product recommendations which save them money. Other motivations to share transaction data through open banking include the ability to easily compare products from different financial institutions (36%), being offered tailored incentives for switching to a new provider (34%), and a streamlined process when applying for mortgages (28%) and loans (25%).”
Contactless cards accounted for over half the 2.3bn payment chip cards shipped in 2017
Top smart payment card shipment figures 2017 released by Smart Payment Association — Smart Payment Association — “Data collected by the SPA from its members show 2.3bn payment chip cards were shipped globally in 2017… The 2017 global shipment figures also highlight the escalating popularity of ‘tap and go’ transactions, with contactless payment cards accounting for more than 50% of shipments in most regions, and over 70% in a growing number of territories.”
Gaming hardware maker Razer moves into mobile payments market
Razer Pay launches in Malaysia — Razer — “Razer Pay is the e-wallet designed for youth and millennials… Over 6,000 major retail and F&B outlets will accept Razer Pay, with participating brands such as 7-Eleven, Starbucks, Singer, Cosway, Greyhound Café, Wendy’s, Kenny Rogers, Krispy Kreme, 99 Speedmart, Tealive, Thundermatch, Sweet Hut and more… Razer Pay will roll out in other Southeast Asian countries in the coming months.”
Milan’s transit operator rolls out contactless and mobile payments across the metro network
Travel on the metro by paying with your contactless card — Azienda Trasporti Milanesi — “The service is currently available on the entire metro network and your journey must begin in a metro station. You can also travel on the surface network until the ticket expires… Look for the orange and grey ticket gate in all metro stations, the card reader is at the top.”
Starbucks to roll out 100 cashless stores in Korea
Starbucks to increase number of cashless stores in Korea — Retail News Asia — “Starbucks Coffee Korea Co said Monday it will increase the number of cashless stores to over 100 across South Korea this month amid rising use of credit cards and mobile payment systems in the tech-savvy country… Starbucks said the decision is part of its broader digital innovation drive as cash payment has been constantly declining at stores in South Korea, from 31% of the total in 2010 to 15% in 2013 and 7% last year.”
Chinese mobile payments providers begin charging fees to users
Tencent’s WeChat widens service fee for users of ‘card repay’ feature in digital wallet — South China Morning Post — “In line with international practice, there are no free financial services. WeChat previously paid the credit card repayment fee for users, going forward the new fee chargeable to customers will support sustainable development [of the service],” said a Tencent spokesman in response to a request for comment.”
Chinese consumers have now deposited $150bn with Alipay and Tencent
PBOC to raise reserve funds ratio for third-party payment firms to 100% — Caixin — “The two largest third-party payment firms, Alipay and Tenpay, combined hold nearly 1tn yuan (US$151bn) of customers’ funds, about 90% of the total reserve funds… Reserve funds are prepayments from online shoppers held temporarily by payment companies that can then earn income on the cash by depositing it in banks or even buying government bonds… The requirement means payment firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd backed Alipay and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Tenpay can no longer invest money deposited by their respective clients.”
300 German savings banks to roll out their own NFC mobile payments app at the end of July
Mobile payment: Sparkassen app to be available at the end of July — Heise Online (translation) — “A beta version is currently available in the Android Play Store. However, this only works with the accounts of selected savings banks whose employees and customers are putting the system through its paces. At the launch date at the end of July, around 300 savings banks will be there, a spokesman for the savings bank subsidiary S-Payment told Heise Online… Because the savings banks are following their own plans for mobile payment, their customers can not use their credit cards with Google Pay.”
Piraeus Bank picks Antelop as its mobile payments provider
PARTNER NEWS: Piraeus Bank, the largest card issuer in Greece, has selected Antelop Solutions as its long-term e-wallet and digital payments partner, enabling the bank to provide its customers with a large range of cutting edge mobile wallet and payments capabilities... More
Football fans use contactless for one in two transactions at World Cup stadiums
Visa data shows one fifth of purchases at 2018 Fifa World Cup use contactless technology — Visa — “Visa, the official payment services partner of Fifa, today released an analysis of foreign travellers’ spending during opening days of 2018 Fifa World Cup. The results found that in the 11 Russian host cities of the tournament, approximately one in every five (17%) purchases with Visa used contactless payment technology, including smartphones, bracelets and rings. In the stadiums themselves, the share of contactless payments was 54%, inclusive of purchases made by fans from Russia and abroad.”
Chinese university pilots face recognition for campus access control
Peking University installs facial recognition system for students and staff on campus gate — South China Morning Post — “Anyone going through the southwestern gate of prestigious Peking University can now have their face scanned by a camera instead of showing their ID card to security guards under a trial run of the system that started on Wednesday… It is not the university’s first use of the technology on campus — it has already installed about two dozen facial recognition devices outside some of its libraries, classrooms, student dormitories, gymnasiums and computer centres.”
Line Pay aims to convert 1m Japanese merchants to QR payments with free transactions for three years
Japan’s Line Pay throws down gauntlet to Alipay — Nikkei Asian Review — “Line has sought to minimize the hassle for retailers by allowing the retailer to use the service by simply downloading a free app on a smartphone… Retailers can also send messages to individual shoppers later, such as sales promotions. The service can be used free of charge for the next three years… There are also incentives for customers, offering them loyalty points valued at 3% to 5% of every purchase they make with Line Pay.”