Google pay app Tez to add ‘tap n pay’ option — The Times of India — “Users of Google’s Tez will soon be able to load their cards and enable ‘tap and pay’ in the payments app. The internet giant also plans to make Tez payments available for other Google products as well, which means that users in future will be able to make payments through email and see shops accepting Tez on Google Maps.”
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Insurance giant Allianz to offer mobile payments service with built-in cover for purchases
Allianz and Visa launch mobile payment and loyalty app — Allianz — “The mobile payment and loyalty app is the first of its kind in the insurance industry and enables customers to make fast, safe and easy payments with their mobile device online and in stores… Allianz Prime users also benefit from an attractive loyalty program, a smart spend tracker to simplify money management as well as Allianz Partners’ Digital Payments Protection… The Allianz Digital Payments Protection provides coverage against fraud, safeguards and supports customers in case of defective or damaged online purchases and provides financial compensation in case of a loss.”
US carriers set out joint mobile authentication platform plans
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon unveil next-generation mobile authentication platform details — AT&T — “This highly secure solution will deliver a cryptographically verified phone number and profile data for users of authorized applications with their consent. Authentication security is strengthened by processing unique attributes such as a network verified mobile number, IP address, SIM card attributes, phone number tenure, phone account type and more. In addition, advanced analytics and machine learning capabilities will be used to help assess risk and protect customers. Registered developers will be able to submit applications through a system using private and permissioned blockchain technology to help ensure application integrity.”
Chinese banks report 28% increase in mobile payment volumes
Chinese banks see surging mobile payments in 2017 — Xinhua — “Chinese banks saw a surge in mobile payments last year, official data showed Monday. Banking institutions handled 203tn yuan (US$32tn) in mobile payments in 2017, up 28.8%, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).”
GSMA: 690m people now use mobile money services
Launch of the 2017 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money — GSMA — “The mobile money industry is now processing a billion dollars a day and generating direct revenues of over US$2.4bn. With 690 million registered accounts worldwide, mobile money has evolved into the leading payment platform for the digital economy in many emerging markets.”
Acer adds donations and discounts to prayer beads
Buddhists go high-tech: Acer to launch smart prayer beads — EJ Insight — “The smart product looks just like traditional Buddhist prayer beads except that one of the beads has an embedded chip which can connect with the user’s smartphone and show the number of times a mantra is recited on the mobile app…. The smart Buddhist beads also come with fintech functions for electronic payments, facilitating donations and offering discounts at certain shops and restaurants in the Buddhist community.”
KBC adds third-party services to its mobile banking app
KBC first to incorporate non-banking apps in mobile app — KBC Group — “Starting this summer, customers can use their mobile banking app directly to start a car parking session and pay via the 4411 parking service; check the balance on their meal and eco vouchers (Monizze card) and monitor payments made using the card… In the future, as well, we’ll be continuing to actively seek out partners that can help enhance our banking apps and applications and help increase added value for our customers.”
PayPal patents faster cryptocurrency payments system
Expedited virtual currency transaction system — USPTO — “The systems and methods of the present disclosure practically eliminate the amount of time the payee must wait to be sure they will receive a virtual currency payment in a virtual currency transaction by transferring to the payee private keys that are included in virtual currency wallets that are associated with predefined amounts of virtual currency that equal a payment amount identified in the virtual currency transaction.”
Study finds consumers are losing interest in digital-only banks
Banking sector continues to evolve as digital-only banks are losing appeal globally — RFi Group — “While consumers showed substantial interests in digital-only banks in previous studies, global appetite for digital-only providers fell from 74% in H1 last year to 63% in H2, and appetite for digital-only main bank has also dropped from 50% to 44%… The findings suggest that traditional banks which continue to ‘up their game’ in engaging consumers digitally will likely be the ones to benefit in the near future.”
NXP puts eSIM, secure element and NFC on a single chip
NXP ushers in new era of eSIM-enabled devices for 5G and IoT with industry’s first single NFC and secure element monolithic chip — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — “The new NXP SN100U is the world’s first single-die chipset featuring an embedded secure element (SE), near field communications (NFC), and eSIM for added advanced functionality, cellular connectivity, and security. The company also introduced the SU070 standalone eSIM solution, which offers the industry’s smallest footprint and is ideal for smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other IoT devices that require cellular connectivity with low power consumption.”
Mastercard lets small businesses sign up for mobile payments via Facebook Messenger
Mastercard uses Facebook Messenger to help small businesses go digital — Mastercard — “To get started, businesses can send a request to the bot to enable QR payments, receive approval from the bank, set up an account and start accepting digital payments in a fast, simple and secure manner. Once the account setup process is complete, business owners can print and display the QR code in their stores or save the code on their phones… This Messenger experience will launch in Nigeria”
Japan’s major banks to launch QR mobile payments platform
Japanese megabanks team up on mobile payments — Nikkei Asian Review — “Japan’s three megabanks are working together to standardize a smartphone payment system using QR codes… The three banks are also looking at establishing a jointly financed company to oversee the system. Other large banks and smaller regional banks will be invited to join.”
Samsung includes multi-biometric support in Galaxy S9 and S9+
Built for the way we communicate today: Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ — Samsung — “The Galaxy S9 and S9+ support three different biometric authentication options — iris, fingerprint, and facial recognition — so users can choose the way they want to protect their device and applications. The devices feature Intelligent Scan, a new verification that intelligently uses the collective strength of iris scanning and facial recognition technology to quickly and conveniently unlock a user’s phone in various situations. The Galaxy S9 and S9+ also introduce Dedicated Fingerprint, giving users the option to use a different fingerprint to access Secure Folder than the one used to unlock the phone.”
Amazon plots move into mobile payments and financial services
Are you ready for an Amazon-branded checking account? — Wall Street Journal — “Amazon.com Inc is in talks with big banks including JPMorgan Chase about building a checking-account-like product the e-commerce giant could offer its customers, according to people familiar with the matter… Converting its shoppers into financial account holders could also aid Amazon as it ramps up its efforts in payments… The company is now trying to bring Amazon Pay to brick-and-mortar stores, according to people familiar with those plans. It is likely to begin with Whole Foods, which Amazon bought last year for roughly US$13.5bn.”
Mobile payments reach ‘tipping point’ in the UK
Tipping point for ‘tap and go’ as mobile payments top £975 million — Worldpay — “The number of in-store contactless transactions made via a mobile device totalled 126m last year, with the amount spent topping £975m (US$1.3bn). This marks a 328% year-on-year rise in in-store mobile spending… Accounting for 59% of all in-store mobile transactions, the supermarket sector has been an important driver in the uptake of digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, as time-poor shoppers grab groceries on the go. Pubs, bars and restaurants make up a further 12.5% of the total spend.”
Total to roll out mobile payments at the pump across Europe
Total launches Total eWallet, an innovative service station payment service — Worldline — “Customers will be able to select the right fuel through their smartphone, unlock the pump to help themselves, fill up automatically and securely, choose their payment method: Total card, bank card, and later on third-party wallets such as Apple Pay. All of which without systematically needing to enter the shop or use a conventional automatic pump.”
Barclaycard tests on-table ‘totems’ that let customers check themselves out of a restaurant
Dining on demand: Barclaycard launches first ‘Dine & Dash’ restaurant — Barclaycard — “Barclaycard has developed ‘Dine & Dash’, a new solution enabling diners to simply walk out after eating — bypassing the traditional bill-paying process — which will be unveiled with a consumer trial at high-street chain Prezzo. The launch comes in response to 38% of diners who want to avoid waiting for the bill and 67% of restaurant owners who are in favour of an ‘invisibill’ way to pay to improve service and customer satisfaction.”
Android P to include native support for iris verification?
Native support for iris scanners is finally coming to Android — XDA Developers — “The inclusion of a HAL interface will standardize how the Android framework will communicate with iris scanners… The inclusion of the base iris feature in Android will allow for apps to detect if the device has an iris scanner in place… The inclusion of the iris framework is what will actually allow for third-party apps to utilize the iris scanner for authentication.”
One in ten young US adults have used Apple Pay to make an in-store payment
Mobile payments survey: Apple Pay leads Google Pay in usage and interest among Millennials and GenZ in 2018 — Dealspotr — “In-store, a surprising 11% of Millennials and 10% of GenZers have used Apple Pay to pay for items in the checkout line. Apple Pay (10%) was significantly more popular than rival payment platforms such as Google’s Android Pay (4%) and Samsung’s Samsung Pay (2%)… 15% of Millennials and 15% of Generation Z have used Apple Pay to pay when shopping online (vs 9% and 9% for Google Pay).”
Google Pay goes live in Slovakia
Slovakia becomes first to use Google Pay — The Slovak Spectator — “Google is launching its new application, Google Pay, in Slovakia, making it the first country ever to introduce the revamped service… Google Pay is available as of February 28 to clients of Slovenská Sporiteľňa, mBank, Poštová Banka and J&T Banka. Soon, clients of 365.bank will also join.”