JD.com, electric car maker Nio partner on ecommerce delivery-to-vehicle service — Marbridge Daily — “JD.com’s self-operated logistics service JD Logistics and Nio are in the process of connecting their systems so that consumers will be able to select ‘delivery to vehicle’ when purchasing goods through JD.com. Using the vehicle’s location, an authorized delivery agent will deliver the package within a given time window to the recipient’s trunk, which will be accessed via keyless entry.”
Author archive:
Dutch supermarket chain uses NFC shelf edge labels to let customers self-checkout and pay
Albert Heijn testing ‘tap to go’ technology — Ahold Delhaize — “The technology, which is being piloted at the AH To Go store at Ahold Delhaize’s support office in Zaandam, provides customers with a fast, efficient shopping experience by using a card or, in the near future, a smartphone. After registering via an app, customers can select an item, tap an electronic shelf card, and go. Within 10 minutes, the money will be automatically transferred from their bank account.”
Burger bar to let customers order and pay by face in California
Cali Group demonstrates face based loyalty program pilot in its restaurant operating division — Cali Group — “The kiosks use NEC’s NeoFace facial recognition software to identify registered customers and pull up their loyalty accounts and order preferences… Also in 2018, the platform will be used to allow customers to pay using their faces.”
GM drivers can now order and pay for goods and services from their car
GM lets customers order their morning coffee with their car — General Motors — “Drivers can now order and pay for their favourite coffee — and much more — on the way to work with a simple tap on the dash… Marketplace gives drivers of eligible Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles the opportunity to more safely interact with a growing number of their favourite brands in retail, fuel, hospitality, food, hotel and transportation through the in-vehicle touchscreen. Marketplace also features a “Shop” section dedicated to offers specific to GM vehicles.”
Chinese ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing enters the payments market
Didi Chuxing picks up a payment license — Caixin — “Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, is speeding into the payments business, acquiring a much-coveted license to join the red-hot internet financial-services arena. Didi has agreed to fully acquire third-party payment-services provider 19Pay for 300m yuan (US$45.4m)… Last year, the PBOC said it would control the number of third-party payment licenses issued, making it increasingly difficult to get a license.”
Estonia announces plans to introduce digital Estcoins
We’re planning to launch estcoin — and that’s only the start — e-Residency — “We have identified not one, but three variants of estcoin that would benefit both our digital nation and those who use them. All three of these models of estcoin are viable and can be introduced (even without alarming the European Central Bank).”
China’s JD.com to open hundreds of unmanned convenience stores
Chinese online retailer JD plans to open hundreds of unmanned shops, ahead of Amazon — The Telegraph — “Chinese online retailer JD.com has beaten Amazon to the next stage of the shopping revolution by announcing plans to open hundreds of ‘unmanned’ convenience stores. The shops have already been trialled with JD’s 10,000 employees at headquarters in Beijing and use facial and recognition technology to register payment and product identity, meaning that customers do not have to wait in a checkout line.”
Chase offers 5% cash back on payments made with mobile wallets
Chase Freedom adds new mobile wallets category to 5% cash back rewards for first quarter — Chase — “Cardmembers can earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in quarterly categories during the first three months of 2018, including purchases they make with the card in four mobile wallets. For the first time ever, cardmembers will earn the extra rewards through this new offer when using the following mobile wallets: Chase Pay, Apple Pay, Android Pay, Samsung Pay.”
Safaricom adds NFC payments to M-Pesa mobile money service
Christmas comes early for Safaricom’s mobile app as it receives the much awaited “big” update — Android Kenya — “Safaricom’s mobile application, dubbed mySafaricom, is receiving a huge update… Smartphones with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology should be in a position to transact using M-Pesa 1 Tap, the latest upgrade to M-Pesa that lets users pay for items at retail outlets and elsewhere via a single ‘tap’, much like Android Pay and Samsung Pay are used for in the markets where they are available.”
Calling all payment, card and secure credential technology suppliers
2018 is set to be a pivotal year for banks, card issuers and secure credential providers around the world as new market entrants, regulatory environments and technical innovations place increasing pressure on traditional banking and card issuing business models... More
US survey finds growing support for biometrics as a replacement for passwords and PINs
Visa survey reveals consumers are ready to say goodbye to passwords — Visa — “Seventy percent of respondents find biometrics easier than passwords and 61% consider it faster. Fewer than a third of consumers use unique passwords for each of their accounts. Fifty percent of consumers responded that the top benefit of using biometrics is eliminating the need to remember multiple passwords or PINs, followed by 46% who said that biometrics is more secure than passwords or PINs for verifying identity.”
Samsung and LG to launch low-end smartphones that support their mobile payment services
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics to introduce their new low-end smartphones at CES 2018 — ETNews — “Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are going to introduce their new low-end smartphones at CES 2018… Galaxy A8 series are installed with Samsung Pay and fingerprint recognition…. K series are installed with a mobile payment system called LG Pay that is applied to premium smartphones such as G and V series. This is the first time when LG Electronics’ low-end lineup is applied with LG Pay.”
Gemalto agrees to be acquired by Thales
Thales and Gemalto create a world leader in digital security — Gemalto — “Thales and Gemalto announce today that they have reached an agreement on a recommended all-cash offer for all issued and outstanding ordinary shares of Gemalto… The Gemalto board has decided to unanimously support the transaction and recommend that Gemalto’s shareholders accept the offer and vote in favour of the resolutions relating to the offer at the upcoming extraordinary general meeting.”
Australia’s central bank explores the issue of electronic banknotes
An eAUD? — Reserve Bank of Australia — “An electronic form of banknotes could coexist with the electronic payment systems operated by the banks, although the case for this new form of money is not yet established… The issuing authority could issue electronic currency in the form of files or ‘tokens’. These tokens could be stored in digital wallets, provided by financial institutions and others. These tokens could then be used for payments in a similar way that physical banknotes are used today.”
Gemalto rejects Atos’ bid to acquire it for €4.3bn
Gemalto rejects unsolicited and conditional proposal by Atos — Gemalto — “Gemalto is well advanced in its transition from traditional banking and telecom smartcard markets to fast-growing government, enterprise and cybersecurity and machine-to-machine markets… The board of directors considers that the proposal significantly undervalues the company.”
Nordea switches on its open banking platform
Nordea Open Banking is live — Nordea — “Together with fintechs and other external developers we aim to create new products and services for our customers at a faster pace than we could do by ourselves, while keeping customers firmly in control of what data they wish to expose and which products they wish to use, says Claus Richter, head of cash management solutions at Nordea.”
Ford gets patent for smartphone key case
Ford patents a smartphone case that turns your phone into a key fob — Ford Authority — “Ford Motor Company was just this week granted a patent on a new type of smartphone case with all the necessary integrated electronics to allow the phone to function as a vehicle key fob… The device would communicate with the encased smartphone through the Bluetooth or NFC (Near Field Communication) protocols, the patent says, giving the user access to a virtual keyfob on the smartphone’s screen.”
Samsung Pay Rewards expands to Spain
Samsung launches Samsung Rewards, a new loyalty program of Samsung Pay — Samsung Spain (translation) — “Users who make purchases with Samsung Pay will receive Samsung Rewards points each time they make a purchase. The accumulated points will be valid for one year and can be exchanged directly for exclusive gifts.”
Apple Pay about to go live in Brazil?
Bank documentation hints at Brazilian Apple Pay launch — AppleInsider — “Documentation seen by Itau Unibanco customers on Monday suggest Apple is on the verge of launching Apple Pay in Brazil, which was first rumored to gain access to the mobile payments service nearly two years ago.”
Brazil to introduce multifunction driver’s licenses that can be read with an NFC phone
New Brazilian driving licence adopts Cipurse specification from OSPT Alliance — OSPT Alliance — “The technology on the new card has many benefits including allowing law enforcement officers to read the data on the card via an NFC smartphone app, in any location, and quickly coordinate with other agencies across related systems. Additionally, banks can use fingerprint authentication to grant access to services and credit, and local public transportation solutions can also be implemented on the card.”