Alibaba-backed Paytm aims to become world’s largest digital bank — Bloomberg — “Paytm Payments Bank aims to create the world’s largest digital bank with 500m accounts, envisioning an online financial services provider of everything from wealth management to credit cards and stock market trading… The bank grew out of Paytm’s digital wallet, which amassed over a hundred million customers after India took high-denomination bills — or nearly 90% of the value of cash — out of circulation last November.”
Author archive:
Black Friday figures show US consumers are moving to EMV but mobile payments usage remains low
Dip, swipe or tap? How consumers paid on Black Friday, by the numbers — Cayan — “Our study found EMV to be the most popular payment method: 73% of shoppers paid with their chip cards while 18% paid with magstripe… Only 1% of shoppers opted to pay with their phones, up from just 0.6% in 2016.”
Eurosmart: 10bn secure elements will be shipped in 2018
Digital security industry to pass the 10bn mark in 2018 for worldwide shipments of secure elements — Eurosmart — “The secure element market continues to increase in volume to reach exceptional figures worldwide, passing in 2018 the threshold of 10bn shipments. We forecast a steady growth for 2017 (+3.3%) and the market will keep growing in 2018.”
UK government unveils plans for smart ticketing on railways
Connecting people: A strategic vision for rail — Department for Transport — “Our aim for 2018 is that, by the end of the year, both ITSO and barcode tickets will be accepted for travel on almost all of the network… We also expect much of the industry to offer smart cards that can be held in digital ‘wallets’ on mobile phones… We expect in the medium-term wider use of mobile phone-based ticketing, and in the longer-term to explore options that don’t require a physical check of tickets.”
Acuity forecasts a trillion biometric transactions in the cloud by 2022
Biometrics in the cloud to authenticate more than one trillion transactions annually by 2022 — Acuity Market Intelligence — “By 2022 more than 5.5bn biometrically-enabled mobile devices will create a global platform that supports one trillion cloud-based biometric transactions annually… Acuity projects annual biometric transaction revenue will increase from US$474m in 2017 to $18bn in 2022 exceeding a 100% CAGR.”
Juniper forecasts 375m NFC ticketing users by 2022
NFC mobile ticketing users to reach 375 million users by 2022, despite a slow start — Juniper Research — “The number of mobile users adopting NFC ticketing will exceed 375 million by 2022, up from an estimated 122 million in 2017. While there is rapid growth in NFC ticketing in European markets, Juniper has scaled back NFC ticketing adoption in many other markets, such as the US, India, and Africa, due to the lack of available services and infrastructure.”
Australia’s Bendigo Bank adds Apple Pay
Bendigo Bank announces Apple Pay support in Australia — MacRumours — “Account holders in Australia can now use Apple Pay with their Bendigo Blue Bank cards… Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was one of several banks that lost a fight in March to gain access to the NFC chip used in iPhones so they could offer their own integrated digital wallets to customers.”
ECB survey finds cash still dominates payments in the euro zone
Euro zone consumers still addicted to cash when they buy — Reuters — “Cash still dominates consumer payments in the euro zone, even as many Western economies are rapidly moving towards electronic payments, a survey published by the European Central Bank showed on Friday… The figures indicate that the euro zone is one of the slowest among big Western economies in giving up cash, trailing countries like the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.”
Bangkok street food vendors switch to mobile payments
Bangkok’s street food vendors are embracing mobile payments — Travel Wire Asia — “Street food vendors in Bangkok are embracing the digital revolution by offering e-payment methods for cashless transactions via smartphones… Vendors in the capital Bangkok are offering cashless payments after the Bank of Thailand (BOT) gave the green light for five banks to implement electronic payment systems using Quick Response (QR) barcodes.”
Starling Bank integrates third party rewards into open banking platform
Starling and Yoyo Wallet: Enabling loyalty with open banking — Starling Bank — “With any other bank, in order to collect loyalty points you would have to manually pay using the Yoyo app using a QR code scanner. However we have created an experience together with Yoyo, using our APIs, which means you don’t need to use any separate apps to pay. You just need to securely connect your Yoyo account to your Starling account from the Yoyo app and allow Yoyo to view your Starling account transactions. You will then be able to collect loyalty points whenever you use your Starling card, Apple Pay or Fitbit Pay at a merchant partner.”
Sberbank to build ID platform that supports face, voice and retina biometrics
Sberbank and VisionLabs to build biometric identification platform — Sberbank — “Sberbank announces the signing of a deal to acquire a block of shares in VisionLabs, a global leader of the facial recognition market… The investment in VisionLabs is a major first step by Sberbank to build a biometrics platform of Sberbank’s ecosystem, involving face, voice and retina identification, as well as other biometric factors… This will allow the creation of a unique biometric identifier that will let Sberbank clients access any service.”
Messaging app Line reports 40m mobile payment users
A Line Pay milestone: 10 million transactions monthly — Line — “Line announced today that Line Pay, a ‘smartphone wallet’ service for the Line platform, has reached 10m global transactions per month as of the end of October 2017. Along with that major milestone, Line Pay has also achieved ¥55bn (approximately US$482m) worth of transactions monthly — or some ¥300bn cumulative from Jan 1 to Nov 2, 2017… Line Pay has also reached 40 million global registered users.”
Hong Kong transit operator to test WeChat Pay and Alipay
Contactless competition: WeChat Pay is coming to Hong Kong’s MTR, and Alipay may not be far behind — South China Morning Post — “Commuters on Hong Kong’s MTR will soon be given a new quick payment option as the railway operator has partnered with the mainland’s second-largest mobile payment provider WeChat Pay, it announced on Thursday. WeChat Pay’s main rival, Alipay, said it would follow suit in the ‘near future’… While the initiative arguably benefits mainland tourists more than Hongkongers, it breaks a 20-year stronghold by the contactless Octopus card on how train fares can be paid for.”
UK government expands open banking project to credit cards, e-wallets and prepaid cards
UK’s Open Banking project expanded — Open Banking — “The OBIE [Open Banking Implementation Entity] has now been asked by the CMA9 and Her Majesty’s Treasury to create open banking standards for all payment account types covered by the European Union’s second Payments Services Directive (PSD2). This means customers using credit cards, e-wallets and prepaid cards will also be able to take advantage of open banking services.”
UK consumers want to set their own contactless transaction limit
Research – Shoppers keen to set their own contactless card limit — Paymentsense — “Nearly half (48%) of shoppers would like to customise their contactless card transaction limit, or would like to the ability to do so, according to new research from Paymentsense. For those shoppers wanting a customisable limit, just over a quarter (26%) would immediately raise it, but nearly one in five people (18%) would lower it.”
Swiss consumers to get single digital ID
Just one password? Swiss groups plan single online identity — Reuters — “Swiss consumers will be able to use a single digital identity to buy online products and services under a project unveiled on Tuesday by nine big companies. The aim is to let people use just one login profile to order in shops, buy train tickets or do banking transactions, according to the consortium… It includes UBS, Credit Suisse, Swisscom, Swiss Post, stock exchange operator Six, Raiffeisen, Swiss Railways, Zuercher Kantonalbank and insurer Mobiliar.”
Boston to introduce NFC and contactless transit ticketing
Paying for a ride on the T could look very different in three years — Metro — “The MBTA on Monday moved towards overhauling its fare collection system to eliminate cash from its trolleys and buses and to give riders the ability to pay onboard with a credit card or smartphone… Riders will no longer be able to pay with cash on buses or the Green Line, eliminating transactions that cause delays and frustration for other passengers.”
UK challenger bank Monzo lets account holders save funds in flexible pots
Launching Pots! — Monzo — “To help you save for specific things, we’ve created Pots: a simple way to set money aside within your main Monzo account. Whether you’re planning a trip around the world, looking to buy a new laptop, or simply saving for a rainy day, pots can help you work towards your modest goals and grandest plans… Creating a pot takes seconds, simply give it a name and add an image… You can set up multiple pots for different purposes, and see an overview of all your money under the Account tab in your app.”
Samsung Pay goes live in Mexico
Samsung Pay officially launches in Mexico — Neowin — “Samsung’s mobile payment solution, Samsung Pay, is set to make its debut today (Nov 21st) in Mexico. Customers interested in using the service have to register first; after approval, users can add their credit/debit card and start using it to pay for products using their mobile devices.”
Issuers to adopt common QR code for payments in Singapore from 2018
Common Singapore QR code to be rolled out next year — Channel News Asia — “A common Singapore Quick Response Code (SG QR) will be rolled out and adopted by payment service providers in Singapore next year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Monday… Payment services providers in Singapore have also committed to update their mobile payment apps for consumers to read the SG QR. The newly announced NETS QR will be part of SG QR as will other payment service providers such as Singtel Dash QR.”