Discover and PayPal collaboration gives cardmembers new way to redeem rewards — Discover Financial Services — “Discover cardmembers can now use their Cashback Bonus or Miles to pay for purchases at millions of online stores through PayPal… Once cardmembers link their Discover card with PayPal, they can instantly redeem any amount of their rewards on eligible purchases at checkout.”
- Malaysian government offers cash incentives to mobile payments users
- Indonesia begins EMV QR mobile payments rollout
- Visa to acquire Plaid in $5.3bn move into open banking and integrated payments
- Visa to let merchants accept contactless payments on Android NFC phones
- Samsung Pay adds ‘do not sell my data’ option for US users
Ant Financial to create $1bn fund for Asian payments and financial services startups
Ant Financial to raise a $1bn startup investment fund — Bloomberg — “Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial is planning to raise about US$1bn for a fund that will invest in startups from Southeast Asia to India and help strengthen its foothold in fast-growing mobile internet markets, a person familiar with the matter said. The internet finance company is looking to back more startups in those regions that focus on payments and online finance.”
BMW lets drivers order meals from their cars
Olo and pilot brands experiment with in-car ordering trial — Olo — “The online ordering experience is designed for easy pre-configuration of orders, making saved favorites and repeat orders easy. Trial participants can order and pay with the push of a button and follow driving directions to pick up their orders… Nekter Juice Bar and Portillo’s Hot Dogs are the first live brands to participate in the in-car ordering pilot.”
Ghana to launch national QR mobile payments service in December
Govt to launch universal QR code to make Ghana cashless society — GhanaWeb — “The government will in December 2019 launch a Universal QR code in a bid to make Ghana a cashless society, vice president Dr Mahammudu Bawumia has announced. He says with the code which leverages existing technologies, traders and businesses will be able to receive payments without a point of sale device.”
Ahold Delhaize pilots unmanned store in the US
Netherlands-based supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize has opened Lunchbox, a low-cost cashierless store that lets consumers “shop a small format store in seconds by scanning in, shopping and walking out”... More
Central bank reports continued growth in Chinese mobile payments market
China mobile payments maintain rapid growth in Q3 — Xinhua — “Banks in the country processed 27.27bn mobile payment transactions in the period, up 61.05% year on year, said the People’s Bank of China in a report. The value of these transactions increased by 31.52% from the same period of last year to 86.11tn yuan (about US$12.2tn). Meanwhile, online payment transactions by the non-banking institutions were valued at 63.99tn yuan in Q3, up 23.04% year on year.”
Cornèr Banca issues biometric payment card
Swiss bank Cornèr Banca has launched a biometric payment card that lets customers make contactless payments without being restricted to the usual CHF40 (US$40) contactless transaction limit... More
Apple Pay goes live in Belarus
Apple Pay Belarus rollout begins today with BPS-Sberbank — 9to5Mac — “The Apple Pay Belarus rollout began today with the announcement of support by BPS-Sberbank… The bank says that both Visa and Mastercard are supported.”
Survey finds US consumers would switch to mobile payments to save money
Ibotta Holiday Shopping and Mobile Payments Study — Ibotta — “Of the 61% of survey respondents who have used their phones to make an in-store purchase, 63% are motivated by payment methods that offer rewards, rebates and cash back, while 55% would be inclined to adopt mobile payments if the solutions saved them money… More than half (52%) of these shoppers say they feel overwhelmed by the large number of mobile payments and rewards programmes.”
ABN Amro to shutter Android wallet app
Wallet app to be discontinued — ABN Amro — “Why will the Wallet app be discontinued? As it stands, the Wallet app is being used by less than 5% of our clients with an Android smartphone. That’s why we’re discontinuing the app.”
Bank of America adds face recognition to mobile banking app
Bank of America updates Android app to support Pixel 4 face unlock — 9to5Google — “Release notes for version 8.3.11 of Bank of America for Android prominently mentions the ‘Ability to sign in with face unlock (Pixel 4 only)’… After updating, you’ll need to enter your password one more time, and select the ‘Set up biometric sign-in’ checkbox. After completing BofA’s process, Pixel 4 face unlock will work on all subsequent sign-in attempts.”
Google details its plan to offer free US bank accounts via Google Pay
US consumers will be able to start signing up for checking accounts from within Google Pay in mid-2020, Google has told the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). More
Germany passes law forcing Apple to open up Apple Pay
Apple warns of risks from German law to open up mobile payments — Reuters — “A German parliamentary committee unexpectedly voted in a late-night session on Wednesday to force the tech giant to open up Apple Pay to rival providers in Germany… The legislation, which did not name Apple specifically, will force operators of electronic money infrastructure to offer access to rivals for a reasonable fee.”
Samsung adds Promoted Cards to Samsung Pay in Australia
Samsung has teamed up with financial services comparison site Finder to add a credit card shopping feature to Samsung Pay, “enabling everyday Australians to discover compelling credit card offers from participating financial institutions” from within its mobile wallet... More
Google to offer bank accounts?
Google is to begin offering checking accounts to consumers from next year, in partnership with banks and credit unions, according to The Wall Street Journal... More
Nestlé pilots face recognition payments in Barcelona
Food giant Nestlé is testing face recognition payments at Nestlé Market, a concept supermarket in Barcelona, Spain, that stocks the company’s established brands as well as the latest additions to its range... More
Facebook Pay launches on Facebook and Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp to follow
Facebook has unveiled a unified payments service designed to provide “a convenient, secure and consistent payment experience across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp”... More
EU banks plot pan-European rival to Visa and Mastercard
A group of 20 European banks are working together on “setting up a pan-European payment system to challenge the dominance of Visa, Mastercard and technology companies such as Google and PayPal,” French news agency AFP reports... More
EU antitrust chief examines Apple Pay
Apple Pay “has attracted regulatory scrutiny” from the EU’s Competition Commission due to “several expressions of concern about the US tech giant’s mobile payment service,” Reuters reports... More
DressCode ships contactless payments shirts
UK-based DressCode has begun offering a range of tailored men’s shirts that include a contactless payments module incorporated into the sleeve cuff... More
