Swedish P2P and online payments app Swish is moving into in-store payments with a pilot test of a Bluetooth box that can be added to merchants’ existing POS terminals to deliver “an NFC-like ‘tap and pay’ experience”... More
BBVA, in alliance with Uber, launches first banking product in Mexico that operates in third party app — BBVA — “For the first time we are offering a BBVA product that will ‘live’ in a third party’s platform. In other words, we are bringing the bank to our partner, who in turn is bringing us to their drivers and delivery partners, so they can take advantage of all the benefits that the bank has to offer, all with a single click.”
Hoping to boost spending, Japan tries to sell shoppers on cashless purchases — Reuters — “A scheduled increase in the sales tax to 10% from 8% in October could hurt spending. Aware of that risk, the government is betting big on mobile payments, an industry only just taking root in Japan. As soon as the tax increase kicks in, the government will offer points redeemable for future discounts to shoppers who use QR codes and other cashless payments.”
Alipay adds a beauty filter to its facial scan payment system to encourage more female users — Radii China — “The move came after Sina Weibo’s tech channel pointed to data that showed male adoption rates of facial scan payments on Alipay were higher than those for females. ‘Be honest, when you’re using the facial payment option, do you think you’re ugly?’ asked the account via a poll. After more than 40,000 people voted, the poll showed that over 60% felt the payment method made them look ugly and ‘not as pretty as when taking a normal photo’.”
Maybank aims 10,000 device acceptance for Tap2Phone — The Star Online — “The payment solution enables small businesses to accept card payments from customers via the app on their mobile phones, without the need for a point-of-sale terminal… The Tap2Phone service accepts all contactless payments for transactions of RM250 [US$60.42] and below… Tap2Phone is supported by the latest Android-based smartphones equipped with near-field communication and trusted execution environment technologies.”
Data ‘R’ Us: Alibaba, JD.com seek to lock in merchant loyalty with new services — Reuters — “One of the first firms to join an Alibaba Group Holding Ltd programme that provides years of consumer shopping history, snack food chain, Bestore Co Ltd plans to link facial recognition technology with the e-commerce giant’s account data by the year’s end. For customers opting to have their facial data in Bestore’s systems, that means shop assistants will be able to check on what food they like the moment they enter one of its stores.”
Unified cashless payment system rolled out at 500 hawker stalls across Singapore — The Straits Times — “The solution, provided by Nets, unifies payments from 23 providers, so dining customers can use different cashless payment options at a single payment terminal at a food outlet. This also saves hawkers the hassle of dealing with multiple e-payment firms. These include e-wallets like Singtel Dash and GrabPay, transport cards EZ-Link and Nets FlashPay, and credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard.”
Payments, food delivery apps launch games to woo users — Economic Times — “Payments apps and food delivery platforms are launching games to increase user base and stickiness… Paytm has found that more than 70% of its users play these games daily… In-app games, such as Zomato Cricket Cup, Swiggy Match Day Mania, Paytm Games and Tez Shots by Google Pay, are just a few examples.”
NTT Docomo celebrates Osaifu Keitai 15th anniversary — Ata Distance — “It all started today, July 1, 2004, when NTT Docomo launched the iMode FeliCa mobile wallet, called Osaifu Keitai in Japanese… To celebrate the anniversary Docomo has lined up a bunch of point campaigns for all the Osaifu Keitai payment networks: Mobile Suica, iD, QuicPay, Waon, Nanaco, Edy.”
Facebook exec explains how the new Libra currency will help the company’s core businesses — CNBC — “If we are successful at providing a wallet that allows people to store money securely and send to anyone anywhere in the world, then over time we think there will be an opportunity to provide more financial services for people — you can imagine things like credit,’ Weil said.”
Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicle owners will be able to use a new Fiat Chrysler mobile wallet to order and pay for a range of services from their vehicles “in the second half of 2019”... More
Bank of America’s 27 million mobile banking users are now able to request a new or replacement debit card via the app — and instantly receive a digital version of their new card that they can use to start making purchases straight away... More
Saudi banks trial blockchain-based identity technology at ATMs — Computer Weekly — “The Saudi Arabian trial will enable local consumers to use their faces and blockchain-based apps to withdraw money from cashpoint machines instead of PINs. The ID authentication prototype, currently under test, can communicate across banks and uses blockchain to confirm an individual’s identity without accessing the bank’s database.”
Societe Generale brings personalized credit and debit cards to Apple Pay — Societe Generale — “Societe Generale offers over 180 personalised physical cards, but this marks the first time customers will see the exact same card as they have in their wallet in Apple Pay. ‘With Apple Pay’s personalisation mirroring our cards’ personalisation, we are demonstrating continuity between our digital and our physical products,’ said Julien Claudon, head of card and digital payment.”
Visa unveils instalment payment capabilities to give shoppers simple and flexible way to pay — Visa — “Visa’s instalment capabilities are changing the game by allowing issuers to leverage an existing payment account consumers already have and are familiar with, instead of asking them to submit to a credit check, download an app or open another line of credit,” said Sam Shrauger, senior vice president, global head of issuer and consumer solutions, Visa. “We expect instalments to become a foundational method of payment at checkout for both domestic and cross-border commerce payment transactions.”
Apple Pay is now live in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. More
Customers of Swedbank and Nordea Bank in Sweden are now able to load a Mastercard onto any of a range of fashion watches offered by three local watch brands and then use it to make wearable payments at any Mastercard merchant... More
PARTNER NEWS: Visa has announced it is to buy Rambus’ payments and ticketing businesses, to “expand enhanced security benefits of tokenization beyond Visa cards to any type of transaction, including domestic card networks, account-based and real-time payments systems.” More
Apple Pay rolls out to Greece, Portugal, Slovakia on Wednesday — Apple Insider — “Following the expansion of Apple Pay into the Netherlands on 11 June, reports indicate banks in three more countries in Europe are adding support to Apple Pay at the same time in the coming week. Believed to take place on June 26, the launches will occur covering Slovakia with multiple banks, as well as Greece and Portugal.”
Opinion of the European Banking Authority on the elements of strong customer authentication under PSD2 — European Banking Authority — “In order to avoid unintended negative consequences for some payment service users after 14 September 2019, CAs [national competent authorities] may decide to work with PSPs [payment service providers] and relevant stakeholders, including consumers and merchants, to provide limited additional time to allow issuers to migrate to authentication approaches that are compliant with SCA [strong customer authentication].”
