Singapore’s POSB bank has provided 6,000 primary school children with smartwatches equipped with fitness tracking and mobile payments capabilities in a bid to “teach students how to save and spend wisely by helping them track their savings and spending habits digitally.”... More
Convenience store Cheers opens first unmanned, cashless outlet — The Straits Times — “The Cheers outlet at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) looks like its normal store — with shelves and fridges stocked with food and drinks — except there is no cashier or assistant in sight… Customers use a QR code found on the free ‘Shop It Yourself’ mobile app to gain entry to the store… The store also features a unified self-checkout system that accepts various cashless payment modes, eliminating the need for multiple payment terminals.”
Citi Pay launches in the US — Citi — “Online and in-app purchases will be enabled through Citi’s integration of Masterpass… For Android users, the digital wallet also enables Citi cardholders to make in-store purchases by tapping their Android mobile devices at any NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminal… In 2016, Citi Pay launched in Singapore, Australia and Mexico with tap and pay capabilities.”
Singapore banks to allow cellphone numbers for transfers — Nikkei Asian Review — “Customers will be able to send money instantly by supplying recipients’ mobile numbers linked to their bank accounts… The ABS aims to expand the service to include transactions between retail customers and businesses next year.”
Singapore’s postal service provider SingPost is rolling out 50,000 NFC tags to delivery and collection points across the island and is to equip 1,000 postmen with NFC smartphones to “raise postal service quality and improve operational efficiency”... More
UnionPay mobile QuickPass QR code payment landed in Hong Kong and Singapore — UnionPay International — “After UnionPay mobile QuickPass QR code payment was launched on May 27 in mainland China, UnionPay International announced today to extend this service to Hong Kong and Singapore… The newly launched QR code payment is a significant supplement to NFC payment.”
Android Pay has launched in Taiwan, taking the mobile payment service to a total of 13 markets following its debut in Canada earlier this week... More
Android Pay has begun rolling out across Canada with support for eligible Visa and Mastercard credit cards from BMO Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Banque Nationale, Scotiabank, Desjardins, President’s Choice Financial, ATB Financial and Canadian Tire Financial Services as well as prepaid Scotiabank and Desjardins cards... More
Samsung Pay has gone live in Hong Kong with support from Mastercard, Visa and American Express and banks including Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citibank, DahSing Bank, DBS and Standard Chartered. The launch takes the mobile payment service to a total of 17 markets globally and follows its debut in Taiwan earlier this month. More
Google has launched its Android Pay mobile payments service in Russia, allowing those with eligible Visa and Mastercard credit or debit cards issued from 15 supporting banks and financial institutions to make in-store and in-app payments using their compatible mobile devices. More
Tattoo artists across the US, Australia, Austria and Singapore have signed up to start offering their customers augmented reality tattoos that get inked onto the skin and play audio clips when scanned by a smartphone using a mobile app that is due to be released in June 2017. More
Android Pay will be rolled out to a number of additional countries including Brazil, Canada, Russia, Spain and Taiwan over the “coming months”, Google’s director of engineering for payment products Varouj Chitilian has revealed... More
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Italy with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by Carrefour Banca and UniCredit, with American Express, CartaBCC, ExpendiaSmart, Fineco Bank, Hype, Banca Mediolanum, N26 and Widiba listed as “coming this year”. The launch takes Apple Pay to a total of 16 markets globally. More
Samsung Pay has expanded to four additional markets with official launches in Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and early access launches in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The service has also been made available on Samsung’s Gear S3 smartwatch in Russia, Sweden and the UAE in addition to its availability on the Gear S3 in the US, Singapore and Australia. More
Customers of Singapore’s DBS Bank and OCBC Bank will soon be able to make in-store mobile payments by scanning a QR code at any point-of-sale terminal belonging to the country’s electronic payments network Nets. More
PARTNER NEWS: Antelop Solutions and Rambus will be exhibiting at the Seamless Asia expo in Singapore from 19 to 20 April... More
Android Pay has been integrated into the mobile banking apps of “several banks around the world” so that users can add their cards to the mobile payment service with “just the click of a button”. The feature will also work for those who have not installed Android Pay on their handset, giving them access to “the capabilities of Android Pay” without having to leave their mobile banking app. More
Samsung Pay has launched an early access program in the UAE with support from Mastercard and Visa and a number of banks including Mashreq Bank, ADCB, Rakbank, Emirates NBD, Standard Chartered and NBAD... More
Samsung Pay will be available for online payments at “hundreds of thousands of merchants around the world” where Visa Checkout is accepted later this year. The news follows an announcement by the company’s Justin Denison at Samsung Unpacked 2017 last week that the service was heading online through “strategic partnerships”. More
Apple Pay has launched in Taiwan with support from Mastercard, Visa and seven banks including Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Cathay United Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, CTBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan. More