“Much of the conversation the past couple of days has been misinformed about the product MCX is developing, so we’d like to set the record straight,” the retailer-owned consortium says in a detailed blog post outlining its position and plans for its CurrentC mobile wallet that has been published in response to criticism of the decision taken by member merchants CVS and Rite Aid to pull support for NFC payments... More
- Apple Pay users in the US to get buy now pay later option with iOS 16
- BIS reports on CBDCs in emerging markets
- Moroccan bank launches biometric payment card
- US digital bank introduces contactless payments rings
- Riksbank completes digital currency payments pilot
McDonald’s adopts Softcard
McDonald’s 14,000 restaurants and drive-thru locations across the US have begun accepting Android NFC mobile payments following a successful pilot program with carrier joint venture Softcard that began in 2013... More
A million consumers sign up for Apple Pay in first 72 hours
Apple Pay saw more than one million card activations within 72 hours of launch and is already the leading NFC payments player in the US, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed during the Wall Street Journal’s WSJDLive event. Cook also outlined future growth plans for the service, including a potential partnership with Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba. More
NRF defends retailers’ decision to block NFC payments
“Merchants large and small make business decisions every single day based upon what makes the best sense for the business, their associates and most importantly, their customers,” says Mallory Duncan, senior vice president of the US’s National Retail Federation, in a statement issued in the wake of the decision taken by CVS and Rite Aid to stop accepting Apple Pay and other NFC payments. More
US payments body hits out at Rite Aid and CVS
“The decision by CVS and Rite Aid to block mobile payments services like Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Softcard is anti-consumer and anti-competitive,” says US-based trade body the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), following the MCX consortium members’ decision to stop accepting NFC payments. More
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MCX retailers turn off NFC payments
US pharmacy chains Rite Aid and CVS, both members of the MCX retailer-owned consortium which is due to launch its CurrentC mobile payment service in 2015, have stopped accepting NFC payments in the wake of the launch of Apple Pay. More
SIA offers Europeans instant P2P payments with Jiffy
Payment processor SIA has launched a peer-to-peer payments service that lets users send and receive money in real-time with their smartphone. Based on the Sepa Credit Transfer scheme, Jiffy is available to all banks operating in the Single Euro Payments Area, opening it up to a potential 400 million consumers. More
Ecocash tests NFC payments in Zimbabwe
Mobile network Econet’s payment service Ecocash is piloting NFC payments in Zimbabwe with cards that let users pay by tapping against a custom merchant device, TechZim reports... More
Alipay demos biometrics for in-store payments
Chinese online payments giant Alipay demonstrated Alipay Touch, a fingerprint biometric system for its mobile wallet app, at a conference in Beijing earlier this month... More
Survey finds US consumers willing to switch platforms to get Apple Pay
Almost half (45%) of US smartphone owners with non-iOS devices would be willing to switch to an iOS device in order to gain access to Apple Pay, a study from market research firm Lab42 has revealed. More
Aston Club reaches 22,000 users
Australian mobile payment startup Aston Club has revealed it has signed up more than 22,000 users since its launch last year and is now being accepted in over 260 hospitality venues across the country... More
Total and BKM Express launch in-car mobile payments
Oil and gas company Total is to begin accepting mobile payments through a partnership with card payment system operator BKM at its petrol stations across Turkey that will let Club Total members make a payment without having to leave their car. More
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TCH plans real time payments
The Clearing House (TCH) and its member banks are planning to build a real-time payment system in the US that will enable consumers and businesses to send and receive immediate payments directly from their accounts... More
SimplyTapp launches open source tokenization project
A new open source software project designed to help banks offer tokenized card payments has been launched by HCE specialist SimplyTapp. “We feel the accessibility and control of current offerings are pretty restrictive and there is a need for a more open and transparent approach,” CEO Doug Yeager told NFC World. “It’s kind of like the referee has decided to play in the game in some cases.” More
Discover CEO outlines plan to join Apple Pay
Discover CEO David Nelms has spoken out about his expectation that the company will eventually participate in Apple Pay, explaining that the company is “actively working to be included over time.” More
Apple Pay to launch in Korea?
Apple is eyeing up the possibility of launching Apple Pay in Korea, Korea Bizwire reports... More
Amazon Rewards to join Apple Pay
Amazon has confirmed to TechCrunch that its Rewards Visa Card, powered by Chase, is to support Apple Pay in the future and the company is already working on making this happen... More
Apple Pay glitch charges customers twice
Some Apple Pay users have been charged twice for purchases made using a Bank of America card, CNN’s Samuel Burke discovered after using the service to make purchases at Whole Foods and Duane Reade earlier this week. More
Bell ID offers tokenization management software
PARTNER NEWS: Payment credential management specialist Bell ID has introduced Tokenization Manager, a software solution that can be used by token requesters such as card issuers to manage payment tokens, by digital wallet providers to deliver tokens to support mobile NFC payments and by merchants to replace the need to store customers’ card numbers. More
Ecuador’s central bank plans national mobile wallet
Banco Central del Ecuador is to launch a mobile payments scheme to act as the national mobile wallet in the country, Payments Views reports... More