Starting with the next Xbox One update, expected to arrive in August 2014, “you will be able to buy games and add-on content from your mobile device,” The Next Web reports... More
Archive: News in brief
USI to supply iWatch chips?
“USI is the sole SiP [system in package] supplier for iWatch devices, which are expected to come in three versions: one style for men, one for women, and another low-cost version due for release in 2015”, sources have told Taiwan’s DigiTimes... More
Apple and Swatch team on iWatch?
Apple is working with a number of partners, including Swatch, to release a line of smartwatches in a variety of branded styles and price points, VentureBeat reports... More
Square adds actions to POS transactions
“Square Register’s sales, refund and settlement data can now all be used as triggers for IFTTT recipes,” GigaOm reports... More
Visa invests in LoopPay
Visa has invested an undisclosed sum in Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) inventor LoopPay... More
Waitrose showcases QR payments
Upmarket UK supermarket chain Waitrose has shown off a proof-of-concept mobile shopping service, based on Ensygnia’s Onescan technology, that “allows customers to complete a payment in-store using a mobile phone app, completing a purchase direct from any iPad screen in the store, without the need to head to the till point”... More
Korean banks accelerate mobile wallet plans
Korea’s banks are making a renewed push on mobile payments in the face of increasing competition from outside the financial services sector, Korea Bizwire reports, citing Hana Bank’s ‘Hana N Wallet’, Industrial Bank of Korea’s ‘IBK One Money’, and Shinhan Bank’s ‘Zoo Money’ and ‘My Shinhan Pay’ services... More
Consumers shop more on smartphones
“Nearly all mobile payments growth on Adyen’s platform in Q2 originated from smartphones,” the payments processor’s latest global Mobile Payments Index has found... More
Worapay raises funds
Lithuania-based mobile wallet platform provider Worapay has raised €400,000 in new funding from Israel’s Entree Capital, Verslo Zinios reports... More
Target launches image recognition app
US retail chain Target has launched an image recognition app that lets customers buy items from magazine adverts, catalogs and other media showing the retailer’s ‘In a Snap’ icon... More
IBM partners with Monitise
IBM and Monitise have formed a strategic alliance designed to help financial institutions deliver cloud-based mobile banking, payments and commerce solutions to their customers... More
Nintendo adds NFC payments
Nintendo Wii U users in Japan can now use the NFC interface built into their GamePad controller to purchase games with a Suica contactless payment card... More
Barclays reports Pingit stats
Barclays’ Pingit P2P payments service has been used to send £540million since the launch of the service in February 2012, the bank has revealed, and the app has been downloaded 3m times... More
Wallaby launches Gear 2 app
Card management app Wallaby, which helps holders of multiple credit cards view their balances and decide which is the best to use for any given transaction, is now available for use on Samsung Gear 2 smartwatches... More
Apple expands iTunes Pass availability
Apple’s new iTunes Pass service, which enables iOS users to buy iTunes credit from their mobile device rather than purchase a physical gift card, is now available internationally, 9to5Mac reports... More
Facebook tests buy button
Facebook is testing a ‘buy’ button which allows consumers to purchase products through the social media platform... More
Twitter buys Cardspring
Twitter has acquired card-linked offers platform Cardspring for an undisclosed sum... More
CrucialTec to secure mobile banking with fingerprints
Korean mobile input technology specialist CrucialTec is developing a fingerprint authentication solution that will replace passwords when consumers access mobile banking services on their smartphones, Korea Herald reports... More
PayPal volumes grow 29%
PayPal’s total payment volume (TPV) grew 29% with merchant services volume up 35% and on-eBay volume up 13% during the quarter to end June 2014, parent eBay has reported... More
Snapchat to add payments?
Messaging app Snapchat has applied to extend its trademark into two classes relating to payments, Techcrunch reports... More