190 news stories.
• Should Facebook be in the NFCW Expo? Is this your organisation? Find out how to get your NFCW Expo showcase.
• Should Facebook be in the NFCW Expo? Is this your organisation? Find out how to get your NFCW Expo showcase.
Bank of Ireland, AIB, Permanent TSB and KBC Ireland are planning to launch a mobile payments service known as Yippay “to rival disruptors such as Revolut”, according to the Irish Independent... More
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now send money to friends, family and other contacts by attaching a payment to a chat “just as you would attach a photo or video” and validating the transfer with a PIN or their device’s biometrics functionality... More
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has opened an investigation into whether companies such as Apple are in breach of competition rules if they limit the access payments apps have to a smartphone’s NFC chip and restrict a user’s choice of contactless in-store payment method on that device... More
A digital transaction settlement system being developed by researchers working on Facebook’s Novi cryptocurrency digital wallet app could support up to 160,000 transactions per second, “about 7x the peak transaction rate of the Visa payments network”, according to a paper published by the research team... More
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will keep a database of all transactions made using the digital yuan, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to China Daily... More
Croatian digital marketing agency Mint Media has launched a new service that lets consumers tap an NFC-enabled review board to quickly and easily leave a TripAdvisor, Google or Facebook review for a local business... More
Brazil’s central bank has “ordered Visa and Mastercard to suspend the start of activities or immediately stop using the WhatsApp application to initiate payments and transfers”... More
Visa has introduced a new cloud-based token framework that makes it possible for tokens to be enabled “across all of a consumer’s devices” and “are directly integrated with the consumer’s bank”... More
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now make payments to local merchants and send money to friends and contacts “without leaving their chat”... More
Facebook-backed Reliance Jio pilots basic grocery ordering service on WhatsApp in India — The Next Web — “Less than a week ago, Facebook announced it was investing $5.7bn into India’s largest mobile carrier, Reliance Jio. We now have an idea of how the two giants plan to collaborate: The latter’s ecommerce arm, JioMart, is now testing a system for WhatsApp users to order goods via the messaging service.”
Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency project is scaled back — The New York Times — “The Libra project will now focus on creating a more traditional payment network in which coins will be tied to a local currency, somewhat like the digital dollars in a PayPal account. While Libra will also have a coin backed by multiple national currencies, which was the focus of the initial design documents, that will be less prominent.”
Facebook has unveiled a unified payments service designed to provide “a convenient, secure and consistent payment experience across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp”... More
Visa, Mastercard, eBay, Stripe and Mercado Pago have followed PayPal in pulling out of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project. The moves mean that PayU is now the only payments company to still be listed as a founding member of the Libra Association. More
Visa, Mastercard, others reconsider involvement in Facebook’s Libra network — The Wall Street Journal — “Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc and other financial partners that signed on to help build and maintain the Libra payments network are reconsidering their involvement following a backlash from US and European government officials, according to people familiar with the matter.”
WhatsApp in talks to launch mobile payments in Indonesia — sources — Reuters — “Unlike in India where it plans to offer direct peer-to-peer payment services, WhatsApp will simply serve as a platform in Indonesia supporting payments via local digital wallets due to tough licensing regulations… The Indonesia model could become a template for WhatsApp to adopt in other emerging markets to get around regulations on foreign players creating their own digital wallets, the sources said.”
Facebook answers how Libra taxes and anti-fraud will work — Techcrunch — “Facebook is also in talks with local convenience stores and money exchanges to ensure anti-laundering checks are applied when people cash-in or cash-out Libra for traditional currency, and to let you use a QR code to buy or sell Libra in person.”
The Libra Association — Libra — “Libra is a global, digitally native, reserve-backed cryptocurrency built on the foundation of blockchain technology. People will be able to send, receive, spend, and secure their money, enabling a more inclusive global financial system… The Libra Association is made up of a group of diverse organizations from around the world… This initial group of organisations will work together to finalize the Libra Association’s charter and will become the association’s Founding Members upon its completion.”
Coming in 2020: Calibra — Facebook — “Today we’re sharing plans for Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary whose goal is to provide financial services that will let people access and participate in the Libra network. The first product Calibra will introduce is a digital wallet for Libra, a new global currency powered by blockchain technology. The wallet will be available in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app — and we expect to launch in 2020.”
Facebook plans to launch ‘GlobalCoin’ currency in 2020 — BBC — “Facebook wants to create a digital currency that provides affordable and secure ways of making payments, regardless of whether users have a bank account. The social networking site, which owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is hoping to disrupt existing networks by breaking down financial barriers, competing with banks and reducing consumer costs.”
Facebook’s decision to discontinue its peer-to-peer (P2P) Messenger payments option in the UK and France next month is due to poor adoption of the service by consumers, according to new figures from data analytics company GlobalData... More