New Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform raises the bar for mass market devices — Qualcomm — “The Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform debuts the following ‘firsts’ in the 2-series: 64-bit CPU, Dual-ISP, supports up to 13MP photo capture, support for Full HD (1080p) video capture, support for HD+ resolution display, hexagon DSP for audio and sensor processing, support for Dual SIM with Dual VoLTE, EVS voice calls, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, support for NFC payments on Android.”
Domino’s pilots cashless stores in Australia
Domino’s Is starting to ditch cash payments — Gizmodo Australia — “The pizza maker is calling it ‘Tap & Take’ and is positioning it as a way to make the ordering process both quicker and more convenient… Domino’s has stated that the participating stores will accept ‘all forms of payment’, except for cash. This includes card payments, PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, EFTPOS to door and Instagift.”
Telekom Slovenije launches mobile wallet that supports NFC, QR, P2P, bill splitting and transit ticketing payments
Telekom Slovenije launches the Valu smart wallet — Telekom Slovenije — “Valu smart wallet is available in Slovenia as a mobile app from 13 June, and combines in one place mobile payment services, transfer of funds between users, splitting the bill, as well as identification and use of local infrastructure services, such as purchasing Slovenian Railways train tickets… Valu also supports payments with a QR code (on Android and iOS devices) or NFC technology (Android devices).”
Maybank lets merchants accept contactless payments on their NFC phones
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.”
Greater Anglia lets train passengers use NFC phones to top up travel cards
Dramatic increase in Smart Card use — Greater Anglia — “We’ve upgraded our Greater Anglia app so that if you have an Android phone, you can hold your Smart Card against it and it will automatically transfer the products you have bought from the website or app, onto your Smart Card… We’ve also enabled staff phones to be able to instantly check the validity of Smart Cards. So passengers can use their card with confidence, and at the same time the systems we have introduced will help to detect and prevent fraud.”
Mobile payments providers turn to in-app games to drive adoption in India
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.”
Paris begins contactless transit card rollout
The first of a new range of contactless transit cards and passes are now being made available in Paris, enabling bus, tram and metro users to begin replacing cardboard tickets with contactless alternatives... More
Public Transport Victoria reports strong takeup for Mobile Myki transit cards
Nearly 100,000 travellers in the Australian state of Victoria have used the Mobile Myki NFC-based mobile transit ticketing service since its launch in March with adoption set to accelerate further after the addition of support for the Apple iPhone, which is planned for 2019-20.... More
Phoenix Suns to provide basketball fans with mobile payments and NFC ticketing at Talking Stick Resort Arena
Arizona-based National Basketball Association (NBA) team the Phoenix Suns are to offer fans access to mobile payments and NFC ticketing from within their mobile app, via a partnership with Ticketmaster, that will see the team move to mobile-only ticketing at its Talking Stick Resort Arena from the start of the 2019/20 season in October... More
HonkMobile launches app-free Apple Pay NFC payments
Parking payments specialist HonkMobile has unveiled a ‘virtual parking meter’ that uses Apple Pay’s new support for NFC tags to let iPhone users tap an NFC sticker to quickly make a payment via Apple Pay — without first needing to download an app or register for a service... More
Android Q to let users log into Wi-Fi networks via NFC, QR or Bluetooth LE
Android Q supports ‘Wi-Fi Easy Connect’ for NFC, Bluetooth, QR credential sharing — 9to5Google — “Android Q enables you to use Easy Connect to provision Wi-Fi credentials to a peer device… The calling app can retrieve the URI through various methods, including scanning a QR code from a sticker or display, or through scanning Bluetooth LE or NFC advertisements.”
Android Q to add face verification for payments?
Android Q Beta 4: ‘Face authentication’ appears in settings, reveals some features — 9to5Google — “With the added support for face authentication, users will have the option of requiring eyes open to unlock. They will be able to use it to sign-in to applications and use it for payments, as well, according to new strings in the Settings app.”
ETA issues US mobile payments market status report
The state of mobile payments in 2019 — Electronic Transactions Association — “In 2018, 55 million people in the US used their smartphone to make a payment at a physical point of sale, whether by loading money into a closed-loop mobile app (like the Starbucks app) or by loading a credit or debit card into an open-loop mobile wallet (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay) and using it to pay at the point of sale. These 55 million users account for about 20% of the U.S. population aged 15 and over, and just over 25% of US smartphone users.”
Android Q to let Google Pay users quickly switch between payment cards
Android Q Beta 4: Google Pay cards could live in power menu w/ ‘Cards & Passes’ — 9to5Google — “Cards will apparently appear as soon as the power button is long-pressed and users can then swipe through them, presumably to switch the card being used with NFC payments. Based on the description, this carousel will also be able to show things such as loyalty cards and tickets.”
Google Pay issues major update to its API for Passes
Google has announced a suite of upgrades for transportation operators, airlines and loyalty card issuers that extends the functionality of its Google Pay API for Passes — and revealed future plans to make Passes “available to your users on Google even if they haven’t installed the Google Pay app”... More
Analyst: Rise of OEM Pay smartphone wallets to cost banks US$15bn — in Australia alone
$22b of bank revenue at risk from smartphone wallets: Morgan Stanley — The Australian Financial Review — “Smartphone digital wallets offered by Google, Apple and other technology giants will put A$22bn of revenue across the major Australian banks at risk, according to Morgan Stanley… Its analysts came to that figure after looking into how a banks’ payments capability influences decisions relating to other products. This includes transaction accounts that give major banks an opportunity to cross-sell customers more profitable products such as mortgages.”
Google leverages Google Pay to bypass food ordering apps
What’s for dinner? Order it with Google — Google — “Now you can use Google Search, Maps or the Assistant to order food from services like DoorDash, Postmates, Delivery.com, Slice, and ChowNow, with Zuppler and others coming soon. Look out for the ‘Order Online’ button in Search and Maps when you search for a restaurant or type of cuisine. For participating restaurants, you can make your selections with just a few taps, view delivery or pickup times, and check out with Google Pay.”
Paris to switch on NFC mobile ticketing for bus, tram and metro services in September
Commuters in the greater Paris region will be able to use their NFC mobile phone to store Navigo transit passes and T+ prepaid ticket books from September 2019... More
Privatbank to use customised ‘card avatars’ to drive mobile payments adoption
Ukraine’s PrivatBank has become the first in the world to provide customers with a way to customise the design of the cards they add to Google Pay or Apple Pay — beginning with a set of X-Men: Dark Phoenix original designs made available via a licensing deal with movie studio 20th Century Fox... More
Google Pay to add a rewards platform?
Google’s new plan to push Google Pay in India: cashback incentives in Android apps — Techcrunch — “The company has built an in-app engagement rewards platform that promises to help developers and businesses retain users and drive engagement on their apps, two sources familiar with the matter said… Sitting at the core of this new play is Google Pay, which will be used for transactions between businesses and users, thereby expanding the reach of Google’s payment service.”