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Merchants in the USA including fashion retailers Vince, Burton, G-Star and Scotch & Soda have begun enabling staff to accept in-store contactless payments on iPhones using Apple’s Tap to Pay software point of sale (sPOS) feature... More
Merchants will soon be able to accept contactless payments directly on their iPhone using Apple’s Tap to Pay feature via the Square Point of Sale (POS) app without needing to connect their device to any additional hardware... More
Apple Pay is the most popular payments app with Generation Z teenagers in the USA, followed by Venmo in second place, Square’s Cash App in third and PayPal fourth, according to a survey published by Piper Sandler investment bank... More
American Express cardholders can now receive detailed digital receipts for their card transactions to identify and check their purchases from larger retailers via the company’s app or website... More
Diners at the Pizzahacker restaurant in Mill Valley, California, can now use a self-serve feature to place their order on their mobile device by scanning a QR code and selecting what they want to eat and drink on the restaurant’s mobile-enabled ordering page... More
American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa have announced that “they are each beginning technical preparations for global expansion” of Click to Pay, the single buy button solution for online merchants based on the EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) standard... More
Why Apple Pay is the highest-rated mobile P2P payment service — Consumer Reports — “In our first-ever test-based ratings of P2P mobile services, CR rated Apple Pay the highest overall, with excellent or very good marks in the key consumer-protection measures of payment authentication and data privacy. Apple’s overall rating was significantly higher than for the other services we tested: Venmo, Square’s Cash App, Facebook P2P Payments in Messenger, and Zelle.”
Earnings call: Apple financial results — Q3 2018 — Apple — “Apple Pay continues to expand with well over 1bn transactions last quarter, triple the amount from just a year ago, with growth accelerating from the March quarter. To put that tremendous growth into perspective, this past quarter, we completed more total transactions than great companies like Square and more mobile transactions than PayPal. Apple Pay is now live in 24 markets worldwide with over 4,900 bank partners and we look forward to adding Germany later this year.”
Snapchat will shut down Snapcash, forfeiting to Venmo — Techcrunch — “Snapchat will abandon the peer-to-peer payment space on August 30th… Shutting down the feature will bring an end to Snapchat’s four-year partnership with Square to power the feature for sending people money.”
Mobile point-of-sale devices to account for almost 1 in 4 POS transactions by 2023 — Juniper Research — “The adoption of mPos (mobile point-of-sale) devices connecting wirelessly or via mobile devices, such as those from iZettle and Square, will drive annual mPos transactions to over 87bn by 2023. This will represent a threefold increase over an estimated 28bn transactions in 2018.”
Square’s Cash app now supports direct deposits for your paycheck — Techcrunch — “This feature combined with the Cash app’s debit card now means that the app can essentially provide all the basic functions of a bank account.”
US regulator says time to review mixing banking with other businesses — Reuters — “US regulations that bar companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc from providing banking services need to be reviewed as they reduce competition thereby concentrating more risk among a smaller number of banks, a US banking regulator said… Noreika on Wednesday said that allowing non-financial companies to run banks could strengthen the banking system by boosting competition and increasing diversity. The OCC is exploring providing a charter specifically for financial technology providers such as payment processor Square Inc.”
A big bank Is catching up to PayPal and Square — Barron’s — “Bank of America released its third quarter earnings on Friday morning and executives spoke confidently about Zelle, the payments platform used by several big banks. The total number of peer-to-peer payments made over the Zelle network by Bank of America customers jumped 68% on a year-over-year basis to 13.6m, and the total payment volume jumped 40% to US$4bn, the bank said. Earlier this year, Bank of America integrated Zelle into its mobile app.”
Square gets green light to take on banks with ‘PIN on glass’ mobile technology — Australian Financial Review — “Banks are set to face more competition in the lucrative mobile point of sale technology game as secret trials featuring Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments company Square are set to help credit card companies allow more payments through smartphone screens.”
Harris Poll: PayPal leads mobile payment brands, yet up-and-comers making brand equity gains — The Harris Poll — “PayPal — followed closely by Amazon brands — retains its Brand of the Year designation, leading mobile payment brands for the third consecutive year. However, up-and-coming brands Venmo (owned by PayPal), Square, and Apple Pay are making significant gains, according to new research from The Harris Poll’s 29th annual EquiTrend Study.”
US consumers will be given exclusive offers and discounts on purchases when they choose to make a payment using Apple Pay in stores across the Hayes Valley Shopping District and San Francisco Marina as part of Apple’s Lose your Wallet promotion... More
Square will replace meters in Washington taxis — Bloomberg — “The overhaul of the city’s cab system will help drivers compete with Uber… By the end of August, all of the taxis in Washington have to tear out their traditional meters and start using smartphones or tablets, in what the city government has been describing as a complete reimagining of how the cab system works.”
Square is rolling out its first debit card — Recode — “The prepaid card isn’t linked to your bank account, but instead to the Square Cash app. That means you can only use it to spend money that you are holding in your Square Cash account.”
mPOS provider Square could soon be launching a physical Square Cash debit card, according to Recode... More
Mobile POS provider Square has launched in the UK... More
