Japan’s PayPay to update app after wrongful charge complaints — Bloomberg — “An unspecified number of customers called in and e-mailed to report charges on their bills that they didn’t recognize, according to PayPay spokesman Fumihiro Ito. Several consumers say they hadn’t even installed the app but their credit cards were billed for purchases they didn’t make… PayPay triggered a shopping frenzy earlier this month by promising to give users 10bn yen (US$88m) in rebates from their purchases.”
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Barclays lets customers use their mobile banking app to restrict the type of stores their card can be used in
Barclays bank account holders in the UK can now use a new feature in their mobile banking app to stop their card from being used to make purchases in one or more of five categories of retailer — grocery stores and supermarkets; restaurants, takeaways, pubs and bars; petrol stations; gambling sites and betting shops; premium rate websites and phone lines... More
The world’s biggest electronics store uses NFC tags to let shoppers self-checkout on their mobile phones
MediaMarktSaturn, Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, is piloting a mobile self-checkout service that lets customers add products to their shopping basket by tapping the NFC tag included in the digital price tags of more than 100,000 products on sale at its Hamburg city centre store... More
EU citizens report bugs in UK government NFC passport reading app
People taking part in the pilot test of an NFC app developed by the UK government to make it easy for EU citizens to apply for settled status following Brexit have reported a number of bugs, including multiple issues related to NFC passport scanning... More
Tesco lets shoppers self-checkout with their mobile phone at new Jack’s discount chain
Tesco spin-off Jack’s opens its doors with free mobile ‘Smart Shop’ app — Internet Retailing — “With the app, shoppers can scan the item’s barcode or shelf-front price code and then pay by simply tapping their phone on a self-service checkout terminal before leaving. The app also helps the shopper log what they have bought and how much they have paid.”
Brunei’s largest bank to use Rambus’ Token Service Provider platform to secure mobile payment transactions
PARTNER NEWS: Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD), the largest bank in Brunei, is to use Rambus’ Token Service Provider platform to add security to its HCE mobile payments service... More
Atlanta charity pilots NFC wristbands that let the homeless access welfare services
This tech nonprofit Is trying to help homeless people get IDs — Motherboard — “Mini City distributed 500 NFC-enabled wristbands — similar to FitBits or Nike FuelBands — to expand its services to Atlanta’s homeless. Each wearable holds an identifier number given to homeless citizens when they begin the process of obtaining a government ID. Users unlock Mini City’s app by tapping the wristband on a tablet at Salvation Army and other nonprofits like ReStart Atlanta — allowing them to book shelter beds, find nearby employment and medical resources, and check the status of their ID applications.”
ST releases NFC dynamic tag sensor node evaluation board
STMicroelectronics has released an evaluation board that lets developers design and prototype solutions that combine NFC tag reading, energy harvesting and security with environmental monitoring sensors to track and protect a wide range of sensitive products throughout the supply chain, in stores and in the home... More
Qantas uses NFC to pre-enrol passengers for biometric boarding service
Australian airline Qantas has begun testing a new service that lets passengers pre-enrol at home for its facial recognition-based digital boarding service by using the NFC functionality in their Android mobile phone to capture the photo stored in their passport’s security chip... More
Walmart equips staff in 3,000+ stores with mobile POS devices
Walmart is expanding its Check Out with Me service to all its 3,000+ Supercenters across the US “just in time for the holidays”... More
Deutsche Bank unveils loyalty-first mobile wallet venture
Deutsche Bank has launched Yunar, a wholly-owned subsidiary startup that is taking a loyalty-first approach to building out a fully featured mobile wallet by initially offering a simple way to manage up to 200 loyalty points schemes — and then gradually adding a range of mobile payments and banking services as adoption takes off... More
Network West Midlands integrates its transit card with Google Pay
UK regional transportation operator Network West Midlands is piloting a new service that lets its Swift transit card holders store their cards in Google Pay, enabling Android NFC phone owners to tap on to West Midlands Metro trams without needing to first open an app or select their Swift card... More
Sam’s Club unveils mobile-first store that showcases the latest payments and retail technologies
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club is opening a new store in Dallas, Texas that will double as both a technology lab and a live retail store, enabling both customers and staff to test and make use of the latest developments in retail and payments technology... More
Mastercard to let cardholders pay with loyalty points at any Mastercard merchant
Mastercard’s Pay with Rewards service is to relaunch at the end of this year with a new app that will allow cardholders to pay with the points or miles they have collected from any card, airline, hotel or retail rewards program that has signed up to use the service at any Mastercard merchant worldwide... More
Commonwealth Bank to test ‘smart money’ that knows what it can be spent on
Australia’s Commonwealth Bank is to pilot a new type of ‘smart money’ that can be pre-programmed with a set of conditions that define what it can be spent on, who it can be spent by and when it can be spent... More
Amazon moves into in-store payments in India
Amazon is entering the in-store payments market in India with the launch of ‘Amazon Smile’ QR codes that will enable shoppers to make purchases in shops... More
Bank of America links its mobile apps to let customers access multiple services without re-authenticating
Bank of America unveils new mobile capabilities — Bank of America — “Bank of America today announced that it is introducing a new feature that will allow clients to move seamlessly between the Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Merrill Edge and US Trust mobile apps without having to re-authenticate… The new app-linking feature will be available at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, and Merrill Edge today and at US Trust in November.”
Japanese banks launch blockchain P2P payments service
SBI Ripple Asia’s MoneyTap app has launched in Japan — Coindesk — “The product allows users to send funds to others using just their telephone numbers or a QR code, and utilizes devices’ biometric log-in features, such as fingerprint scanning, for security… Currently, the service is only able to remit between accounts held at the three participating Japanese banks — SBI Sumishin Net Bank, Suruga Bank and Resona Bank. Payments are being offered at no charge and can be sent in Japanese yen or foreign currencies.”
Alipay builds travel guide into mobile payments app
Alipay launches in-app guide for Germany’s Oktoberfest — Alizila — “Alipay said Friday it launched an in-app travel guide in Chinese for visitors to Munich’s Oktoberfest celebration and the city’s 211-year-old downtown Viktualienmarkt… The pilot service will offer ‘a wealth of information on the culture and history of both venues,’ including a map, a guide to individual stalls and products, information on German behavioural norms, like how to toast with a glass of beer and advice on when and where it’s OK to take photos. Users can also pay for what they buy through the Alipay app.”
Digital currency pioneer David Chaum launches high speed blockchain for payments
Announcing David Chaum’s Elixxir: First blockchain capable of meeting the needs of consumer-scale messaging and payments — Elixxir — “The Elixxir blockchain can scale to hundreds of thousands of transactions each second, each message or payment delivered or confirmed within seconds, efficiently enabling use as a smartphone app.”