Nordea joins rival DNB’s Vipps payment app in Norway — Reuters — “Top Nordic bank Nordea will start offering rival DNB’s mobile payment app to customers in Norway, leading Danske Bank to shut its service in the country, the companies said on Wednesday… Copenhagen-based Danske Bank said it would no longer offer the Mobilepay service to Norwegian customers, and that it would instead seek a distribution deal with DNB.”
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Fitbit Pay goes live in Switzerland
Switzerland becomes first European country to allow Visa payments on Fitbit smartwatch — Telecompaper — “Visa is introducing its mobile payment function for the Fitbit smartwatch in Switzerland, the first European country to get the service… To pay with Fitbit Ionic, the Visa card of a partner card issuer must be loaded into the Fitbit companion application. Currently, this is possible for customers of Cornercard. BonusCard and other banks will follow.”
Poland’s Bank Zachodni WBK adds ticket purchasing to mobile app
A bank will give you entertainment through its banking app — Finanteq — “Today the bank officially launched a new functionality in its mobile banking application — Cultural Events. From now on, if customers would like to go to a concert, cabaret show, theatrical performance or festival all they have to do is open the application and buy a ticket for the selected event. The funds for the payment are transferred directly from customer’s current account.”
Japanese banks to pilot blockchain-based mobile payments service
Fujitsu to conduct blockchain field trial of money transfer service with three major Japanese banks — Fujitsu — “Fujitsu will develop a cloud-based blockchain platform for money transfers between individuals that can be jointly used by these three major banks, as well as a smartphone application that allows users to easily handle the different steps for sending money and for making deposits and withdrawals.”
TD Bank to add AI to mobile banking app
TD announces conversational AI platform agreement with Kasisto — Kasisto — “Through the AI-powered interactive chat interface, TD app users will be able to check account information, review transaction histories and monitor spending levels. In addition, customers will also be able to get instant answers about specific spending-related questions including how much they spent on a recent weekend getaway, what their largest transaction was last week, or what they spent on categories like groceries or coffee last month.”
Japanese bank demos blockchain payment solution
Japan’s big banks showcase fintech at Ceatec show — Nikkei Asian Review — “A smartphone app lets users buy MUFG Coin with yen from their bank accounts and send the digital currency to others. Remittance costs are kept low thanks to blockchain, the distributed ledger technology that underpins bitcoin. With MUFG Coin, wiring amounts of money too small to be practical under typical bank fees becomes possible, according to the lender.”
HSBC to let customers view accounts from multiple banks in one app
HSBC to let UK customers manage different bank accounts on one screen with new app — CNBC — “Customers can add accounts from up to 21 different banks, including Barclays, Lloyds and Bank of America. When a new account is added, login details for each account are tailored to that bank’s interface… The bank has spent US$2bn globally to work on its digital banking platform.”
American Express launches mobile-first credit card in Canada
American Express goes mobile-first with its new millennial-facing credit card — IT Business Canada — “According to AmEx director of new product development Laura Cocksedge, the card was designed start to finish as a mobile-first experience, with users able to use the Cobalt’s accompanying app to register for the card, verify their identities, track their spending, and use it with mobile payment platforms including Apple Pay, Android Pay, and American Express’s own AmEx Pay.”
Starbucks lets customers reload their cards with their Apple Watch
Starbucks now lets you reload store cards with Apple Pay on Apple Watch — 9to5Mac — “Starting today you can reload your Starbucks Card using Apple Pay right on the Apple Watch. Paying with your Starbucks Card was previously supported but… reloading required using the iPhone app.”
Antelop to add Visa token support to white label NFC mobile wallet platform
PARTNER NEWS: Antelop Solutions has signed up for the Visa Ready Tokenization program as an HCE Token Requestor Token Service Provider (TR-TSP) and plans to become Visa Ready certified, enabling it to connect its HCE NFC software-as-a-service mobile payments platform to Visa Token Service... More
UK supermarket pilots self-checkout service that lets shoppers scan and pay by smartphone
Sainsbury’s to launch app which helps customers avoid checkout queues — The Independent — “Sainsbury’s are currently testing the app at their London Euston station store meaning that shoppers can buy the £3 ‘On the Go’ meal deal by simply scanning the products and paying using their phone. As soon as payment is confirmed, customers are free to leave the store without the hassle of time-consuming queues.”
Swarovski lets shoppers make payments in VR
Mastercard and Swarovski launch virtual reality shopping experience — Mastercard — “Once the consumers decide and select the piece from the collection that they want to purchase, they can add it to the cart and check out by focusing their gaze on the Masterpass button that appears at the bottom of the product description. When the consumer exits the application or the session detects that the headset has been removed, the consumer will be automatically logged out of their Masterpass account to protect against unintended purchases.”
NXP releases NFC tag toolkit for iOS
PARTNER NEWS: NXP has announced a toolkit designed to make it easy for iOS 11 developers to take advantage of the NFC tag reading capabilities that are now supported by iPhones and unlock “the potential to now connect billions of consumer and industrial products to the Internet of Things (IoT)”... More
Japanese banks to develop shared customer ID platform
Japan developing shared ID system for banks — Nikkei Asian Review — “In this set-up, an account holder at one bank can register for a shared ID. If the individual wishes to open an account at a second bank, all she needs to do is provide the common ID through a smartphone app, and confirm her identity through fingerprint or facial scan.”
HSBC uses face recognition to authenticate payments in China
Selfies are the latest way to pay — HSBC — “The customer simply blinks into their camera using the ‘selfie mode’. Their identity is then checked against a photo held on a database. If the pictures match, and the customer enters the correct passcode into their banking app, they can transfer up to RMB50,000 (about US$7,600) a day. Previously, they had to use a token device for authenticating and making transfers.”
Google’s Tez mobile wallet to be pre-installed on budget smartphones
Google partners with budget smartphone makers for pre-installing Tez in devices — BGR — “At the launch of its payments service for India, Google announced partnerships with budget smartphone manufacturers Micromax, Lava, Xolo and others, to offer the Tez app on a pre-installed basis. Upcoming handsets from the above manufacturers, as well as Nokia and Panasonic, will have Google’s payments app pre-loaded… Google further declared that it was open to more such partnerships.”
BMW ‘is reviewing the necessity of car keys’
BMW says car keys may be replaced by mobile phone apps — Reuters — “BMW is reviewing the necessity of car keys, Ian Robertson, the company’s board member responsible for sales told Reuters. The fact that customers now all carry a smartphone and the availability of a BMW app which allows customers to unlock their vehicle has made old fashioned keys less relevant.”
SocGen picks sound-based payments for mobile banking in Africa
Société Générale launches Yup, a new alternative to the traditional banking model in Africa — Société Générale — “Based on an agency banking model, ie a network of third-party agents with whom the bank has formed partnerships (service stations, distribution trade, etc), Yup is accessible via an expanded network of distributors equipped with adapted terminals and, of course, via the mobile banking app of Société Générale’s different banks throughout Africa.”
CBA to support Garmin Pay wearable payments in Australia
Commonwealth Bank announces new ways to pay with Android Pay and Garmin Pay — Commonwealth Bank of Australia — “In June this year we saw weekly transactions across the CommBank app hit A$6.1bn (US$4.89bn) so we know customers love using their phones to make payments and do their banking. Since 2013 our customers have been able to use their smartphones to make payments. By offering customers the ability to pay with Android Pay and with their Garmin smartwatches we are combining choice and convenience.”
Google to enter mobile payments market in India
Google to launch payment app ‘Tez’ in India — The Ken — “Google is expected to partner ‘several large private banks in India’ for its payment product, Tez. Besides its own UPI-based service, Google is expected to integrate third-party payment wallets such as Paytm and MobiKwik among others on its platform.”