Holidaymakers aboard ships belonging to MSC Cruises will soon be able to make onboard payments, tailor their individual holiday preferences and access features such as a digital personal advisor through facial recognition technology, NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, plus a mobile app and interactive cabin TV screens... More
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Royal Bank of Canada adds Siri money transfers
Customers of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) can now send money using Apple’s Siri voice assistant using the latest version of the RBC Mobile iOS app... More
Wearable payments platform to be tested on three continents
A digital cash service allowing consumers — including those without bank accounts — to load money onto a range of wearable items and make contactless payments in retail outlets will roll out across “eight or nine countries” in North America, Europe and Africa from April 2017... More
Supporting banks named ahead of Apple Pay’s Italy launch
Apple Pay is “arriving” in Italy with support from Mastercard, Visa, Carrefour Banca, UniCredit and German payment processor Wirecard’s Boon service, Apple’s website says... More
Belgium becomes tenth country to go live with Android Pay
Android Pay has launched in Belgium with support for Mastercard and Visa credit cards from BNP Paribas Fortis, Hello Bank... More
Apple Pay goes live in Ireland with support from Mastercard, Visa and two banks
Apple Pay has been launched across Ireland with support from Mastercard, Visa, KBC and Ulster Bank, allowing customers to make in-store, online and in-app payments using their compatible devices... More
McDonald’s to roll out mobile order and pay in 20,000 restaurants this year
McDonald’s will launch its mobile order and pay service in 20,000 restaurants in “some of our largest markets including the US” by the end of 2017, with the fast food giant aiming to enhance its digital capabilities and the use of technology to “dramatically elevate the customer experience” and “unlock meaningful growth and increase guest counts”... More
One in five US smartphone owners use mobile payments in stores
Nearly 20% of US smartphone owners have used a mobile payment app at a retail location, research released by Parks Associates shows... More
Pizza Hut unveils pizza-ordering shoes
Pizza Hut has unveiled a pair of shoes with a button that lets wearers order pizza and get it delivered... More
Samsung Pay to launch in India with support from five Visa and Mastercard issuers — and Paytm
Samsung has begun inviting Galaxy phone owners in India to register for early access to Samsung Pay. Customers can opt to pre-register Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank debit or credit cards and SBI Cards credit cards today with support for American Express and Citibank to follow. Paytm’s market leading mobile wallet will also be supported by the service. More
Mastercard adds bar tab feature to Qkr! mobile payments app
Mastercard has unveiled a new feature for its Qkr... More
Rambus unveils Unified Payment Platform for mobile payments and loyalty
PARTNER NEWS: Rambus has unveiled a mobile payments platform that will allow retailers to launch mobile payment and loyalty services that securely store and manage a variety of payment cards, as well as gift cards and loyalty points, to enable consumers to pay with credit, points and coupons in a single transaction at the point of sale... More
BNP Paribas launches HCE mobile payments
Customers of French bank BNP Paribas will soon be able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments through the bank’s mobile banking app and Paylib, an online payment platform supported by the country’s main banks... More
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa launches HCE mobile payments developed with Antelop
PARTNER NEWS: Customers of French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using the bank’s Paylib mobile app and authorise payments at the point of sale with a scan of their fingerprint, making it the “first bank offering a fingerprint-supported HCE solution in France”... More
US banks launch money-transfer app
Nineteen US banks have launched Zelle, the mobile P2P money transfer service unveiled last October to compete with the likes of Venmo, allowing users to send money directly to each other’s bank accounts within minutes... More
UK bank tests voice commands with Google Home
Starling Bank, a UK mobile-only bank, is testing an integration of its API with Google Home, the voice-activated speaker powered by Google Assistant... More
Gulf Oil unveils Gulf Pay for mobile payments and special offers at fuel stations
Customers at Gulf Oil fuel stations across select New England and New York markets in the US are to pilot a new mobile payment service that will enable drivers to navigate to the nearest station, pay for fuel at the pump, receive exclusive offers and purchase products inside the convenience store... More
Belgian bank to launch HCE mobile payments
Customers of Belgium’s Belfius Bank will soon be able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using a service integrated with the Belfius Mobile banking app... More
NPCI, Mastercard and Visa unveil standardised QR code mobile payments for India
Indian consumers can now make QR code-based mobile payments using BharatQR, a “low cost, interoperable mobile acceptance solution” backed by the Indian government and developed by Mastercard, Visa and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)... More
Apple Pay coming soon to Germany and Italy?
Apple Pay could soon be launching in Germany and Italy, after German and Italian language instructions on how to use the mobile payment service were discovered on Apple’s website by Polish website iMagazine... More