Android O will focus on ‘vitals’ like battery life and speed, first beta launches today — The Verge — “For security, Google is introducing a new feature called Google Play Protect. Google already scans apps in the Play Store to make sure they aren’t malicious, but now it’s going to make that more visible by showing that your phone’s apps have recently been scanned when you’re in the Store.”
Beta
Samsung Pay launches in Sweden and the UAE, enters early access in Hong Kong and Switzerland
Samsung Pay has expanded to four additional markets with official launches in Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and early access launches in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The service has also been made available on Samsung’s Gear S3 smartwatch in Russia, Sweden and the UAE in addition to its availability on the Gear S3 in the US, Singapore and Australia. More
KredoBank launches HCE mobile payments in Ukraine
Customers of Ukraine’s KredoBank can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments by adding Mastercard credit or debit cards to its new KredoPay wallet... More
Sweden becomes first Nordic country to get Samsung Pay
Samsung Pay has launched in beta across Sweden, the first Nordic country to see the mobile payment service rolled out, with support from debit and credit card providers Mastercard, Mastercard SAS, Visa, Eurocard, and banks Nordea and SEB... More
Mobile payments service for children to begin beta trials
Beta tests of the Virtual Piggy mobile payments platform for children, which “offers the ability for children to learn how to use the payment tools of the digital economy” with parental controls built in, will begin in April... More
Starbucks customers get voice ordering as mobile orders and payments continue to grow
US consumers can now place orders from coffee giant Starbucks by speaking into the Starbucks iOS mobile app or to Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa. The move comes as the company reveals that mobile orders made up 7% of all its US transactions in the last quarter, with mobile payments now accounting for 27%. More
Wirecard adds backing to Pay by Bank
German payments technology provider Wirecard has become the latest to announce its support for Pay by Bank, the mobile payments app developed by VocaLink’s Zapp... More
Samsung Pay begins Malaysia beta test
Samsung has begun a beta trial of Samsung Pay in Malaysia with Maybank... More
Google’s browser connects with BLE
The latest version of Google’s Chrome browser allows websites to interact with Bluetooth Low Energy devices... More
Facebook update brings tokenization to Messenger payments
Facebook has introduced a payments update to its Messenger platform that will allow US businesses who are not integrated with Stripe or PayPal to process payments within both messages and webview using tokenization technology... More
Montreal to get NFC transport payments
Some 100 employees of Montreal’s public transit network STM are beta-testing a service that will enable commuters on the Metro to pay using their NFC smartphones... More
Caffè Nero to build mobile payments with Yoyo Wallet
Coffee chain Caffè Nero is to build a mobile payment and loyalty platform for its customers using technology supplied by QR code-based platform Yoyo Wallet... More
Square preparing for European launch
Mobile POS provider Square has incorporated a business called Squareup Europe in the UK, suggesting that the company could be setting itself up for its first European launch... More
Samsung Pay Beta goes live on Gear S2
An update to the Samsung Gear app is adding access to Samsung Pay for the Gear S2 smartwatch... More
Coinbase adds PayPal and credit card support
Bitcoin wallet Coinbase has added support for PayPal and credit cards... More
Samsung Pay to begin rolling out across Singapore in June
Samsung Pay is to begin rolling out across Singapore on June 16, making it the first country in Southeast Asia to get the mobile payment service. It will launch with support from American Express, MasterCard and Visa and major banks. More
MCX to end CurrentC pilot and disable all accounts
US retailer-led consortium MCX is concluding the pilot of its CurrentC mobile wallet at the end of June and will be disabling all user accounts. The company has “not yet determined the future timing of CurrentC”. More
Samsung Pay to begin beta test in Singapore
Samsung Pay has invited a “select group of consumers” in Singapore to begin beta testing the mobile payment service ahead of an anticipated launch in Q2 2016... More
Samsung Pay to launch in Singapore in Q2 this year
Samsung Pay will launch in Singapore in the second quarter of this year, the company has announced, adding it to South Korea, the US and China on the list of Samsung’s “priority markets”... More
PayPal adds buy buttons
PayPal has unveiled a new platform that enables merchants and partners to embed buy buttons in emails, social shares, blogs, articles, ads and apps through a set of APIs... More