Six in ten consumers in Germany now make contactless payments with their smartphone or a contactless card (60%), an increase from 56% in 2021 and 47% in 2020, according to a survey conducted by Postbank... More
Cashless
Galp opens contactless fuel station store in Lisbon
Iberian fuel station network Galp has opened its first contactless convenience store on a forecourt in Lisbon in Portugal, enabling customers to select food, snacks, beverages and non-perishable goods from the shelves and leave without needing to scan their purchases or wait in line to use a checkout... More
SunCash lets consumers in the Bahamas make CBDC payments with their face
Consumers in the Bahamas can now authorise in-store payments using the country’s Sand Dollar central bank digital currency (CBDC) from a SunCash mobile wallet with their face... More
Federal Reserve reports sharp drop in US cash use during Covid-19 pandemic
The total number of payments in the USA made using cash fell from just over one in four in 2019 (26%) to under one in five in 2020 (19%) before increasing slightly to 20% in 2021, the Federal Reserve reports... More
Global survey finds more than half of consumers continue to prefer using a physical payment card for in-person purchases
More than one in two consumers worldwide prefer using a physical payment card to using cash or a digital wallet when making in-person purchases (53%), a survey has revealed... More
National QR payments system goes live at Subway stores in Australia
Two Subway outlets in Sydney and Brisbane are “the first major Australian quick-service restaurants” to let customers pay for their purchases using the national QR code payments and rewards platform developed by Australia’s Eftpos payments system... More
Mastercard to let consumers make card-free biometric payments in store with their face or palm
Mastercard has a launched a biometric checkout scheme that sets out standards and requirements for in-store biometric payment solutions enabling consumers to make contactless biometric payments with their face or palm and without needing to use a payment card or mobile device... More
Google launches multipurpose digital wallet with support for digital IDs, tickets and payment cards
Google is rolling out a digital wallet that will enable users to store, use and present digital identity documents and driving licences as well as payment cards, transit and event tickets, boarding and loyalty passes, health documents such as Covid-19 vaccination certificates, hotel keys and office badges on their Android smartphone or Wear OS smartwatch... More
Global QR code transaction values to exceed US$3tn by 2025
The total transaction values for payments made using QR codes worldwide will reach more than US$3tn by 2025, an increase of 25% from US$2.4tn in 2022, driven by an increasing focus on financial inclusion in developing markets and alternative payment methods in developed regions, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
PayPal lets merchants in the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands accept contactless payments on NFC smartphones
Merchants in the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands can now accept contactless payments on a standard Android NFC smartphone or other mobile device using a software point of sale (sPOS) solution being rolled out by PayPal... More
Fidor Bank to launch biometric payment cards
German online bank Fidor is to roll out biometric payment cards that will allow users to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprint and without needing to use a PIN... More
Apple to add support for NFC peer-to-peer payments?
Apple has added support for NFC peer-to-peer payments to its iOS 15.5 beta 2 release, enabling users to transfer money between iPhones with a tap, according to a tweet. ... More
PayPal and Alipay top digital wallet leaderboard
PayPal, followed by Alipay, are the top two digital wallet providers, with WeChat Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively, according to a Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard report... More
BIS reports on CBDCs in emerging markets
Providing a cash-like digital means of payment, increasing private digital payment services, supporting financial inclusion and achieving greater payment system efficiency are among the key motivations driving initiatives to develop central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in emerging market economies around the world, according to a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report... More
US digital bank introduces contactless payments rings
Customers of US-based digital bank Quontic can now opt to order a contactless payments ring that they can link to their checking account and use to make purchases wherever contactless payments are accepted... More
Correos lets postal delivery staff in rural Spain accept contactless payments on Android devices
Postal delivery workers in rural Spain can now accept contactless payments on an Android NFC smartphone or tablet, enabling residents to pay for a range of goods and services as well as deposit and withdraw cash from their own home without needing to visit a bricks-and-mortar post office or bank... More
American Airlines Center in Dallas gets contactless food and drink stores
The American Airlines Center in Dallas in the US has opened the first of two contactless food and drink outlets that enable fans attending sports and entertainment events at the arena to walk in, select the snacks and refreshments they wish to purchase and pay for them without needing to scan them or use a checkout... More
Cannes rolls out open loop contactless bus ticketing
Passengers travelling on buses operated by Palm Bus in Cannes, France, can now make contactless fare payments with their EMV debit or credit card or with Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay from their NFC smartphone or smartwatch... More
Riksbank completes digital currency payments pilot
Sweden’s central bank The Riksbank has completed the second phase of its e-krona central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot and demonstrated that the blockchain-based technical solution it is testing can be integrated into existing banking and payments infrastructure... More
Apple Pay is most popular payments app with Generation Z in US
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