Starbucks to increase number of cashless stores in Korea — Retail News Asia — “Starbucks Coffee Korea Co said Monday it will increase the number of cashless stores to over 100 across South Korea this month amid rising use of credit cards and mobile payment systems in the tech-savvy country… Starbucks said the decision is part of its broader digital innovation drive as cash payment has been constantly declining at stores in South Korea, from 31% of the total in 2010 to 15% in 2013 and 7% last year.”
Cashless
Football fans use contactless for one in two transactions at World Cup stadiums
Visa data shows one fifth of purchases at 2018 Fifa World Cup use contactless technology — Visa — “Visa, the official payment services partner of Fifa, today released an analysis of foreign travellers’ spending during opening days of 2018 Fifa World Cup. The results found that in the 11 Russian host cities of the tournament, approximately one in every five (17%) purchases with Visa used contactless payment technology, including smartphones, bracelets and rings. In the stadiums themselves, the share of contactless payments was 54%, inclusive of purchases made by fans from Russia and abroad.”
Tesco pilots ‘Scan Pay Go’ cashless supermarket concept
Tesco trials cashless ‘shop and go’ store at HQ — Essential Retail — “Tesco staff are trialling a completely cashless store at the grocer’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, including ‘shop and go’ technology similar to that used in the Amazon Go store in Seattle… The technology allows customers to scan and pay for their products via their smartphone before walking out of the store without visiting a traditional till point.”
Shake Shack rolls back its cashless store plans
Shake Shack first quarter 2018 earnings call — Shake Shack — “Some of the things we’ve clearly seen is that our guests do often want to pay with cash. In the first rollout at Astor Place, we did not accept cash at all. And there are people who have told us very clearly, ‘We want to pay with cash’. So in this next phase, we’re going to go ahead and have cashiers as well as kiosks.”
Dutch supermarket chain opens cashless store
Spar Netherlands opens first cashless store — Retail Systems — “Called ‘Skippen’, or Skipping in English, the new concept enables students who download the accompanying app to purchase goods in-store without having to queue for a cash register. Shoppers simply scan items into their shopping cart via a QR code, before completing the payment with Tikkie — ABN Amro’s online payment solution.”
Swedish central bank issues cashless society warning
‘Being cash-free puts us at risk of attack’: Swedes turn against cashlessness — The Guardian — “The Riksbank governor, Stefan Ingves, called for new legislation to secure public control over the payments system, arguing that being able to make and receive payments is a ‘collective good’ like defence, the courts, or public statistics… ‘It should be obvious that Sweden’s preparedness would be weakened if, in a serious crisis or war, we had not decided in advance how households and companies would pay for fuel, supplies and other necessities.’”
Starbucks to run cashless store pilot in South Korea
Starbucks to test cashless stores in S Korea — Yonhap News — “Starbucks Coffee Korea Co, the local unit of the US coffee giant, said Thursday it will begin a test run of cashless stores at three outlets next month amid rising use of credit card and mobile payment systems… It will mark the second trial for the global coffee giant, following its first cashless store under test run in Seattle.”
Carriers in Singapore, India, Thailand and the Philippines to link their mobile wallet services
Singtel to launch mobile wallet tie-up with regional associates — The Straits Times — “The Singtel Group plans to roll out mobile wallet interoperability across its network of regional associates in Asia by mid-2018… Mobile wallet customers of Singtel and the group’s various associate telcos would then be able to make cashless payments in their home currency, using their home telco’s app, at physical merchants while abroad… Singtel’s goal is to bring the Philippines’ Globe, Indonesia’s Telkomsel and India’s Airtel on board from the second half of 2018 onwards, pending regulatory approval. Regulators have already given the green light for the partnership between Singtel’s Dash payments app and Thai counterpart myAIS.”
UK to move beyond ‘peak cash’ this year
Revealed: Cash eclipsed as Britain turns to digital payments — The Guardian — “Debit cards are set to overtake cash as the most frequently used payment method in the UK later this year… In 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made using cash; in 2016 the proportion had fallen to 40%. By 2026, it is predicted cash will be used for just 21%.”
Nets to use taxi drivers to recruit new mobile payments merchants
Nets roping in 15,000 cabbies to nudge hawkers to go cashless — The Straits Times — “To coax hawkers to go cashless, e-payment giant Nets is going to enlist the help of an unconventional army: ComfortDelGro’s 15,000 cabbies. The cabbies will get a ‘monetary reward’ for every hawker they get to sign up to use the Nets QR code system… This Hawker Champion programme is now being tested by 100 cabbies, and will be rolled out to the full fleet in the next few months. The tie-up will help hasten the national effort to get more transactions to go cashless.”
Mobile payments gain ground in China’s 600,000 villages
China’s village people fast to adopt mobile payments — South China Morning Post — “The mainland market for mobile payment transactions, which reached US$5.5tn in 2016, is poised for further expansion as many consumers and businesses go cashless in more than 600,000 villages across the country… These villages are administratively categorised below townships, counties, cities and provinces.”
Walt Disney World to pilot cashless resort concept
Walt Disney World to test cashless resort concept at Animal Kingdom Lodge in February — WDW News Today — “Walt Disney World will be testing a cashless environment at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge during a limited pilot program beginning February 12th, 2018. Jambo House at the Resort will be the first location to accept electronic payment only for all purchases and services… Valid forms of payments that will be accepted include MagicBands, credit cards, debit cards, Disney Gift Cards, Disney Rewards Redemption Cards and electronic payments methods such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay.”
Amazon opens its cashierless store to the public
Amazon Go cashierless convenience store opening to the public — The Seattle Times — “The store requires customers to scan their smartphone on the way in, tracks them with cameras and other sensors as they browse, and, when they take an item off the shelf, adds it to a virtual cart. Groceries are charged to the customer’s Amazon account when they leave with their goods.”
Starbucks tests cashless store concept in Seattle
Starbucks tests no-cash policy at downtown Seattle store — Seattle Times — “Starbucks is experimenting with refusing cash at a posh location in downtown Seattle… ‘The test will help us understand how cashless forms of payment may impact our customer experience,’ the spokeswoman said.”
Bank of America reports 84% rise in P2P payment transactions
Zelle takes cashless payments to new heights — Bank of America — “Bank of America saw total Zelle transactions for 2017 hit nearly 68 million, an 84% growth rate from the previous year. In Q4 alone, Bank of America processed over 23 million transactions, totaling nearly US$7bn, up 91% from the prior year… Currently, Bank of America has nearly three million active Zelle users, and continues to add thousands of new users every day.”
Malaysia’s first cashierless store opens in Subang Jaya
Malaysia’s first self-service convenience store has opened in Subang Jaya — Says — “Following the likes of Amazon and Alibaba, an e-payment operator has opened Malaysia’s first unmanned, self-service convenience store… Customers are required to download the Irispay app, fill in personal details, and scan the QR code on the products before making payment.”
KFC installs contactless donation stations across New Zealand
Tap to donate units in KFC support Surf Life Saving — SLSNZ — “The units will be placed at 40 selected KFC restaurants to enable customers to use their credit card and pay wave technology to make a quick and easy donation to Surf Life Saving New Zealand… The Donation Point Tap back end system feeds into the existing New Zealand Eftpos network, feeding funds straight to Surf Life Saving New Zealand’s bank account overnight, eliminating cash collection costs or risk of coin box theft.”
Restaurants report on benefits of going cash-free
Plastic is king at New York restaurants that no longer accept cash — CBS — “Restaurants said no cash means no wasting time running to the bank for change, or spending hours counting money. They also say business is up. ‘So much faster. With one person on one register we can move 150 people through here in an hour. It’s insane how much faster it is.’
Apple publishes video guide to using Apple Pay Cash
Apple Pay — How to send and receive money on iPhone — Apple — “Now you can easily send and receive money with Apple Pay right in Messages. Just select who you want to pay, the amount, then approve. The money arrives instantly and securely in the Wallet app.”
Apple explains how Apple Pay Cash will function as an electronic purse on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch
Apple Pay Cash and person to person payments now available — Apple — “Apple customers who don’t already have Apple Pay set up on their supported device can still receive money from friends and family without needing to install a new app or add a card to Wallet. When new users receive money for the first time, it’s simply added to their new Apple Pay Cash card once they accept the terms.”