PayPal users in 28 countries across the world are now able to use their PayPal app to make QR code-based mobile payments in stores — and standard seller transaction fees are being waived “for a limited time” for merchants using the new functionality... More
Campus card solutions provider Transact has rolled out support for Android NFC student IDs, integrated with Google Pay, to 16 US universities... More
An additional 110m contactless payment cards will be issued in 2020 compared with pre-Covid-19 forecast expectations, ABI Research predicts, bringing the total in circulation to more than 2bn... More
The contactless payment limit is to be increased from ILS 200 (US$56.35) to ILS 300 (US$84.52) “by the end of 2020”, the Bank of Israel has announced, “in order to improve dealing with the coronavirus pandemic”... More
A new survey has found that 45% of US consumers are now using “a mobile wallet of some type”, 16% are using paper-based currency less than before the pandemic and 31% say will use contactless or mobile wallet payments instead of cash and cheques in the aftermath of Covid-19... More
Buses will no longer accept cash payments once current curbs on public transportation are eased, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has announced... More
A total of 10.8% of Australians are now using Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, up from 7.1% a year ago, a new report from market researchers Roy Morgan has found... More
PARTNER NEWS: NFC-based intelligent labels and packages offer “the safety and security necessary to help tackle the spread of Covid-19 while giving scientists, medical staff and patients the ability to interact with products so they can verify authenticity, check expiration dates and even gain useful insights into the nature of the virus,” NXP has explained... More
The contactless payments growth rate in the Nordic region has doubled during the first four months of this year, regional payments processor Nets reports, “as social distancing steers Nordic consumers away from chip and PIN”... More
The number of US consumers reporting that they are using contactless payments in stores has increased by 11%, an Amex survey has found. 50% of the surveyed consumers who have used contactless agree that it is safer for their health than using cash. More
BharatPe launches two new features in its app to curb need to touch handsets for checking transactions — Economic Times — “With Paisa Bolega — voice alerts of transactions — shopkeepers will be able to hear aloud instant confirmation of all payments received through their BharatPe QR, without touching the phone… This does away [with] the need for the merchant to check his phone repeatedly to see if money has come in.”
Touching technology: preparing for a post-pandemic future — Foolproof — “Since the outbreak, three out of four people say they are now more concerned than before about ATMs, a similar number about touchscreens in GP surgeries and more than half of users are more concerned than before about smartphones. Previously much less of a worry, card payment terminals are now more of a concern for six out of ten users, making it into the top 5 touchpoints of concern.”
Over half of UK consumers have tried a new payment method since the outbreak of Covid-19 — Paysafe — “In the company’s latest ‘Lost in Transaction’ survey, in which 8,000 consumers globally were asked about their payment habits, findings revealed that 54% of UK consumers have used new forms of payments since the Covid-19 outbreak began, and 84% of respondents globally admitted they were now thinking differently about how they make payments.”
Coronavirus has a major impact on our payment behaviour — Febelfin (translation) — “Since the limits increased, more than one in four card payments are handled contactlessly. 29% of card payments were made via contactless in April. This represents a doubling compared to February of this year (16%).”
Visa has unveiled a series of ‘tap to pay preferred’, ‘we are now cashless’, ‘how to pay contactless’ and ‘tap to pay encouraged’ decals, POS terminal stickers and toppers, table tents and mats to promote the use of contactless payments in stores... More
“While the full impact of Covid-19 on tap to pay adoption across the world is yet to be fully seen, early indications highlight a shift in consumer spend toward every day, essential segments where contactless usage is high, such as grocery and pharmacy,” Visa says... More
“We have seen over 40% growth in contactless transactions worldwide in the first quarter,” Mastercard president Michael Miebach has revealed, with “more than half of new tappers saying they will continue to use contactless once this pandemic is over.”... More
Strong customer authentication and coronavirus — Financial Conduct Authority — “In the exceptional circumstances of the Covid crisis, we are giving the industry an additional six months to implement strong customer authentication (SCA) for e-commerce. This will minimise potential disruption to consumers and merchants. The new timeline of 14 September 2021 replaces the 14 March 2021 date.”
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) is to spend an additional US$212.1m on its new transit ticketing infrastructure, to enable support for a range of new options including the ability to integrate ferry and local rail services and to charge riders different fares depending on the time of day they travel... More
Central banks in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait have all increased the contactless transaction limits in their country, in a bid to combat the spread of Covid-19... More