Uber announces deeper push into financial services with Uber Money — CNBC — “The company announced on Monday the formation of a new division called Uber Money to house its efforts, which include a digital wallet and upgraded debit and credit cards. The emphasis, at first, will be expanding Uber’s efforts to give its four million-plus drivers and couriers around the world access to a mobile bank account so they can get paid after each ride. Uber could one day offer a bank account to consumers on its platform, according to Uber Money head Peter Hazlehurst.”
Credit card
Gautrain to let passengers use contactless bank cards to pay for trains, buses and car parking
Gautrain, the commuter rail service that connects the South African cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria, is to let passengers use their contactless bank cards to pay for their journeys by tapping on and off the service from 31 October... More
Samsung begins global rollout of mobile POS app that lets merchants accept payments on standard Android phones
Samsung’s NFC phone-based contactless payments acceptance service is now live in Canada and is to be introduced globally “starting in 2020”, the company has announced... More
Survey pinpoints roadblocks to US mobile payments adoption
A major investigation into US consumers’ attitudes to mobile payments has found that concerns over how well they would be protected against loss should an issue arise is now the major barrier to widespread adoption of the technology... More
NatWest begins biometric credit card pilot
The UK’s NatWest bank has begun a three-month pilot of a biometric credit card that enables customers to make contactless transactions of up to £100 (US$123) instead of the usual maximum value of £30 (US$37)... More
Japanese government offers discounts to consumers making cashless payments with cards and mobile phones
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has launched a major initiative designed to persuade consumers to move away from paying in cash, by providing a rebate whenever they use a card or mobile phone to make a purchase at any of 500,000 merchants across the country... More
Google Pay reports 67m users in India
“In the last 12 months alone, we’ve grown more than three times to 67 million monthly active users, driving transactions worth over US$110bn on an annualised basis, with hundreds of thousands of offline and online merchants,” Caesar Sengupta, vice president of Google’s next billion users initiative, has revealed... More
Apple Pay goes live in Georgia
Apple Pay has added the country of Georgia to the list of nations where the mobile payments service is available... More
Sub-prime borrowers to boost US Apple Pay adoption?
Apple has instructed its Apple Card issuing partner Goldman Sachs “to approve as many of its 100 million-plus iPhone users in the US as possible” for its new credit card “within the bounds of regulations and responsible lending,” CNBC reports... More
Mumbai bus passengers to pilot India’s new national transit ticketing system
Mumbai bus operator BEST is to begin a pilot of India’s ‘One Nation One Card’ national transit card system in November this year... More
Apple Card begins to roll out in the US
The Apple Card starts rolling out today — The Verge — “Apple says a random selection of people who signed up to be notified about the Apple Card will be invited to sign up today… The signup process, which requires iOS 12.4, involves entering your address, birthday, income level and last four digits of your Social Security number. That information is sent to Goldman Sachs, which will approve or decline your application in real time… Once you’ve been approved, your new card will show up in your Apple Wallet immediately.”
Apple Card to roll out in August?
Apple and Goldman Sachs credit card targeting August launch date — Bloomberg — “The Apple Card is targeted to launch as early as the first half of August… People who own an iPhone will be able to sign up for the card via the Wallet app, which will have built-in Apple Card support as part of the latest iOS 12.4 update.”
Shinhan to put credit cards on the blockchain
Shinhan Card develops blockchain-based payment system — The Korea Times — “With the patent-winning technology, the card firm has established a blockchain-powered credit transaction process that enables various functions, such as setting a maximum spending limit, paying in monthly installments and completing payments between merchants and consumers… The company is the first in the world to have established a credit transaction service using the new record-keeping technology, it said.”
Samsung Pay adds in-app loan and credit card applications in India
Samsung partners with Paisabazaar.com to offer financial products on Samsung Pay — Paisabazaar — “Paisabazaar.com, India’s largest online marketplace for financial products, today announced its partnership with Samsung… Samsung Pay users can apply for credit cards and personal loans from the platform. The move will enable millions of existing and potential Samsung Pay users to get the benefit of seamlessly opting for a host of financial services.”
Societe Generale lets cardholders add personalized bank cards to Apple Pay
Societe Generale brings personalized credit and debit cards to Apple Pay — Societe Generale — “Societe Generale offers over 180 personalised physical cards, but this marks the first time customers will see the exact same card as they have in their wallet in Apple Pay. ‘With Apple Pay’s personalisation mirroring our cards’ personalisation, we are demonstrating continuity between our digital and our physical products,’ said Julien Claudon, head of card and digital payment.”
National Bank of Kuwait claims world first with contactless metal Visa credit card
The NBK Visa Infinite Privilege Credit Card will be offered exclusively to the bank’s private banking customers, and by invitation only, once regulatory approval for the product has been received... More
Singapore’s OCBC Bank rolls out instant banking product approval via mobile
Customers of Singapore’s OCBC Bank can now make purchases via their mobile devices minutes rather than days after applying for a digital bank card... More
Standard Chartered adds instant credit card and loan issuance to its Singapore banking app
Standard Chartered has become the first bank in Singapore to offer customers the ability to use its mobile banking app to apply for loans and credit cards — and, if approved, have a digital version of their new credit card instantly provisioned to their Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay digital wallet so they can make payments... More
KeyBank to roll out contactless cards in the US
KeyBank, one of the largest bank-based financial services companies in the US, has begun issuing contactless credit and debit cards to its customers... More
Wells Fargo to add contactless functionality to US credit and debit cards
Wells Fargo accelerates customer checkout experience with new tap-to-pay contactless cards — Wells Fargo — “This week, new Wells Fargo consumer credit cardholders began receiving cards with the contactless feature when opening an account, and existing Wells Fargo consumer credit cardholders will receive a new contactless card when their current credit card expires. Consumer debit cards with the contactless feature will start to become available this summer.”