Merchants in Poland are to be the first to pilot a new service that enables them to accept contactless payments of any amount “via a smartphone or tablet, in the same way a traditional payment terminal functions but with no additional equipment”... More
Co-working space provider All Work & Social has signed up as the launch partner for a biometric payments system that uses the pattern of veins in a customer’s fingertip to replace the need to carry a card, phone or cash... More
Saudi Payments, Saudi Arabia’s national payments infrastructure operator, is to use a combination of NFC and contactless payments, a new faster payments system and the introduction of a common QR code platform to reduce the use of cash and speed up its move towards a cashless society, managing director Ziad Al Yousef has told NFCW... More
NSW looks to facial recognition as Opal card alternative — iTnews — “In the transport space we’ll use facial recognition technology to scan customers who’ve ‘opted in’ and linked their Opal account… No more gate barriers – just a smooth journey.”
Central bank unveils plan on digital currency — China Daily — “The People’s Bank of China, the central bank, is organising market-oriented institutions to jointly research and develop a central bank digital currency and the programme has been approved by the State Council, the country’s Cabinet, Wang Xin, director of the PBOC Research Bureau, said at a seminar at Peking University.”
Coming in 2020: Calibra — Facebook — “Today we’re sharing plans for Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary whose goal is to provide financial services that will let people access and participate in the Libra network. The first product Calibra will introduce is a digital wallet for Libra, a new global currency powered by blockchain technology. The wallet will be available in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app — and we expect to launch in 2020.”
National Payments Corporation of India mulls using blockchain to boost digital transactions — Business Today — “The NPCI has floated an Expression of Interest (EOI) in order to enable bidders to propose their capability for developing distributed ledger technology/blockchain in the payment domain.”
Deutsche Kreditbank (DKB) is enabling cardholders to use biometrics and their banking app to verify their identity in real time when making online purchases with their credit card... More
PayPal CEO predicts digital payments industry will mature into a $100 trillion market — CNBC — “PayPal CEO Dan Schulman told CNBC that the digital payments industry may become a US$100tn market as the financial technology sector continues to grow rapidly… ‘We live in the space of digital commerce and digital commerce is exploding still around the world,’ he said. ‘There’s an explosion in digital commerce and we’re riding that wave.'”
Softbank plots digital payments raid with plans for Paypal rival — City AM — “Japanese technology giant Softbank is planning to create a global digital payments system that could rival giants such as PayPal, according to reports. The tech firm will lead a consortium backed by some of the world’s biggest banks… Under the plan, Softbank could acquire a large financial software business as a springboard to rolling out the new system.”
We have set up Paytm Money to focus on investment and wealth management — Paytm — “We are fast evolving from being a pioneer in digital payments to becoming a full-stack financial services company, which offers banking, lending, insurance, and payments. With Paytm Money, we will cover the entire spectrum of wealth management and plan to add more investment offerings going forward.”
Govt to incentivise online payments to push digital transactions — Hindustan Times — “The incentives could include cashbacks and reward points for BHIM users… The note presented last week by the ministry of electronics and information technology to Parliament’s standing committee on finance detailed a five-step road map to push e-transactions. ‘Digital payments to be made visibly cheaper than cash,’ the note said.
Tez: Money made simple — Google — “Send money home to your family, split a dinner bill with friends, or pay the neighbourhood chaiwala. Make all payments big or small, directly from your bank account with Tez, Google’s new digital payment app for India.”
Mastercard and Western Union explore digital model for refugee camps — Mastercard — “Mastercard and Western Union examined the needs, challenges and opportunities for refugees and their host communities at two settlement camps in northwestern Kenya. The findings have led to the development of Smart Communities: Using Digital Technology to Create Sustainable Refugee Economies, a blueprint that would combine digital access to remittances, banking, education, healthcare and other basic needs.”
More than 70% of online shoppers across the US have used digital payment services including mobile wallets, one-click checkout buttons and peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps, research released by American Express reveals, with 41% “always or sometimes” choosing to use digital solutions when they pay... More
Visa expands global network of providers to drive acceleration into IoT payments — Visa — “Visa announced it has signed 13 new partners to participate in its token service provider (TSP) program… The newest Visa partners share a desire to advance digital and device-based payments, and represent all major regions of the globe.”
Electronic money transactions are back to pre-demonetization levels — Livemint — “To hasten India’s shift towards a cashless economy, the government has been aggressively pushing digital payments, which had gained momentum after demonetization. However, six months later, Indians seem to have gone back to their old ways of cash.”
A group of German and other European companies including banks, vehicle manufacturers and technology providers have signed a “corresponding declaration of intent” to establish a joint, pan-industry platform that will let their customers use a “so-called master key” for registration and identification when accessing online services across a range of sectors including government, aviation and retail. More
The most obvious recent change in the payments landscape across India is the significant increase in the number of digital payments taking place in both urban and rural areas as a result of the measures taken by the Indian government to push the cashless initiative to the top of the nation’s agenda, says Mahindra Comviva’s senior vice president and head of mobile financial solutions. More
Amazon India has been granted a payment license by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate its own prepaid wallet in the country... More
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