Google has announced a suite of upgrades for transportation operators, airlines and loyalty card issuers that extends the functionality of its Google Pay API for Passes — and revealed future plans to make Passes “available to your users on Google even if they haven’t installed the Google Pay app”... More
Updates to Apple’s Core NFC framework in iOS 13 will make it possible to write to NFC tags from an iPhone for the first time. Support will also be added for a new kind of ‘value added service’ tag and for reading and writing to ISO 7816 smart cards and tags and ISO 15693 (NFC Forum Type 5) vicinity cards and tags. Integration with Siri Shortcuts for single tap, multi-step automated workflows is also being added. More
UK frozen food specialist Iceland has become the first national retailer to trial mobile wallet technology with in-store redeemable mobile discount vouchers installed on more than 20,000 devices... More
Coffee giant Starbucks has begun rolling out its Starbucks Now mobile-based, pre-order and pay service to 300 stores in Beijing and Shanghai... More
McDonald’s China links loyalty program to Ele.me app — Alibaba — “Starting this week, Ele.me users can activate a McDonald’s membership card with just one click on the app to earn loyalty points for purchases and receive vouchers worth up to RMB88.5 ($12.80). The fast food giant attracted nearly 20,000 new members on its first day of launching the service on May 20, while single-day orders increased about 20% week-over-week, McDonald’s China said.”
Dairy Queen, Bonobos, Panera Bread, Yogurtland, Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches, Dave & Buster’s, Caribou Coffee plus Bird and PayByPhone are all working on projects that use Apple’s Core NFC tag reading capabilities to make it easier for consumers to sign up for their services, Apple Pay boss Jennifer Bailey has revealed... More
Twelve vending machine providers with an installed base of more than one million vending machines have signed up for Civic Pay, a blockchain-based platform that combines identity and age verification, QR code mobile payments, loyalty and rewards... More
Google has begun rolling out a new feature that scans a Gmail user’s inbox and then automatically adds any coupons, loyalty cards, airline boarding passes and movie tickets that it finds to their Google Pay wallet... More
McDonald’s has incorporated the AlipayHK payments wallet into its mobile app for consumers in Hong Kong. In a global first for the fast food retailer, the app also allows customers to order food and access exclusive Alipay rewards. More
Apple has launched a credit card to link with Apple Pay... More
Air France, KLM, EasyJet, Lufthansa and Ryanair have all begun adding support for Google Pay, enabling flyers to save their boarding passes to the service when they use an airline’s app to buy a ticket... More
Visa partners with Starbucks & Hardee’s to help promote the use of Apple Pay in KSA and UAE — MenaFN — “The promotion with Starbucks will allow Visa cardholders to upgrade the size of their latte, cappuccino or americano beverages if they pay through Apple Pay… The Hardee’s promotion will allow Visa cardholders to receive a free dessert when they buy any large meal of their choice using Visa with Apple Pay.”
Chipotle Rewards launches by giving fans a quarter of a million dollars on Venmo — Chipotle Mexican Grill — “Chipotle is using Venmo payouts to give away up to a quarter of a million dollars… For a chance to receive anywhere between $1 and $500, consumers submit the phone number associated with their Venmo account at chipotlerewardsme.com. Within 24 hours, recipients of the payouts will be alerted of the payment in the Venmo app with a payment note from Chipotle, along with a custom Chipotle pepper emoji.”
Customers of KFC will be sent a digital version of their receipt when they pay with certain bank cards following a tie-up between the fast food chain in the UK and Flux... More
Kroger introduces Kroger Pay and Kroger Rewards debit card — The Kroger Co — “After a customer enters their custom PIN or biometrics, the app provides customers with a single-use QR code to scan at the terminal to quickly communicate payment and loyalty card information, which includes digital coupons and personalized offers… Kroger Pay recently launched in the retailer’s Columbus, Ohio division. The service will roll out to 10 additional markets in the spring, with plans to go nationwide later this year.”
Barclays is rolling out a service which will enable customers to collect points from different retailers’ loyalty schemes when they pay with their Barclays bank card... More
PARTNER NEWS: A new NFC tag inlay, jointly developed by NXP and Identiv, is now available to order at an “unrivalled” price of US$0.05 per unit, “enabling a new generation of smart products across a wide range of end markets where NFC may have been previously considered price prohibitive.”... More
UK challenger bank Monzo has rolled out a service allowing customers to collect digital receipts and loyalty rewards within its app... More
Honda Dream Drive to deliver next-generation infotainment, commerce, services and rewards to drivers and passengers — Honda — “Since 2016, Honda has worked with Visa to build and enhance the in-vehicle payment experience to make payments more convenient and secure. Now, Honda is expanding its in-vehicle payment collaboration to include Mastercard and PayPal… Honda Developer Studio is user testing a new points-based rewards program to benefit drivers and passengers for using Honda products and services. Drivers and passengers can earn rewards points for participating in a variety of activities including purchasing services, watching and listening to media, and playing games.”
National Bank of Oman customers can now shop with Nuqati points — Albawaba — “Customers can now use their Nuqati points at a wide selection of shops to buy items ranging from coffee to groceries to electronics… Customers can redeem points online, through the NBO mobile app or in-store. After entering their PIN or tapping their contactless payment cards, customers will have the option of choosing to pay in Omani rials or Nuqati points.”
