TfL signs £2m payments promotion deal with Google Pay
Google has agreed to pay Transport for London (TfL) £2m (US$2.56m) for the right to place Google Pay branding on all of London Underground’s 5,686 tap in/out card readers for a year... More
Maestro
RBR reports 10% growth in global payment card market
Continued growth in China cements UnionPay as the world’s largest card scheme — RBR — “There were 16bn payment cards in circulation at the end of 2018, up by 10% since a year earlier… The largest scheme worldwide is UnionPay, which accounted for 45% of cards in circulation at the end of 2018… Visa (including Visa, Visa Electron, V Pay and Interlink) made up 20% of the world’s cards… Mastercard (Mastercard, Maestro and Mastercard Electronic) accounts for 16% of all cards.”
Atac brings contactless transit ticketing to Rome
Passengers using the subway and local trains in the Italian capital city of Rome can now use their contactless bank card to pay for the journeys they make each day — and can also opt to use their card as a replacement for their monthly travel pass... More
Erste Bank adds NFC to its QR mobile payments app
Hungarian bank Erste has upgraded its Erste MobilePay application for Android phones to include NFC functionality, enabling customers to use their phones for contactless payment... More
KBC to pilot multiple wearable payments options
Belgian bank KBC is inviting customers to take part in a year-long wearable payments pilot, with each being offered the choice of testing an NFC-enabled ring, keyfob, wristband or watch... More
Apple unveils launch partners for Apple Pay in Germany
Apple Pay will launch in Germany “soon”, the iPhone maker has revealed, with support from American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Maestro, Boon, Bunq, Comdirect, Deutsche Bank, Edenred, Fidor Bank, Hanseatic Bank, HypoVereinsbank (HVB), N26, O2 Banking and VimPay... More
Google Pay goes live in Italy
Google Pay has arrived — Google Blog Italia (translation) — “Simply add a credit, debit or prepaid card (Maestro, MasterCard, Visa) issued by any of the supported banks and credit institutions to the Google Pay app — including Banca Mediolanum, Boon, Hype, Nexi, N26, Revolut, Widiba and, in the coming months, Iccrea Banca and Poste Italiane — to turn your Android smartphone into a wallet. Users can also activate the service directly in the mobile banking app of their bank.”
Erste Bank launches range of NFC payment options in Austria
Customers of Erste Bank und Sparkassen in Austria will now be able to make NFC payments using a wristband, sticker or mobile app launched by the bank. All three payment methods are available countrywide and can also be used to make withdrawals at the first NFC-enabled Erste Bank ATM in Vienna. More
MasterCard reports 150% increase in contactless transactions in Europe
More than one billion contactless MasterCard and Maestro transactions were processed in Europe in 2015, up 150% on 2014, MasterCard reports... More
PayPal launches contactless reader in UK
PayPal has launched the new version of its PayPal Here card reader, equipped with contactless, in the UK following its unveiling in March... More
MyOrder to add HCE virtual cards for in-store payments
Dutch mobile order and payment provider MyOrder is to add virtual cards based on host card emulation (HCE) issued by German payments technology provider Wirecard to its app later this year, which will let users make in-store payments at any terminal that accepts Maestro contactless... More
MasterCard issues European contactless POS mandate
European merchants who accept either MasterCard or Maestro will be required to switch to contactless POS terminals by 1 January 2020, “ensuring that consumers will be able to pay with their contactless cards and NFC enabled devices at all point-of-sale (POS) terminals”, the payment network has announced... More
Base launches NFC payments and coupons in Germany
German customers of mobile network operator Base, part of the E-Plus group, can now make payments, store membership cards and redeem coupons with their NFC phone... More
E-Plus to launch NFC mobile wallet
German carrier E-Plus is to launch a mobile wallet in Spring 2014, enabling customers to make payments with an NFC phone as well as collect and redeem loyalty points and discount vouchers using QR codes... More
Hungarian national NFC service enters pilot testing phase
The Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association, an alliance between mobile network operators Magyar Telekom, Vodafone and Telenor with MasterCard, OTP Bank and SuperShop, is launching a pilot to test a new NFC mobile payment solution in the country... More
T-Mobile launches NFC in Poland
The second commercial NFC service to go live in Poland this month has the backing of five banks and supports payments via both debit and credit cards. More
Orange launches NFC payments trial in Poland
The mobile phone operator starts delivering on its promise to roll out NFC throughout Europe during 2011, saying opportunities are “virtually limitless”. More
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