What's New in Payments

Jack Ma’s Ant Financial nearly doubles profits amid deal push

Jack Ma’s Ant Financial nearly doubles profits amid deal push — Bloomberg — “The company controlled by Alibaba’s billionaire co-founder Jack Ma racked up an 86% jump in pretax profit to 5.56 billion yuan ($814 million) in the year ended March, according to Bloomberg’s calculations… Since starting as Alipay in 2004, Ant Financial has grown into an online giant that controls more than half of China’s $5.5 trillion mobile payments market.”



NFC World

NFC secure element shipments to grow 12% in 2017

Eurosmart

Some 560m NFC secure elements will be shipped worldwide in 2017, representing a 12% increase from 2016, smart security industry association Eurosmart reveals. A total of 495m NFC secure elements were shipped in 2015, which increased by 1% in 2016 to reach 500m units. More



What's New in Payments

Low uptake of SIM-based mobile payments leads to decrease in NFC SIM shipments in 2016

SIMalliance

The global number of NFC SIM card shipments decreased in 2016 due in part to a “lower than anticipated” consumer uptake of SIM-based mobile payments and the impact of the closure of the Softcard mobile wallet in the US, the SIMalliance has revealed, despite reporting growth in NFC SIM shipments in key countries across Europe and the CIS regions, highlighting the demand in specific markets. More







Visa reveals growing Euro interest in biometric authentication

Visa Study

More than three in five European consumers (62%) believe using biometric forms of payment authentication will be faster and easier than passwords and PINs, research by Visa reveals, with 42% believing that the procedure could completely eliminate the need for multiple passwords and PIN codes... More


NFC World

NFC Forum agrees key markets promotions

The NFC Forum has signed agreements with the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), the FIDO Alliance and the Smart Ticketing Alliance to collaborate on projects that will “advance the adoption and usability of NFC in key markets and technology sectors” including automotive, public transportation and digital identity... More