Apple Pay has launched in Taiwan with support from Mastercard, Visa and seven banks including Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Cathay United Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, CTBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan. More
Mobile banking
Nordic banks roll out first mobile payment services with support for Dankort
Customers of more than 60 banks belonging to The Bokis Partnership have become the first in Denmark to be offered a mobile payment service for Dankort, the country’s national debit and credit card. The service is available through the mobile apps offered by each of the supporting banks and works on Android handsets through host card emulation (HCE) and on iOS through a Bluetooth acceptance device at the point of sale. More
Wells Fargo to add NFC mobile withdrawals to ATMs later this year
Customers of US bank Wells Fargo will be able to withdraw cash from ATMs using an NFC-based mobile payments service such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay when the bank rolls out an upgrade across the US “later this year”. More
Nordea Bank: PSD2 will require banks to adopt a ‘totally new way of viewing their customer base’
Significant confusion and a high level of fragmentation can be expected over the next five years as European financial institutions become accustomed to new regulations under the Payment Services Directive (PSD2) which will open the door to new competition within the European payment services market, says Nordea Bank’s vice president of strategic business development, transaction banking and business innovation. More
UK consumers want more biometric security options for online banking
More than half of UK consumers (56%) would prefer to use a biometric security method over traditional options like passwords to log into their financial accounts online, research released by Equifax reveals. 33% would prefer to use fingerprint recognition, 31% would like to use iris scanners, 7% facial recognition and 3% voice recognition. More
White paper explores how dedicated Android NFC devices can be used to improve the delivery of financial services in emerging markets
Secure, affordable and dedicated Android NFC devices issued to local agents, farmers and financial institutions in emerging markets are improving the delivery of a wide range of services including branchless banking, know your customer procedures and food aid distribution, according to a 19-page white paper that is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre. More
Westpac launches payments keyboard for chat apps
Customers of Australian bank Westpac will soon be able to use an innovative replacement for the default keyboard found in social messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to make P2P money transfers to friends, family and businesses as well as send cardless cash codes to recipients for ATM withdrawals. More
Wells Fargo moves forward with ATM mobile withdrawal plans
US bank Wells Fargo will become the first in the country to upgrade its entire network of ATMs with mobile withdrawal functionality next week, as the bank prepares to roll out the service to 13,000 machines... More
LG to launch mobile payments service using magnetic communication technology
LG will launch its LG Pay mobile payments service in Korea in June this year using a mobile payment technology that works by “generating a magnetic signal from a mobile device such as a smartphone, and paying it to a general credit card terminal”. More
More French banks get HCE payments with Paylib
Customers of French banking group Groupe BPCE’s Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne will be able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments from April through the banks’ mobile banking apps and Paylib, an online payment platform supported by France’s main banks... More
US Bank adds Visa corporate cards for mobile payments
US Bank customers can now add their Visa Corporate Travel Card to Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay... More
Canadian banks to test blockchain digital identity network for consumers
A blockchain-based digital identity network that will let Canadians verify their identity to organisations of their choice and access services such as new bank accounts, driving licenses or utilities using a mobile app is now undergoing testing ahead of a planned launch later this year. The service is backed by a group of Canadian banks that includes BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, RBC, Scotiabank and TD. More
India calls for mobile banking for all by 31 March
The Indian government has called on banks to provide mobile banking to all customers by the start of April 2017, The Indian Express reports... More
Nordea launches PSD2-inspired Open Banking portal
Nordic bank Nordea has launched the first version of its Open Banking/Open API portal, offering third-party developers the chance to collaborate with the bank as part of the requirements laid out by the European Payment Services Directive (PSD2)... More
Samsung Pay to launch in India with support from five Visa and Mastercard issuers — and Paytm
Samsung has begun inviting Galaxy phone owners in India to register for early access to Samsung Pay. Customers can opt to pre-register Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank debit or credit cards and SBI Cards credit cards today with support for American Express and Citibank to follow. Paytm’s market leading mobile wallet will also be supported by the service. More
China’s central bank tests digital currency for in-store payments
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has conducted trial runs of a prototype cryptocurrency it has been developing since 2014 that could be used “to buy anything from noodles to a car”, The Straits Times reports... More
BNP Paribas launches HCE mobile payments
Customers of French bank BNP Paribas will soon be able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments through the bank’s mobile banking app and Paylib, an online payment platform supported by the country’s main banks... More
UK bank tests voice commands with Google Home
Starling Bank, a UK mobile-only bank, is testing an integration of its API with Google Home, the voice-activated speaker powered by Google Assistant... More
Belgian bank to launch HCE mobile payments
Customers of Belgium’s Belfius Bank will soon be able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using a service integrated with the Belfius Mobile banking app... More
Ant Financial invests in Korea and Philippines
Alipay parent company Ant Financial is to invest US$200m in South Korean mobile finance platform Kakao Pay to “expand its online and offline payment coverage”... More