The number of payments made using Apple Pay and Google Pay increased by nearly 650% and the number of PIN-free contactless card transactions grew by more than 10% in certain regions of the UK, according to figures published by merchant payments provider Dojo... More
Mobile payments
San Francisco MTC lets passengers pay fares with Clipper on iPhone and Apple Watch
Passengers on 24 public transportation systems in the San Francisco Bay Area of the USA can now add their Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Clipper stored-value transit card to Apple Wallet and use their iPhone or Apple Watch to make contactless payments for bus, train and ferry fares... More
ECB survey reveals Europeans expect digital euro to be private, secure and easy to use
More than two-fifths (43%) of Europeans rank privacy as the most important feature of a digital euro central bank digital currency (CBDC), with 18% citing security, 11% the ability to pay across the eurozone, 9% the lack of additional costs and 8% offline usability, according to a European Central Bank (ECB) survey... More
Hong Kong and Macau to distribute stimulus payments to citizens’ digital wallets
The governments of Hong Kong and Macau are to stimulate consumer spending by distributing digital payment vouchers that residents can store in their mobile wallets or on a prepaid smartcard and then use to make purchases from retailers and other local businesses... More
Emirates NBD rewards customers for adopting contactless payments
Customers of Emirates NBD bank in the United Arab Emirates can now earn entries to a prize draw for luxury items whenever they make a contactless payment with their credit or debit card, mobile wallet or payments-enabled wearable device... More
Google promotes mobile payments in the US with $30 Spring Challenge
Google Pay users in the US can now earn a US$30 reward by completing actions including making NFC tap-to-pay transactions, paying or referring friends, and redeeming cashback offers during a 10-day promotion... More
Forecast: 1.4bn consumers will be using face recognition to authenticate payments by 2025
The number of consumers using software-based facial recognition to authenticate payments worldwide will reach 1.4 billion by 2025, up from 671 million in 2020, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
Patent shows how Apple Pay could automatically select a card based on the user’s location
Apple Pay users could be able to make contactless payments and other transactions with merchants or transit providers without having to manually select the correct payment, rewards or transit card or other digital credential from within their mobile wallet... More
Visa reports 1bn extra contactless transactions in Europe since payment limit rises
Visa has processed 1bn additional PIN-less, touch-free payments since 29 countries across Europe increased contactless transaction limits in response to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the card network reports... More
More than 100m Americans to make an in-store mobile payment in 2021
The number of American consumers using their smartphone to make in-store mobile payments will reach 101.2 million in 2021 following a 29% increase in usage during 2020, according to an eMarketer forecast... More
East Caribbean Central Bank launches digital currency
Residents of Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia and St Kitts and Nevis can now pay for goods and services and make peer-to-peer money transfers from their smartphones using the East Caribbean Central Bank’s DCash central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
Chinese banks roll out digital yuan wallets
Customers of all six state-owned Chinese banks can now apply for test versions of the banks’ digital yuan wallets as the country rolls out the next phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot programme in the city of Changsha... More
GSMA reports ‘dramatic acceleration’ in mobile money transactions
The number of registered mobile money accounts globally grew by 13% in 2020 to reach a total of more than 1.2bn, according to research by the GSMA... More
Afterpay launches virtual card for ‘buy now, pay later’ in-store purchases
Consumers in Australia can now make payments for in-store purchases using a digital card issued by buy now, pay later (BNPL) service Afterpay that lets them automatically pay for their purchases in four equal instalments... More
Sydney integrates digital Opal card with rideshare services
Commuters in Sydney, Australia, will soon be able to use a digital version of their Opal transit card to pay for taxi fares and rideshare services and earn credit towards the cost of public transportation services they then transfer to... More
Delhi Metro lets passengers top up their transit cards at fare gates
Passengers travelling on Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) services in India can now top up their contactless AutoPe DMRC transit cards at the network’s automatic fare collection gates... More
Abu Dhabi theme parks roll out face recognition for access and payments
Visitors to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island can now use their face to gain access to the resort island’s Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros World theme parks and to make contactless payments at retail and dining outlets that support its face recognition technology... More
Global OEM Pay transactions to exceed US$1tn in 2022
The total value of contactless transactions made using payment services provided by smartphone and other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will reach more than US$1tn in 2022, a rise of 377% on 2019, Kaleido Intelligence predicts... More
Samsung Pay to launch in Slovakia and the Czech Republic
Samsung Pay will go live in Slovakia and the Czech Republic this year, according to media reports in both East European countries... More
WSJ video shows China’s digital yuan in action in stores
The Wall Street Journal has posted a video report showing Chinese consumers in the city of Chengdu using the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to make in-store NFC and QR code payments from a digital yuan wallet on their mobile phone... More