7-Eleven is running a pilot of a new mobile payments service that includes an option for iPhone owners to use Siri to pay for their fuel from their vehicle using only their voice... More
Payments
KBC rolls out support for wearable payments
Customers of Belgium’s KBC bank can now add their debit card to their choice of a range of wearables and then use their new ring, watch, keyring or bracelet to make payments at any merchant equipped to accept contactless payments... More
BNP Paribas to issue biometric payment cards to Premier and Gold cardholders
BNP Paribas is to begin issuing payment cards with a built-in fingerprint sensor to its Premier and Gold cardholders later this year, the French bank has announced... More
Central bank blocks WhatsApp payments in Brazil
Brazil’s central bank has “ordered Visa and Mastercard to suspend the start of activities or immediately stop using the WhatsApp application to initiate payments and transfers”... More
NatWest to test behavioural biometrics for strong customer authentication
NatWest is working on the development of a behavioural biometrics solution for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) that could be used as a replacement for banking passwords, the UK bank has announced... More
Visa introduces cloud tokens that work across multiple devices
Visa has introduced a new cloud-based token framework that makes it possible for tokens to be enabled “across all of a consumer’s devices” and “are directly integrated with the consumer’s bank”... More
Facebook picks Brazil for first commercial rollout of WhatsApp payments
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now make payments to local merchants and send money to friends and contacts “without leaving their chat”... More
Stocard picks Dejamobile to add payments to mobile loyalty app
PARTNER NEWS: European mobile loyalty wallet leader Stocard has added support for NFC payments to its app as it looks to evolve its digital wallet into an all-in-one payments, banking and shopping service... More
EU opens Apple Pay antitrust investigation
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation “to assess whether Apple’s conduct in connection with Apple Pay violates EU competition rules”... More
Russian grocery retailer uses cashierless shopping technology to create an automated store-within-a-store
Russian grocery retailer Azbuka Vkusa has converted an aisle within one of its Moscow supermarkets to a cashierless store-within-a store, enabling shoppers to use their mobile phone to check in at the entrance to the aisle, add their shopping to their basket and “simply exit when done”... More
Taiwan to issue stimulus credits to contactless cards and mobile phones
Taiwan is to introduce a Triple Stimulus voucher programme that will enable residents to buy NT$3,000 (US$100) worth of shopping vouchers for NT$1,000 (US$33.34) — or receive an equivalent cashback credit to their card or mobile wallet... More
MTA resumes Omny contactless ticketing installations
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has resumed work on the rollout of its Omny contactless payments infrastructure as part of the first phase of its reintroduction of normal services on the city’s subway and local bus services... More
Axis Bank lets Indian merchants accept contactless payments on standard NFC phones
Axis Bank has become the first in India to offer merchants the ability to accept NFC, contactless, QR and remote payments on standard smartphones... More
Octopus lets Hong Kong commuters add their transit card to iPhone and Apple Watch
Octopus transit card holders can now use their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay their fares and make purchases at 35,000 retail outlets across Hong Kong that accept Octopus for payments... More
Taipei light rail offers 50% discounts to mobile payment users
Passengers travelling on Taipei’s Danhai Light Rail service over the next three months will receive a 50% discount on the usual fare when they choose to pay with their mobile phone, operator New Taipei Metro Corporation (NTMC) has announced... More
Samsung Money to go live in the US this summer
A new Samsung Money by SoFi service due to launch in the US “later this summer” will provide “a mobile-first money management experience that brings a cash management account and a Mastercard-branded debit card along with exclusive benefits into Samsung Pay,” the company has announced... More
Google pilots voice-based payments
Google is piloting a new service that lets Google Assistant users confirm payment for a purchase with just their voice... More
India to open antitrust investigation into Google Pay?
The Competition Commission of India is looking into allegations that Google is unfairly promoting its mobile payments app in the country, “five sources familiar with the case” have told Reuters... More
Metrolinx to let iPhone users top up Presto transit cards via NFC
Apple iPhone users in Toronto, Ottawa and Hamilton will soon be able to use their Presto app to top up their transit card via NFC... More
Morocco boosts contactless transaction limit by 100%
Morocco’s bank-owned payment acquirer, Centre Monétique Interbancaire (CMI), has raised the contactless transaction limit in the country from 200 to 400 dirhams (US$40) in response to the coronavirus crisis... More