Asian communications group Singtel has opened a cashless, unmanned pop-up store that uses face recognition and personalization to let customers select, purchase and leave with high-value goods including new phones and accessories... More
Six European mobile wallet providers — Bluecode (Austria), ePassi (Finland), Momo Pocket (Spain), Pagaqui (Portugal), Pivo (Finland) and Vipps (Norway) — have adopted a QR code format from Chinese payment provider Alipay to ensure digital payment interoperability and improve the international reach of customers’ wallets as well as boosting sales, participants have told NFCW... More
Drinks brand Malibu is launching an NFC-based promotion in the US states of Ohio and Texas that enables customers to use NFC tags attached to 300,000 ‘connected bottles’ to win branded goods and access cocktail recipes and other content... More
White Paper: Non-NFC based Mobile Sepa Card Proximity Payments — European Payments Council — “The document aims to create awareness amongst the payments industry about the development of non-NFC based MCPP [Mobile Sepa Card Proximity Payments] solutions and to provide a common understanding of the MCPP landscape. This final version also reflects the outcome of a three-month public consultation that ended in February 2019.”
Google has announced a suite of upgrades for transportation operators, airlines and loyalty card issuers that extends the functionality of its Google Pay API for Passes — and revealed future plans to make Passes “available to your users on Google even if they haven’t installed the Google Pay app”... More
UK frozen food specialist Iceland has become the first national retailer to trial mobile wallet technology with in-store redeemable mobile discount vouchers installed on more than 20,000 devices... More
Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin is to use blockchain technology and QR codes to create forgery-proof digital certificates of authenticity for its watches which can be easily transferred to new owners... More
PARTNER NEWS: Antelop Solutions has launched an integrated onboarding, authentication and mobile payments platform for Android and iOS devices that lets both traditional and challenger banks combine “best-in-class” end-to-end security with a user friendly, PSD2-compliant, mobile-first consumer experience... More
Bank Indonesia launches national standard QR code — The Jakarta Post — “QRIS, which physically manifests as a more complex QR pattern, allows users from one payment service to transfer funds to any rival service within BI’s ecosystem. A customer using e-wallet service LinkAja, for example, could transfer funds to a shopkeeper using e-wallet OVO given at least one party has a QRIS code.”
More citizens and businesses satisfied with government digital services — Government Technology Agency of Singapore — “By the third quarter of FY19, the Government will launch ‘SG-Verify’, a facility for businesses to perform secure identity verification and data transfer through QR scanning. This will provide businesses an alternative for visitor registration and access, customer acquisition at roadshows, or any other use cases that require identification.”
Japan to unify mobile payment codes, enlisting Chinese giants — Nikkei Asian Review — “Line and Alibaba Group Holding are among five major internet businesses from Japan and China that will standardize QR codes that are scanned to make payments via smartphones in Japan, Nikkei has learned. The others joining this undertaking are online flea market operator Mercari and mobile carrier NTT Docomo from Japan and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay from China.”
Mexico’s central bank Banxico has begun trials of its cashless QR and NFC Cobro Digital (CoDi) electronic payment system with employees of financial institutions including BBVA Bancomer, Citibanamex, Santander, Banorte, Banregio and Fincomun... More
Brazil’s Itau Unibanco to launch new payments app using QR code — Reuters — “Merchants using Iti will pay a fee of 1% per transaction and will receive payments instantly… The app also does not require merchants to buy or rent card reader machines… Itaú is also considering offering investments, loans and insurance products through the new app.”
QR code option may be must for shops — The Times of India — “The government is looking to mandate a QR code-based payment option using UPI at all shops. The measure is intended to promote digital payments as the preferred option.”
Transit card issuer Octopus Cards Limited (OCL) has partnered with Hong Kong Taxi Council (HKTC) to provide local taxi drivers with the ability to use their NFC phone to accept payments for cab rides from Octopus card users... More
The rollout of contactless cards in the US should have an overall positive influence on NFC mobile payments adoption in the US, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston — but both consumers and merchants have ongoing adoption issues that remain to be resolved... More
Banks to join in new payment service — The Japan News — “The new service will allow consumers to make payments by presenting QR codes displayed on their smartphones to code readers installed at shops and other places. Purchased amounts will be debited from their bank accounts in real time.”
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has launched the UK’s first till-free grocery store, with the pilot being used to help develop the company’s SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go technology which allows shoppers to pay via their smartphone... More
Mobile ticketing app for Taiwan’s Taoyuan metro to be fully launched Wednesday — Taiwan News — “Passengers travelling on the Taoyuan metro line will be able to pay their fares using a mobile app, starting Wednesday… Using their credit or debit cards, passengers will be able to buy tickets via the app and swipe though the turnstiles at the metro stations with a QR code on their mobile devices.”
Amazon Pay launches person to person (P2P) payments through UPI for Android customers — Amazon — “Customers can use this functionality to settle bills/expenses with friends, lend/return money to family, pay rents, pay for services like house-help, newspaper bills, milk subscription and more. Customers can also make payments from their bank account to local stores nearby or to [an] Amazon delivery associate at [the] doorstep by scanning UPI QR codes using the Amazon app.”
