Switzerland’s largest supermarket chain Migros has launched a mobile payments service first mooted in January, allowing customers to make purchases using a Migros app linked to their Migros Bank account or credit card... More
Retail
Four in five Apple Watch owners use Apple Pay
Some 80% of Apple Watch owners that are eligible to use Apple Pay have already done so, research from Wristly has found, with 79% saying they prefer using the mobile payments service on their Apple Watch over their iPhone... More
MCX member Rite Aid to accept Apple Pay and more
US pharmacy chain Rite Aid, a member of the MCX retailer-owned mobile payments consortium, will accept Apple Pay and other mobile payment services in its stores from August 15, following its decision to stop accepting NFC payments in the wake of the launch of Apple Pay in October last year... More
Mobicash offers NFC payments at vending machines
Mobile financial services provider Mobicash is to allow users in Pakistan to make NFC mobile payments at Wavetec vending machines following a trial... More
Ezetap raises $24m for mPOS expansion
Bangalore-based Ezetap has raised Rs150crores (US$23.5m) to expand its mPOS solution of configurable mobile app and card reader that plugs into a merchant’s mobile device... More
SmarTone unveils Kiss mobile marketing platform with NFC payments and Bluetooth beacons
Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has unveiled Kissco, an end-to-end mobile marketing platform incorporating Kiss Pay, a mobile payments service based on NFC and ultrasound technology, a Kiss Dollars loyalty program and Kiss Beacons to allow retailers to send out offers and promotions directly to customers’ smartphones from their stores... More
11% of US retailers integrate loyalty with payment app
Some 11% of US retailers have already integrated a loyalty program into a mobile payment app, while 40% plan to do so within the next two years and 20% in three to five years, research from Boston Retail Partners reveals... More
Target tests Bluetooth beacons in 50 US stores
US retail giant Target has begun testing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons in 50 stores nationwide to send deals and recommendations on nearby products directly to a shopper’s smartphone running the retailer’s iOS mobile app... More
Walmart India signs up for MobiKwik payments
Walmart is the latest retailer to support in-store payments from mobile wallet service MobiKwik in 20 of its Best Price Modern Wholesale stores in India, following WHSmith and India’s largest retailer Big Bazaar... More
SIX and Swisscom partner with banks for national mobile payments service
Switzerland’s financial infrastructure operator SIX and telecommunications provider Swisscom have partnered with a number of banks in the country to establish a nationwide mobile payments service that would enable consumers to make in-store mobile payments at retail locations using either NFC, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) or a combination of both, SIX has told NFC World... More
DigiSEq gets MasterCard approval to provision payments to mass market wearables
MasterCard has approved a solution that enables payment credentials to be provisioned to wearable devices with a secure element and NFC antenna... More
London markets could go contactless
Londoners may soon be able to pay with their contactless cards at market stalls across the city as a result of the £20m London Regeneration Fund launched by mayor Boris Johnson... More
Commonwealth Bank adds loyalty to mobile app
Commonwealth Bank has added a loyalty feature to its mobile banking app that also offers HCE payments, allowing users to store loyalty cards and redeem them at the checkout with their NFC phone or by scanning the loyalty card barcode... More
42% of US iPhone 6 owners use Apple Pay in May and June
More than two fifths of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus users reported having used Apple Pay between the end of May and mid-June, with 84% making more than three in-store transactions, the bi-monthly Apple Pay tracker from Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG) reveals... More
HSBC and First Direct go live with Apple Pay in UK
HSBC and First Direct customers in the UK can now add their debit and credit cards to Apple Pay, allowing them to use their iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad to pay at more than 250,000 locations... More
HKT launches NFC mobile payments service in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) subsidiary HKT Payment has launched a SIM-based NFC mobile payment service to let customers of its 1010 and Csl mobile service brands pay at more than three million locations worldwide which accept MasterCard PayPass, using funds stored in their Tap & Go mobile wallet account... More
Wearable payments to reach $501bn by 2020
Payments made using wearable devices such as smart watches, fitness trackers and wristbands will grow from US$3.1bn in 2015 to $501.1bn worldwide by 2020, research from market intelligence firm Tractica finds... More
Purchases on Google test confirmed
Google has confirmed it is testing a Purchases on Google service with a “limited number of retailers”, following rumours of the company’s plans in May... More
Braintree supports UK launch of Apple Pay
PayPal-owned payment processor Braintree has announced its support for the UK launch of Apple Pay via its v.zero SDK that will allow merchants to add the mobile payments service as an online checkout option alongside PayPal, credit and debit cards... More
Apple Pay goes live across the UK
Apple Pay is now live across the UK, enabling consumers with iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch devices to make NFC mobile payments at more than 250,000 locations and across the Transport for London (TfL) bus and underground rail network... More