Digital wallets were the new way to pay most discussed by consumers on social media in 2016, the 2017 edition of the Mastercard Digital Payments Study has found, with consumers around the world also increasingly interested in the payments possibilities of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, smart home assistants, wearables, and the Internet of Things... More
Social media
Young Brits adopting mobile wallets
Two thirds of 18- to 25-year-olds in the UK (64%) are using a mobile wallet, while only 14% have “no interest” in doing so, research released by social money transfer app Moneymailme reveals... More
Facebook strengthens security with Fido-compliant authentication
Social media giant Facebook has added the Fido Alliance’s Universal Second Factor (U2F) specification to its platform to strengthen its range of two-factor authentication methods which have previously been offered through an SMS service or by a code generation feature inside the Facebook mobile app... More
Consumers to personalise makeup and perfume with electronic ink and NFC packaging
Beauty product buyers will soon be able to add their name to their makeup compact and perfume bottles, write personal messages to gift recipients, access information based on skin conditions, receive targeted advertisements and connect to social media campaigns through an electronic ink display, powered by NFC, on the product packaging... More
Facebook gets Spanish e-money licence
Facebook has obtained a licence to manage money transfers between users in Spain, according to El Pais... More
Amex adds card feature for Messenger bot
American Express has unveiled an Add a Card feature to its Amex bot for Messenger, allowing eligible US Consumer and Open card members to add their card and billing information for purchases on Facebook... More
Facebook given licence to launch Messenger payments in Europe
Facebook has secured an e-money licence from the Central Bank of Ireland that will allow the company to launch charitable donations and P2P payments through its Messenger service across Europe... More
NFC clothing range connects US Ski Team with winter sports fans
Ski and performance brand Spyder is to add NFC technology to its US Ski Team clothing collection, allowing skiers to connect with team members via social media and share location-based information with a tap of an NFC device against the company’s logo... More
Android Pay to include a game?
Mobile payments service Android Pay could have a game built into it, with prizes on offer, an APK teardown report from Android Police suggests... More
McDonald’s South Africa pilots QR code mobile payments with WeChat
McDonald’s South Africa is piloting a mobile payment service at select restaurants in Johannesburg and Cape Town using social messaging app WeChat Africa, enabling customers to complete purchases by presenting QR codes generated by the app at the point of sale... More
Facebook update brings tokenization to Messenger payments
Facebook has introduced a payments update to its Messenger platform that will allow US businesses who are not integrated with Stripe or PayPal to process payments within both messages and webview using tokenization technology... More
Absa Bank comes to Facebook Messenger
Customers of Africa’s Absa Bank can now conduct banking transactions through Facebook Messenger using the bank’s ChatBanking feature... More
Pizza Hut enables orders on social media
Customers of Pizza Hut will soon be able to place orders using Facebook Messenger and Twitter through a new chatbot launched by the pizza chain and technology provider Conversable... More
CVS tests Apple Pay
US pharmacy chain CVS is testing support for Apple Pay and is “evaluating” mobile payment options, according to AppleInsider... More
Golfer to showcase contactless payments jacket at Royal Troon
Professional golfer Graeme McDowell has been equipped with a payment-enabled jacket by MasterCard for The 145th Open at Royal Troon this week that will let him pay while he plays by tapping his sleeve on a contactless reader. More
Singapore banks to allow transfers with social media IDs
Banks in Singapore are working on a service that would let consumers make payments using their Facebook ID or Twitter username... More
Facebook tests Messenger payments
US consumers are testing a new service that lets them send money through Facebook’s Messenger chat app... More
Absa takes banking to Twitter
Africa’s Absa Bank has launched ChatBanking, a service that will let customers conduct day-to-day banking on social network Twitter... More
Emirates Islamic takes banking to Twitter
Customers of Emirates Islamic Bank can now request account information through social media site Twitter... More
US brewery installs BLE beacons on beer taps
Drinkers of Schlafly Beer in St Louis, Missouri can now receive information about drink specials, tasting notes, new beer releases and customised campaigns on their smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons attached to the craft brewery’s beer taps. More