Facebook could be looking at letting its users make in-store purchases via its Facebook Messenger chat app, according to The Information... More
Social media
Visa Europe launches ‘Cashfree and Proud’ campaign
Visa Europe has enlisted the help of UK actors Brian Blessed and Joanna Lumley to promote contactless payments through a ‘Cashfree and Proud’ campaign that will run from March to May... More
Barclays Pingit adds BBM support
UK users of BlackBerry’s BBM messaging service can now initiate mobile payment transfers to each other using Barclays’ Pingit P2P payment service... More
Málaga Club de Fútbol fans get contactless wristbands
Supporters of Spanish football club Málaga Club de Fútbol (CF) can now get contactless payment wristbands branded with the club’s logo from their local CaixaBank branches and be rewarded for using the device... More
Payfriendz launches P2P messaging app in the UK
UK consumers can now make P2P transfers and pay online using a virtual MasterCard through Payfriendz... More
PayPal adds buy buttons
PayPal has unveiled a new platform that enables merchants and partners to embed buy buttons in emails, social shares, blogs, articles, ads and apps through a set of APIs... More
Viber to add money transfers to messaging app
The more than 664m users of messaging app Viber will soon be able to send money to friends and family from anywhere in the world thanks to an integration with money transfer network Western Union... More
Facebook may soon support Apple Pay
Facebook is open to partnering with Apple Pay and other payment services in order to enable payments on its social media network, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed... More
UK consumers warm to biometric identification
More than half of UK consumers (54%) are willing to authorise payments using biometric technology, research from Experian shows... More
Facebook bots to enable Messenger commerce
Facebook has given some developers access to an as yet unannounced Chat SDK that allows them to build interactive experiences and “bots” in Messenger for shopping, booking travel and more, according to TechCrunch... More
Apple to allow P2P transfers through iMessage?
A patent filed by Apple suggests that the company may be looking at letting iPhone users send money over iMessage as well as via phone calls, emails and calendar invitations... More
Kik adds QR to messaging app
Mobile messaging app Kik has introduced Kik Codes, QR codes which can be assigned to users and scanned to start a conversation or used by brands to send out offers... More
Oxigen Wallet loyalty program partnership
Indian mobile wallet provider Oxigen Wallet has partnered with loyalty program provider PayBack to allow customers to earn PayBack points and redeem them as cash, to make online and bill payments... More
One in ten UK consumers experience Apple Pay issues
One in ten UK consumers using Apple Pay experienced issues when using the contactless payment service during its first week, research from social media company Brandwatch reveals... More
Facebook expands buy button pilot
Facebook has extended its ‘buy’ button pilot to US retailers using the Shopify commerce platform... More
Facebook expands free Bluetooth beacon program
Facebook is offering free Bluetooth beacons to select businesses across the US that will enable them to send “useful and relevant” information to customers about the places they visit... More
Saracens fans get contactless payment wristbands
Supporters of Saracens rugby union club have been given prepaid contactless wristbands that let them pay for food and drink with a tap at the club’s Allianz Park stadium in north London, as well make payments outside the venue and travel on the city’s public transport network... More
Twitter invests in beacon marketer Swirl
Twitter has invested an undisclosed sum in Boston-based proximity marketing specialist Swirl, hinting the social media platform could be looking at using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons to push messages. The social media giant has invested alongside Hearst Ventures, Softbank Capital and others in an $18m series-C round, taking the total raised by Swirl so far to $32m... More
Snapchat adopts QR friending
Photo messaging platform Snapchat is letting users add friends to their social network by scanning Snaptags, unique QR codes assigned to each user... More
Facebook to test Bluetooth beacons in New York
Facebook has unveiled a new service called Place Tips that works with Bluetooth beacons, WiFi and GPS to show the social network’s iOS app users “useful and relevant” information about the places they visit... More