Google signs deal to take UPI beyond India
Google Pay is to take India’s real-time payments system to other countries after signing a deal with the scheme’s manager. More
Google Pay is to take India’s real-time payments system to other countries after signing a deal with the scheme’s manager. More
The Bank of Ghana (BOG) is to pilot a two-tier token-based retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) that can be used with either a digital wallet app managed by a financial institution or a physical hardware wallet such as a contactless smart card that can be used offline and by unbanked consumers... More
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic “will restrict the growth of MaaS platforms in 2020”, a new forecast from Juniper Research predicts, but MaaS initiatives “will rebound quickly in 2021 as cities re-evaluate their transport strategies”... More
An analysis of the global payments industry by McKinsey & Company predicts that Covid-19 will result in a loss of revenues of between US$165bn and US$210bn in 2020 — and sets out “ten fundamental changes to the payments ecosystem that will help all of us find a new normal.” More
The European Commission is planning to create an integrated EU payments system that will “facilitate the use of national payment services across Europe and reduce the dependency from international card operators such as Visa or Mastercard,” an EU official has told Euractiv... More
“We had a tremendously successful launch in India from which we learnt a lot of features, and we are bringing that and we are revamping our payments products globally,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has revealed... More
RBI publishes ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 — 2021’ — Reserve Bank of India — “The Payment Systems Vision 2021, with its 36 specific action points and 12 specific outcomes, aspires to (a) enhance customer experience, including robust grievance redressal; (b) empower payment system operators and service providers; (c) enable the payments ecosystem and infrastructure; (d) put in place forward-looking regulations; and (e) undertake risk-focused supervision.”
Europe needs to get off the sidelines — Deutsche Bundesbank — “Here in Europe, we need to prevent a situation from arising in which American and Chinese payment systems are all we have left to choose between. Highly successful firms from the United States and China are looking to carve out a huge chunk of the European market. Hence the desire to forge a payments solution with a clear-cut European ‘brand’.”
Mastercard has introduced a ‘sonic brand identity’, a suite of sounds based around a melody that can be used in many different contexts to remind consumers they are dealing with the payments network... More
Mastercard Inc CEO Ajay Banga on Q4 2018 results — Seeking Alpha — “We’ve received commitments from issuers representing approximately two thirds of our total US consumer volume to issue contactless cards within the next two years. This includes Citi, Capital One, KeyBanc, Santander, HSBC and others. We’re also working with leading processors like FIS to bring contactless to smaller issuers and to credit unions.”
Microsoft Wallet for Windows Phone to be retired in February — Windows Central — “Support is set to end for all Windows 10 Mobile devices by the end of this year, and Microsoft is already beginning to retire apps in anticipation. In an update to the Microsoft Wallet website, Microsoft has noted that the app will be ‘officially retired’ on February 28, 2019.”
Mastercard evolves its brand mark by dropping its name — Mastercard — “Mastercard today announced that it is dropping its name from its iconic brand mark in select contexts. The interlocking red and yellow circles, referred to as the Mastercard Symbol, will now stand on its own across cards using the red and yellow brand mark, acceptance marks at retail locations both in the physical and digital worlds, and major sponsorship properties… The flexible modern design will allow it to work seamlessly across the digital landscape.”
Paytm chief eyes dominance in Japanese market as ticket to US — MoneyControl — “After becoming an almost household name in India, digital payments major Paytm has set its sight on dominating the Japanese market, a development that its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma feels will be its ‘ticket’ to the US… ‘If we kill it in Japan, we will get the ticket to go to the big country,’ Sharma said.”
Visa has developed a custom two-note ‘chirp’, vibration and screen animation that can be triggered whenever a Visa payment is made on a digital device, Bloomberg reports... More
NXP Semiconductors reports second quarter 2018 results — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — “NXP has received today notice from Qualcomm Incorporated that Qualcomm has terminated, effective immediately, the purchase agreement between NXP and an affiliate of Qualcomm following the inability to obtain the required approval for the transaction from the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) of the People’s Republic of China prior to the end date stipulated by the parties under the purchase agreement. Qualcomm has notified NXP that it will pay the $2 billion in termination compensation by 9:00 am, New York City time, on July 26, 2018.”
WeChat Pay to keep overseas focus on outbound tourism instead of offering more local wallets — South China Morning Post — “Tencent’s WeChat Pay said it will not seek to offer more local payment wallets to overseas customers over the next three years and will remain focused on serving outbound Chinese tourists better in popular overseas destinations… ‘In mainland China we have millions of users so we can make WeChat Pay into a successful payments tool… We don’t have many WeChat users in overseas countries so we should accept that it will be hard to develop payment tools for them.’”
PayPal to spend $3 billion a year on M&A — Reuters — “PayPal Holdings Inc is on the lookout for further acquisitions following its recent takeover of iZettle, the Swedish fintech startup, for $2.2bn… ‘We have a healthy balance sheet and we are ready to put it to work to buy more companies,’ president and CEO Dan Schulman told Germany’s Handelsblatt… Paypal is ready to invest up to $3bn a year on acquisitions that enable it to acquire specific capabilities, Schulman added.”
E-commerce giant Alibaba has invested in NFC and RFID specialist Smartrac Technology Group and taken a seat on the company’s board... More
Ant Financial sees huge growth for cashless payments in South America, Africa — South China Morning Post — “Kenny Man, head of international investment for Ant Financial, said over the next five years, emerging markets including those in South America and Africa will be priority for the company’s global partnerships… ‘China has leapfrogged over traditional credit cards to the mobile wallet. That same change will be even more radical and faster in different parts of the world, whereby people will embrace mobile payments,’ Man said.”
Visa slashes fee on debit card payments, wants more small merchants on board — Economic Times — “In a note circulated among member banks recently, Visa said it would cut rates on debit card transactions by up to 95%… The largest quantum of decrease will apply to transactions under Rs 2,000 (US$29.57)… ‘Effectively, merchants and banks pay nothing for small value transactions. With this move, it should become more attractive for banks to deploy terminals at small shops and encourage debit card payments,’ said a senior banker.”