Moving forward together with cities — Uber — “We’ve inked a partnership with Masabi, the global leader in public transit mobile ticketing, to let Uber customers book and use transit tickets in our app. For many people, getting around their city is already a multimodal affair, and this partnership will let riders seamlessly combine public transit with other transportation options like ridesharing, no matter where they need to go.”
Taxi
Samsung partners with Grab for mobile payments in south-east Asia
Grab and Samsung sign MOU to drive digital inclusion in south-east Asia — Samsung — “Grab and Samsung will work together on a wide range of initiatives to bring the benefits of technology, such as enhanced customer experiences and improved income opportunities, to millions of consumers and Grab driver-partners across south-east Asia… The two companies will also work together to expand into south-east Asia’s fragmented mobile payments ecosystem and provide a mobile payments solution that will serve the needs of consumers in south-east Asia.”
Nets to use taxi drivers to recruit new mobile payments merchants
Nets roping in 15,000 cabbies to nudge hawkers to go cashless — The Straits Times — “To coax hawkers to go cashless, e-payment giant Nets is going to enlist the help of an unconventional army: ComfortDelGro’s 15,000 cabbies. The cabbies will get a ‘monetary reward’ for every hawker they get to sign up to use the Nets QR code system… This Hawker Champion programme is now being tested by 100 cabbies, and will be rolled out to the full fleet in the next few months. The tie-up will help hasten the national effort to get more transactions to go cashless.”
Cargo turns Uber cars into convenience stores
How Cargo is helping Uber drivers earn extra cash by selling stuff to passengers — VentureBeat — “Cargo partners with brands across confectionery, electronics, cosmetics, and more to offer riders access to goods such as chocolate bars and USB cables. The company sends a transparent case to drivers, along with the goods, which they place in the vehicle’s front compartment, allowing passengers to see at a glance what’s on offer. The traveler can then make payment using PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, or their credit card through Cargo’s mobile website, using a unique code to ensure payment goes to the right driver.”
Ride-hailing app Grab acquires mobile payments startup iKaaz
Grab announces acquisition of Bangalore-based payments startup iKaaz — Grab — “The rich functionality of iKaaz’ mobile payments platform and its experienced leadership team will accelerate feature development and partner integration of GrabPay, Grab’s payments platform. Already Southeast Asia’s #1 ride-hailing platform, Grab is expanding across all markets in Southeast Asia in 2018 with the goal of becoming the region’s universal payments platform.”
Chinese ride hailing giant Didi Chuxing enters the payments market
Didi Chuxing picks up a payment license — Caixin — “Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing company, is speeding into the payments business, acquiring a much-coveted license to join the red-hot internet financial-services arena. Didi has agreed to fully acquire third-party payment-services provider 19Pay for 300m yuan (US$45.4m)… Last year, the PBOC said it would control the number of third-party payment licenses issued, making it increasingly difficult to get a license.”
Octopus adds QR payments for taxi rides in Hong Kong
Hong Kong e-payment operator Octopus launches QR code service, aiming to get city’s 40,000 taxi drivers off cash — South China Morning Post — “Hong Kong cashless payment operator Octopus has launched a QR code service aimed at small merchants and the city’s 40,000 taxi drivers, who have long been reluctant to accept anything but cash. The new payment method, which only requires a smartphone on each side of the transaction, eliminates the need for merchants to install Octopus card readers, which at certain locations are bound by technical limitations.”
Taxi hailing app Grab targets Asian mobile payment market
Grab starts mobile wallet service at hawker stalls in Singapore — Bloomberg — “Grab will enable its four million users in the city-state to scan a quick response, or QR, code to pay for local dishes such as chicken rice and prawn noodles at hawker stands around the country. Grab plans to increase the number of small merchants accepting GrabPay from 25 to 1,000 by the end of December… The five-year-old startup plans to roll out mobile wallet services across the region next year, according to co-founder Tan Hooi Ling.”
Tesla taxis to check in passengers as they travel to the airport
Travelling from home to Dubai airport set to be a breeze — Khaleej Times — “You board an electric car to the Dubai International Airport, and by the time you get there, all your travel formalities are done… A camera inside the car uses facial recognition to send all relevant data to smart immigration gates. The boarding pass will be sent directly to the counter, and the traveller can go straight to the boarding gate.”
Ride-hailing app Grab launches e-payment and fund transfer system
Ride-hailing app Grab launches e-payment and fund transfer system — The Straits Times — “Users will be able to transfer GrabPay credits between themselves via its in-app mobile wallet… Grab also aims to work with more than 1,000 merchants in the retail, entertainment and food and beverage industries to accept mobile payments through GrabPay in the fourth quarter of 2017.”
Bakeries, pubs and bars top UK contactless payment locations
The highest percentage of contactless payments across the UK are taking place in bakeries (62.5%) followed by pubs and bars (48.2%), caterers (47.8%), takeaway restaurants (45.5%), news dealers and newsstands (44.9%) and restaurants with 42.7%, research released by merchant services provider Paymentsense reveals. More
Square will replace meters in Washington taxis
Square will replace meters in Washington taxis — Bloomberg — “The overhaul of the city’s cab system will help drivers compete with Uber… By the end of August, all of the taxis in Washington have to tear out their traditional meters and start using smartphones or tablets, in what the city government has been describing as a complete reimagining of how the cab system works.”
Tostitos tortilla chip bags use NFC to order an Uber when consumers are too drunk to drive
US consumers can now order a discounted Uber ride by tapping their NFC smartphone against a bag of Tostitos tortilla chips when they have had too much to drink. The bag detects the presence of alcohol on a person’s breath and shows either a green or red steering wheel to alert the consumer of whether or not they are safe to drive home. More
Mercedes Pay mobile payments unveiled for Daimler mobility services
Customers of Daimler’s mobility services will soon be able to use a dedicated Mercedes Pay mobile payments platform, allowing them to “easily and securely pay for mobility offerings and services using their smartphones”, the German automotive giant has announced... More
Alzheimer’s Research UK promotes Christmas ad through Proxama’s beacon network
PARTNER NEWS: Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) is using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons on digital payment solutions provider Proxama’s beacon network to promote its Santa Forgot Christmas campaign... More
London taxis go contactless
All black cabs across London are now enabled to accept contactless payments, Transport for London (TfL) has announced... More
Singtel Dash mobile payments service adds NFC transit
Singapore mobile network operator Singtel has made NFC transport payments and top-ups available through its Singtel Dash mobile payments platform. Deals and rewards have also been added as well as overseas money transfers. More
Singapore carriers to use Gemalto NFC SIMs for transit ticketing rollout
PARTNER NEWS: Digital security giant Gemalto is supplying Singapore’s mobile network operators with UpTeq Multi-Tenant NFC SIMs for the rollout of a service enabling commuters to use a mobile version of their EZ-Link transit card to pay for public transportation and for purchases at some 30,000 local retail outlets... More
Singapore commuters get NFC payments
Customers of mobile network operators M1, Singtel and StarHub can now pay for journeys on public transport services in Singapore with a tap of their NFC device as a result of a partnership between the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and transport card issuer EZ-Link. More
Visa launches cross-marketing network for coupon-free digital rewards
US merchants can now send targeted offers and rewards to their customers that can be redeemed at other merchants’ locations via Visa Commerce Network, a new service launched by Visa that eliminates the need for coupons at the point of sale. More