Amazon is promoting its Amazon One in-store biometric access and payments system by offering customers US$10 credit when they register their palm to gain access to and make payments in stores equipped with the company’s contactless palm scanning technology... More
Motorists purchasing Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 crossover utility vehicle (CUV) in North America will be able to pay for electric vehicle (EV) charging, parking, food and beverages directly from the fully electric car’s infotainment screen... More
Apple is preparing to introduce its own QR codes later this year, leaked files shared with former Techcrunch reporter Josh Constine suggest... More
Leaked screenshots of a new Google Pay debit card, to be issued by banks partnering with the search engine giant for its planned move into the US banking market, include mention of an option to use a digital version of the card “for Bluetooth mobile payments”... More
Merchants can now use Apple Pay to let shoppers purchase items from directly within an augmented reality experience, using a new Custom Action feature Apple has rolled out for AR Quick Look... More
Google is to begin offering checking accounts to consumers from next year, in partnership with banks and credit unions, according to The Wall Street Journal... More
Facebook answers how Libra taxes and anti-fraud will work — Techcrunch — “Facebook is also in talks with local convenience stores and money exchanges to ensure anti-laundering checks are applied when people cash-in or cash-out Libra for traditional currency, and to let you use a QR code to buy or sell Libra in person.”
Google’s new plan to push Google Pay in India: cashback incentives in Android apps — Techcrunch — “The company has built an in-app engagement rewards platform that promises to help developers and businesses retain users and drive engagement on their apps, two sources familiar with the matter said… Sitting at the core of this new play is Google Pay, which will be used for transactions between businesses and users, thereby expanding the reach of Google’s payment service.”
Google to allow users to pay for Android apps using cash — Techcrunch — “Instead of charging an attached credit card, for instance, the user can instead opt to receive a payment code which they can use to pay for their purchase using cash at a nearby store. Once at the store, the user shows the payment code to the cashier and pays. Within 10 minutes after completing the transaction, the user will receive their purchase and an email with their proof of payment.”
JCPenney explains why it dropped Apple Pay — Techcrunch — “A third-party credit card brand made the requirement for all merchants to actively support EMV contactless functionality effective April 13, retiring the legacy MSD contactless technology in place. Given the resources and lead time associated with meeting the new mandate, JCPenney chose to suspend all contactless payment options until a later date.”
Ysplit is testing a virtual card which can be used by friends and people in house shares to split bill payments... More
LG’s latest flagship uses your hand veins to unlock — TechCrunch — “LG says the phone’s Hand ID tech is the first to use ‘advanced palm vein authentication’ — which could well be accurate… LG’s Hand ID identifies owners by recognising the shape, thickness and other individual characteristics of the veins in the palms of their hands.”
Motiv is bringing NFC-based payments to its fitness ring — Techcrunch — “Announced way back at CES 2016, Motiv’s fitness ring was surprisingly capable and accurate for its tiny form factor. Earlier this year, the startup promised to bring even more functionality to the finger, starting with biometric authentication that uses a wearer’s gait to unlock devices. This year at the show, the company’s got a handful of additional new features to show off. Most interesting among them is upcoming addition of mobile payments, via NFC.”
Facebook taps banks, but for chatbots not purchase data like Google — Techcrunch — “Account linking enables people to receive real-time updates in Facebook Messenger where people can keep track of their transaction data like account balances, receipts, and shipping updates… The idea is that messaging with a bank can be better than waiting on hold over the phone — and it’s completely opt-in. We’re not using this information beyond enabling these types of experiences — not for advertising or anything else.”
Snapchat will shut down Snapcash, forfeiting to Venmo — Techcrunch — “Snapchat will abandon the peer-to-peer payment space on August 30th… Shutting down the feature will bring an end to Snapchat’s four-year partnership with Square to power the feature for sending people money.”
Apple Pay tests ‘order ahead’ for drinks at music festivals — Techcrunch — “Last week’s BottleRock music festival near San Francisco was the first to try a new “order ahead with Apple Pay” feature that Apple hopes to bring to more events. You just open the festival’s app, select the closest concession stand, choose your drinks, Apple Pay with your face or fingerprint and pick up the beverages at a dedicated window with no queue.”
Google Pay’s app adds boarding passes, tickets, P2P payments and more — Techcrunch — “In an upcoming update of the Google Pay app, we’re going to allow you to manage all the payment methods in your Google account — not just the payment methods that you used to pay in-store… And even better, we’re going to provide you with a holistic view of all your transactions — whether they be on Google apps and services, such as Play and YouTube, whether they be with third-party merchants, such as Walgreens and Uber, or whether they’re transactions you’ve made to friends and families via our peer-to-peer service.”
Instagram quietly launches payments for commerce — Techcrunch — “Instagram just stealthily added a native payments feature to its app for some users. It lets you register a debit or credit card as part of a profile, set up a security pin, then start buying things without ever leaving Instagram… A tap through to the terms of service reveals that Instagram Payments are backed by Facebook’s Payments rules.”
Capital One’s shopping assistant Eno can now dole out virtual card numbers in the browser — Techcrunch — “Capital One’s card numbers let you pay without needing to use (or even locate) your credit card account information, once the extension is set up and configured. The extension instantly creates virtual card numbers when you go to a site’s checkout page… The Eno extension will also auto-fill your payment information on the checkout page, and reappear when you return to the same site.”
Square’s Cash app now supports direct deposits for your paycheck — Techcrunch — “This feature combined with the Cash app’s debit card now means that the app can essentially provide all the basic functions of a bank account.”