US consumers are testing a new service that lets them send money through Facebook’s Messenger chat app... More
Testing
MintChip launches for in-store and P2P payments in Canada
Canadians can now use the MintChip virtual currency to send and receive money through a P2P mobile app and make payments at participating merchants in Toronto’s Liberty Village neighbourhood by scanning a barcode... More
MCX to end CurrentC pilot and disable all accounts
US retailer-led consortium MCX is concluding the pilot of its CurrentC mobile wallet at the end of June and will be disabling all user accounts. The company has “not yet determined the future timing of CurrentC”. More
Samsung Pay to begin beta test in Singapore
Samsung Pay has invited a “select group of consumers” in Singapore to begin beta testing the mobile payment service ahead of an anticipated launch in Q2 2016... More
MasterCard collaborates on speeding up EMV checkout
MasterCard is working with other payment networks, acquirers and processors to develop a standard that will reduce EMV checkout times... More
Wells Fargo to add NFC-based mobile payments to banking app
Customers of Wells Fargo Bank across the US will soon be able to make NFC-based mobile payments and ATM withdrawals with a tap of their phone using the Wells Fargo Wallet, a mobile payment service expected to launch “later this summer”... More
EMV Migration Forum releases EMV testing and certification white paper
The EMV Migration Forum has released a white paper that explains the requirements for testing and certifying contact and contactless chip-enabled terminals and details the most up-to-date requirements and processes from the global payment networks... More
Tourists in Japan to get fingerprint payments by 2020
The Government of Japan is to pilot a system that would let tourists verify their identity and make in-store payments using their fingerprint... More
BMO to offer ‘selfie pay’ biometric verification technology to customers
Canadian financial services provider BMO Financial Group is to enable its customers to use MasterCard’s Identity Check mobile app to verify their online transactions via face recognition and fingerprint biometrics... More
Waitrose trials ‘scan as you shop’ mobile app
Customers at upmarket UK supermarket chain Waitrose are trialling a ‘scan as you shop’ mobile app in three branches that lets them scan product barcodes on their phones as they place goods in their basket... More
Verizon to support Samsung Pay
Verizon has confirmed that its Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge devices will come equipped with Samsung Pay, despite reports earlier this week that the mobile network operator had disabled support for the mobile payments service... More
Google pilots hands-free payments in San Francisco
Shoppers in San Francisco’s South Bay area are being invited to take part in a pilot test of Hands Free, a payment service developed by Google that uses a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi and location services to let consumers make in-store payments without taking their mobile phone out of their pocket. More
McDonald’s turns Happy Meal boxes into virtual reality goggles
Diners at McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden can now turn their Happy Meal boxes into a set of virtual reality goggles and play a skiing game endorsed by the Swedish National Ski Team using their smartphone. More
Visa extends Visa Token Service to auto manufacturers
Visa is extending its Visa Token Service platform to auto manufacturers to enable in-vehicle payment experiences through Visa Checkout. The company has partnered with Honda and car parking solutions provider ParkWhiz to demonstrate fuel and parking proof-of-concept solutions at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. More
WeChat Wallet launches pilot in Hong Kong
Chinese ecommerce giant Tencent is testing its WeChat Wallet service with users in Hong Kong... More
Samsung Pay to go live in Spain with CaixaBank
Customers of Spain’s CaixaBank will be the first in the country to be able to use Samsung Pay, following a partnership between the bank and Samsung that will see the mobile payment service added as an option to CaixaBank’s host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payment app. More
Azerbaijan to get universal mobile payment system
A new mobile payments system is to begin undergoing tests in Azerbaijan this month, according to Azernews... More
Samsung Pay to launch in China with China UnionPay
Samsung has partnered with China UnionPay to bring its Samsung Pay mobile payments service to China in early 2016. The announcement comes as Apple reveals that it has also partnered with the bank card organisation to bring Apple Pay to Chinese consumers next year. More
Apple Pay to go live in China in early 2016
Apple Pay will launch in China in early 2016 through a partnership with bank card association China UnionPay and with support from 15 of the country’s banks... More
Swedish supermarket uses NFC price tags to promote deals and discounts
Customers at supermarket ICA Norrviken in a northern suburb of Stockholm can now view promotional deals, discounts, competitions and detailed information about products by tapping their phones against dynamic NFC tags integrated into price labels. More
