Belgian bank KBC has reported on the take-up of the non-banking services such as car parking and transit ticketing that it has been adding to its mobile banking app since launching it last summer... More
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has launched the UK’s first till-free grocery store, with the pilot being used to help develop the company’s SmartShop Scan, Pay & Go technology which allows shoppers to pay via their smartphone... More
NatWest Bank has begun a three-month pilot of bank cards incorporating a fingerprint... More
The UK government is to fund the setup of up to four ‘future mobility zones’ in which a range of transport models and services will be tested, including integrated mobility-as-a-service applications that “make it simpler and quicker to book and pay for transport”... More
7-Eleven opens trial store in Tokyo using facial recognition payment system — The Mainichi — “Convenience store giant Seven-Eleven Japan Co launched a trial 7-Eleven store with a self-checkout system using facial recognition technology here on Dec 17 as it aims to promote labour-saving measures and introduce cashless payments amid concerns of labour shortages… Seven-Eleven Japan Co plans to install the system at small-scale 7-Eleven outlets, such as those inside office buildings, making it the first convenience store chain of its kind in Japan.”
Tesco set to get rid of £30 limit on Apple Pay transactions — MoneySavingExpert — “The supermarket giant has said on social media: ‘We are currently in the process of trialling high value contactless payment with Apple Pay in a few of our stores and will be looking to extend this offer to the rest of our stores estate over the coming year.”
Belgian bank KBC is inviting customers to take part in a year-long wearable payments pilot, with each being offered the choice of testing an NFC-enabled ring, keyfob, wristband or watch... More
No more tickets? MLB fans will soon use fingerprints, facial recognition instead — Fox Business — “A tap of the finger will soon replace traditional tickets at baseball stadiums across the country… A pilot program will arrive at select venues later this season… The platform will expand to point-of-sale systems and possibly more teams… Fans will be able to pay for food and validate their age for alcohol purchases using their fingerprint.”
Aeon and Fujitsu launch field trial of cardless payments using biometric authentication technology — Fujitsu — “Aeon Credit Service and Fujitsu will begin a field trial of a cardless payment system using Fujitsu’s palm vein biometric authentication technology. Starting in September 2018, the trial will take place in selected Ministop convenience stores. This initiative will be Japan’s first example of palm vein authentication-type cardless payments at actual retail stores.”
Busking goes cashless with ‘a world first’ for London — BBC — “London has introduced a contactless payment scheme for buskers in what the organisers claim is a world first. In addition to tossing loose change into a box, passers-by can use card readers to make contactless payments…The scheme will be be rolled out across the city after successful trials.”
Starbucks to test cashless stores in S Korea — Yonhap News — “Starbucks Coffee Korea Co, the local unit of the US coffee giant, said Thursday it will begin a test run of cashless stores at three outlets next month amid rising use of credit card and mobile payment systems… It will mark the second trial for the global coffee giant, following its first cashless store under test run in Seattle.”
BBVA launches its ‘invisible payments’ strategy — BBVA — “BBVA is already working on developing a facial recognition system to allow users to pick up their food and sit down directly, without needing to make a manual payment, or for anyone to check the user’s identity… The system uses machine learning algorithms through which the machines ‘learn’ to identify both the faces of users and products on the tray in order to make the correct charge on their card.”
Dining on demand: Barclaycard launches first ‘Dine & Dash’ restaurant — Barclaycard — “Barclaycard has developed ‘Dine & Dash’, a new solution enabling diners to simply walk out after eating — bypassing the traditional bill-paying process — which will be unveiled with a consumer trial at high-street chain Prezzo. The launch comes in response to 38% of diners who want to avoid waiting for the bill and 67% of restaurant owners who are in favour of an ‘invisibill’ way to pay to improve service and customer satisfaction.”
JCB to test multipurpose biometric authentication for potential launch of authentication and payment scheme using visible light palm authentication — JCB — “JCB will be running a trial of multipurpose server-based visible light palm authentication in February at JCB headquarters in Tokyo, Japan… The trial will focus on testing technical aspects during the registration and payment flow: capturing customer palm print and vein patterns with a smartphone camera, storing the patterns on a server, performing authentication, and returning the results to the smartphone.”
Fintech startup Flux partners with Barclays for itemised receipts — Techcrunch — “Flux, the London fintech startup founded by former early employees at Revolut, has announced a partnership with Barclays in the UK that will see it trial its itemised receipt technology with 10,000 of the bank’s customers… On the merchant side, the trial also sees Flux partnering with Barclaycard, which will provide the ability for merchants, via integration through their point-of-sale devices, to issue digital receipts to any customer.”
PCCW Global and DHQ Tech to explore multi-currency Tap & Go mobile payment technology — HKT — “Our collaboration with DHQ Tech will enable Tap & Go users to pay for goods and services regardless of where in the world they originate from, or in which currency they wish to pay… Tap & Go is uniquely positioned to overcome all the hassles associated with making payments between currencies, and we expect ease of operation to deliver real benefits for regional trade and tourism.”
British supermarket offers ‘finger vein’ payment in worldwide first — The Telegraph — “It works by using infrared to scan people’s finger veins and then links this unique biometric map to their bank cards. Customers’ bank details are then stored with payment provider Worldpay, in the same way you can store your card details when shopping online. Shoppers can then turn up to the supermarket with nothing on them but their own hands and use it to make payments in just three seconds.”
No spare change? No excuse! — ING — “From March to July, a three-person team ran a pilot in the Netherlands for the box with 19 charity organisations… Not only was the overall process much quicker, the donor’s behaviour changed. The average donation doubled compared to the traditional cash-based collecting, from €1.50 (US$1.79) to €3.20 (US$3.82).”
Parliament: Cashless trial for public transport to be extended to more payment types from next year — The Straits Times — “A trial system that allows commuters to pay their public transport fares using contactless credit or debit cards will be extended to more payment types including Visa and Nets 2.0 from next June (2018). Mobile payment modes — such as Android Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay — will also be available from the first quarter of next year as part of the trial.”
Two hundred small businesses are to participate in a pilot that lets them accept contactless payments using just a mobile app on their NFC smartphones... More