Apple Pay has added the country of Georgia to the list of nations where the mobile payments service is available... More
Asides
JR East introduces loyalty points for transit ticketing payments
Users of Japanese rail operator JR East’s Suica stored value transit cards will soon be able to start collecting loyalty points when they use their account to pay for their journeys — and will receive four times as many points when they use Suica to make a payment with their mobile phone rather than a plastic card... More
Sainsbury’s halts cashierless supermarket pilot
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has added a manned till and two self-checkout stations to the London store it opened in April as the UK’s first checkout-free supermarket... More
Amazon to pilot biometric payments in Whole Foods stores?
A biometric payments system that uses the shape of a shopper’s hand to identify them at the point of sale (POS) is currently being tested by Amazon employees ahead of a planned pilot at “a handful” of Whole Foods supermarkets early next year, the New York Post reports... More
China to begin issuing digital currency in November?
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is preparing to launch a central bank-backed digital currency on 11 November, according to a Forbes report — and is to kickstart usage by distributing it to UnionPay, Tencent, Alibaba and several Chinese banks in time for consumers to use it on Singles Day, the country’s busiest shopping day... More
UK government to add support for iPhone NFC passport reading
The UK government is to introduce an iOS version of its NFC-based EU Exit: ID Document Check app in October, the Home Office has told The Register... More
Apple rolls out Apple Card, extends 3% cashback offer to third party merchants
Apple Card is now available to all US consumers, the iPhone maker has announced — and the 3% cashback offered to cardholders who use their card to make an Apple Pay mobile payment for an Apple product will now be available from “more merchants and apps”... More
National QR mobile payments service to go live in Indonesia
Indonesia’s central bank says it has now completed the development of QRIS, an EMV-compliant national QR Code Indonesian Standard for mobile payments... More
Chinese airlines to offer NFC baggage tags at Beijing airport
China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines are introducing NFC-enabled electronic baggage tags that let passengers check in their own luggage and then track its location on their mobile phones, China Daily reports... More
XYZ to adopt finger vein payments at co-working cafe
Co-working space provider All Work & Social has signed up as the launch partner for a biometric payments system that uses the pattern of veins in a customer’s fingertip to replace the need to carry a card, phone or cash... More
Sub-prime borrowers to boost US Apple Pay adoption?
Apple has instructed its Apple Card issuing partner Goldman Sachs “to approve as many of its 100 million-plus iPhone users in the US as possible” for its new credit card “within the bounds of regulations and responsible lending,” CNBC reports... More
Mobile phones to become ‘primary source of identity’ for over 3bn people
By 2024, nearly 40% of the global population will have been issued with a mobile digital identity document, Juniper Research forecasts — a total of more than three billion people... More
Three in four US Apple Pay users ‘are attracted to the Apple Card’
Three-quarters of Apple Pay users are attracted to the Apple Card — and so are 60% of eligible non-users, a US consumer survey conducted by Auriemma Group has found... More
Half of US Apple Pay users set to apply for an Apple Card
52% of Apple Pay users say they are likely to apply for an Apple Card in the next 12 months, a JD Power survey of US consumers has found... More
Mumbai bus passengers to pilot India’s new national transit ticketing system
Mumbai bus operator BEST is to begin a pilot of India’s ‘One Nation One Card’ national transit card system in November this year... More
POC adds NFC chips to bike helmets
Sports equipment maker POC has included NFC chips in two new cycling helmets “to aid user safety and protection” in the case of injury, Endurance Business reports... More
KeyBank to roll out contactless cards in the US
KeyBank, one of the largest bank-based financial services companies in the US, has begun issuing contactless credit and debit cards to its customers... More
Russia’s Mir payments system preps for global rollout
Russia is planning a global rollout for its Mir cards, the card payment system it launched in 2015... More
PayPal to develop digital wallet for Uber
Uber is to extend its partnership with PayPal to explore future commercial payment collaborations, including the development of a digital wallet for the on-demand transport firm... More
Apple Pay to be available in 40 countries this year
Apple Pay is on track to be available in more than 40 countries this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed during the launch of the company’s new Apple Card this week... More