Consumers in the Bahamas will be able to use mobile wallets integrated with the country’s Sand Dollar “like an ATM” and transfer the central bank digital currency to their wallet directly from their bank account, the governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas, John Rolle, has said... More
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Consumers to get option to personalise their digital payment cards
Consumers may soon be able to personalise the payment cards stored in their digital wallets by uploading their own pictures or images of their favourite sports teams, charities and retail brands to them... More
More than 90% of consumers worldwide will consider using digital payments in the next year, Mastercard predicts
More than nine in 10 consumers (93%) will consider using digital payment methods including contactless, QR code and biometric payments as well as cryptocurrency transactions in the next year, according to a Mastercard survey... More
Mastercard in talks with PBOC over support for cross-border digital yuan transactions
Mastercard is seeking a role in the development of China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) by supporting the use of the digital yuan for cross-border transactions and its conversion to and from foreign currencies, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP)... More
Facebook relaunches WhatsApp peer to peer payments in Brazil
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now send money to friends, family and other contacts by attaching a payment to a chat “just as you would attach a photo or video” and validating the transfer with a PIN or their device’s biometrics functionality... More
Apple Pay goes live in Israel
Apple Pay has rolled out in Israel with support for Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards issued by nine major Israeli banks and credit card companies, according to local media outlets... More
Finnish cities roll out open loop contactless fare payments
Passengers using selected ferries and trams in the Finnish capital of Helsinki and buses in the city of Tampere can now make EMV contactless fare payments using an open loop ticketing platform being rolled out by Helsinki Regional Transport and Tampere’s Nysse regional transit authority... More
Aion Bank onboards personal and business customers via NFC
Consumers, retailers and other business customers can now remotely verify their identity when opening an account or applying for a loan with Belgium-based Aion Bank by scanning the contactless chip embedded in an ID document with their NFC smartphone or other mobile device and validating the information via a facial recognition check... More
Google Pay to add transit payments to home screen
Google Pay users in the US will soon be able to access mobile transit ticketing services including fare payments and transit card management directly from the app’s home screen on their smartphone or other mobile device... More
Porsche lets owners in Australia find, access and pay for parking from their vehicle
Porsche owners in Australia can now be guided to, gain entry to and make contactless payment for off-street parking in the city of Melbourne directly from their in-vehicle touchscreen using the luxury vehicle manufacturer’s smart parking app... More
Chinese banks unveil CBDC hardware prototypes for multiple use cases
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have unveiled prototype hardware devices that support the use of the digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC) across a range of different use cases... More
Samsung Pay to add support for local currencies in South Korea
Consumers in the South Korean province of Gyeonggi-do will soon be able to make mobile payments using local currencies issued by 28 cities and counties across the region using a local currency easy payment platform... More
Mir payments system adds support for Apple Pay
Russia’s domestic payments system Mir is adding support for Apple Pay, enabling banks to let customers link a Mir payment card to Apple Wallet and use it to make mobile payments... More
Transport for Ireland adds NFC transit card top-ups for iPhone users
Passengers on public transportation services in Ireland can now use an NFC-enabled iPhone to top up their Leap transit card using Transport for Ireland’s (TfI) Leap Card top-up app... More
Retail CBDC projects ‘particularly strong’ in emerging economies, PwC index shows
Projects to develop a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by consumers and businesses are “more advanced” and “particularly strong” in emerging economies, according to analysis by global consultancy firm PwC... More
Russian retail giant adds biometric payments to let customers ‘pay with a glance’
Customers at superstores, supermarkets and convenience and cosmetics stores owned by Russian retail group Magnit can now authenticate contactless payments at self-checkout devices using pay-with-a-glance technology... More
Chinese firm promotes video game with giant QR code in the sky
Gamers in Shanghai were able to download a link to a video game by scanning a giant QR code created in the sky above the Chinese city by a formation of more than 1,500 drones with their smartphone... More
Crédit Agricole issues biometric payment cards in France
Customers of Crédit Agricole can now use their fingerprint to authenticate contactless payments made with a biometric deferred debit card issued by the French bank... More
Amazon expands pay by palm technology to Whole Foods Market store
Customers at a Whole Foods Market store in Seattle in the USA can now gain access to the supermarket and pay for their purchases using Amazon’s contactless palm scanning device... More
Car Connectivity Consortium to release specification for hands-free Bluetooth and ultra wideband digital keys
The Car Connectivity Consortium is to complete its specification for Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and ultra wideband (UWB) digital keys that enable drivers to unlock and start their vehicles without needing to take their mobile device out of their bag or pocket “by the middle of 2021”... More