Canadians rapidly adopting new payments channels — Payments Canada — “Contactless payments grew 30% year over year from 2017-2018 with a total of 4.1bn contactless payments (card and mobile) worth CA$129.9bn (US$98.58bn) at the point of sale (POS)… Mobile devices were used by nearly 35% of Canadians for contactless payments on a regular basis in 2018.”
Links
WeChat Pay lets users charge in-store mobile payments to their credit card
WeChat Pay now lets you Quick Pay with your credit card — SoyaCincau — “If you don’t have sufficient eWallet balance, you can now pay directly via your assigned credit card… To make a payment at a store, tap on ‘Me’ in the WeChat app and select WeChat Pay > Quick Pay. On the QR code screen, just tap on ‘Balance’ to change your payment mode from your eWallet balance to your credit card… When the merchant scans your code, the transaction amount will be charged to your credit card and it won’t deduct your eWallet balance.”
TransLink issues Compass Card key fobs
TransLink debuting keychain-sized ‘Compass Mini’ this week — CTV News Vancouver — “The launch of Compass Mini is a part of our commitment to enhance the customer experience,” CEO Kevin Desmond said in a news release. “Compass Wristbands have been a real hit and I’m sure customers will enjoy the convenience and practicality of the new Compass Mini.”
Merivale to let Sydney diners tap table tags to order food and drinks
Merivale kingpin Justin Hemmes is backing restaurant ordering app me&u — Business Insider Australia — “The app uses a beacon and near field communication technology (NFC) to order and pay for your meal on your phone while you’re at a restaurant, cutting out the process of having to flag down a waiter.”
Zhengzhou Metro rolls out face scanning across its subway network
China’s subways embrace face-scan payments despite privacy concerns — AsiaOne — “Since the service began trials in September, nearly 200,000 commuters in Zhengzhou have elected to authorise face-scan payments using a local metro service app… While Zhengzhou is among dozens of Chinese cities to introduce such trials, it is the first to deploy the service across its entire subway network.”
PCI publishes CPoC standard for accepting contactless payments on off-the-shelf NFC devices
PCI Security Standards Council publishes new standard for contactless payments — PCI Security Standards Council — “The primary elements of a CPoC solution include: a Cots [commercial off-the-shelf] device with an embedded NFC interface to read the payment card or payment device; a validated payment acceptance software application that runs on the merchant Cots device initiating a contactless transaction; and back-end systems that are independent from the Cots device and support monitoring, integrity checks and payment processing.”
Grab to issue mobile-first numberless Mastercard across SE Asia
Grab launches Asia’s first numberless card — Grab — “The physical version of the card is completely numberless, front and back, thus averting the prospect of theft of personal and financial information… The digital GrabPay Card is available in Singapore starting today… The digital GrabPay Card will be launched in the Philippines in Q1 2020, with other Southeast Asian countries to follow in the first half of next year.”
MUFG to use digital currency for mobile payments in Japan
MUFG digital currency finds second life as mobile payment — Nikkei Asian Review — “Users will convert funds from their bank accounts or elsewhere into the digital currency using a smartphone app. The service will use this currency in transactions, which will be handled through QR codes. Money sent via the app can be moved back into an account as cash, allowing for transfers between individuals.”
Juniper forecasts 1,000% increase in use of biometrics to secure mobile payments
Biometrics to secure $2.5tn in mobile payments by 2024 — Juniper Research — “Biometric authentication will be used to secure US$2.5tn worth of mobile payment transactions by 2024, an increase of almost 1,000% on the US$228bn expected to be transacted through the method by the end of 2019.”
Octopus triples its stored value card limit
Octopus stored value limit increases to HK$3,000 to meet consumers’ greater spending needs — Octopus — “Any customer who possesses a Smart Octopus issued before 1 October 2019 or an Octopus product issued before 1 December 2019 can upgrade the stored value limit from HK$1,000 (US$127.75) to HK$3,000 (US$383.26) via Octopus App or at any Octopus Service Point. Once the stored value limit has been upgraded, customers can also make payment of up to HK$3,000 for each transaction starting from 1 December at over 3,200 retail outlets.”
Hang Seng adds mobile cash withdrawals to Hong Kong ATMs
Hang Seng launches mobile cash withdrawal service — Hang Seng Bank — “Customers in Hong Kong can initiate cash withdrawal instructions on their mobile phones by using the Hang Seng Personal Banking mobile app and then collect their cash at the nearby Hang Seng ATM… At launch, all Hang Seng ATMs will support QR code cash withdrawals and over half will support both QR code and NFC cash withdrawals. NFC connectivity will be extended to all ATMs in the first half of 2020.”
Apple Pay Express Mode rolls out across London
Streamlined for London — Apple — “Paying for journeys on Transport for London is easier with Express Mode for Apple Pay. You don’t need to authenticate your payment with Face ID or Touch ID. Simply tap your iPhone or Apple Watch on the yellow card reader and go.”
Juniper forecasts mPOS transaction market
mPOS transaction values to exceed $1.9tn by 2024 — Juniper Research — “Juniper Research forecasts that mPOS (Mobile Points of Sale) transaction values will exceed US$1.9tn by 2024, up from $850bn in 2019. This growth will be driven by service adoption from new business users, including pop-up stores and street vendors, for whom the acceptance of card payments was previously inaccessible.”
Russia’s domestic payments system to expand into Europe
Presentation of the first European acquirer of the Mir card scheme at the Russian-British business forum — Roscongress — “The ability to make transactions through the Russian system will simplify payment transactions for customers of companies that offer products or services in the Russian market and, as a result, increase their turnover. For the UK, which will be the first launch country, the Mir payment system opens up access to the Russian consumer market.”
Discover lets cardholders pay with points at PayPal merchants
Discover and PayPal collaboration gives cardmembers new way to redeem rewards — Discover Financial Services — “Discover cardmembers can now use their Cashback Bonus or Miles to pay for purchases at millions of online stores through PayPal… Once cardmembers link their Discover card with PayPal, they can instantly redeem any amount of their rewards on eligible purchases at checkout.”
Ant Financial to create $1bn fund for Asian payments and financial services startups
Ant Financial to raise a $1bn startup investment fund — Bloomberg — “Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial is planning to raise about US$1bn for a fund that will invest in startups from Southeast Asia to India and help strengthen its foothold in fast-growing mobile internet markets, a person familiar with the matter said. The internet finance company is looking to back more startups in those regions that focus on payments and online finance.”
BMW lets drivers order meals from their cars
Olo and pilot brands experiment with in-car ordering trial — Olo — “The online ordering experience is designed for easy pre-configuration of orders, making saved favorites and repeat orders easy. Trial participants can order and pay with the push of a button and follow driving directions to pick up their orders… Nekter Juice Bar and Portillo’s Hot Dogs are the first live brands to participate in the in-car ordering pilot.”
Transport for London tests Apple Pay Express Transit mode
Apple Pay’s Express Transit mode working in parts of London Underground — MacRumors — “Apple Pay’s Express Transit mode has been functional on at least some tube and bus routes in London since last Tuesday or so, according to multiple MacRumors readers… Express Transit mode eliminates the need for users to authenticate with Face ID, Touch ID, or a passcode or even wake their device when they pay for rides with Apple Pay.”
Orange Bank opens for business in Spain
Orange Bank launches in Spain — Orange — “Orange Bank in Spain will be 100% mobile based, offering Orange customers a choice of savings account, cheque account, Mastercard debit card, group management, as well as discounts on Orange phone bills.”
Ghana to launch national QR mobile payments service in December
Govt to launch universal QR code to make Ghana cashless society — GhanaWeb — “The government will in December 2019 launch a Universal QR code in a bid to make Ghana a cashless society, vice president Dr Mahammudu Bawumia has announced. He says with the code which leverages existing technologies, traders and businesses will be able to receive payments without a point of sale device.”