Apple Pay now in 20 markets, nabs 90% of all mobile contactless transactions where active — Techcrunch — “Bailey also announced that the service is launching in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the UAE in the next few days, bringing the total number of countries where it is used up to 20. And she said that 4,000 issuers worldwide now work with the wallet… While these may not sound like massive numbers on their own, 20 markets represents a full 70% of the world’s card transaction volume, she noted.”
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Amex applies for personalized blockchain rewards patent
American Express eyes blockchain for customer rewards systems — CoinDesk — “A new patent application published last week by the US Patent and Trademark Office details a concept for offering customer-specific types of rewards (including points, a virtual currency or specific items tied to a product). The filing indicates the financial giant would make these offers by compiling personalized data about the customer, such as their historic spending patterns.”
Chase lets customers use their mobile phone to open a bank account
JPMorgan reaches beyond its branches with new mobile account app — Reuters — “The app, named Finn by Chase, allows people to use a phone to open a bank account, make deposits, issue checks, track spending and set up savings plans, bank officials told Reuters last week. Finn debit cards will come by mail for access to cash from 29,000 ATMs.”
Thinfilm raises US$110m to support growth in NFC market
Thinfilm raises $110 million as NFC solutions traction increases among leading consumer brands — Thinfilm — “The substantial funding secured in this private placement is a testament to both the opportunity that exists in the NFC solutions space and Thinfilm’s ability — as a market leader — to address the increasing demand among consumer brands of all sizes,” said Davor Sutija, CEO of Thinfilm. “With sufficient financing to get us to cash break-even, we are now keenly focused on bringing affordable intelligence to billions of everyday items.”
Facebook Messenger adds PayPal P2P payments
Send money to friends and family in Messenger with PayPal — PayPal — “We’re excited today to announce an expansion of our relationship with Facebook with the addition of PayPal as a funding source for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, right in Messenger… We are also introducing our first-ever PayPal customer service bot for Messenger, so PayPal customers can seamlessly receive payment and account support directly in the app.”
Mastercard to eliminate signature verification at the point of sale
No more signing on the dotted line — Mastercard — “More than 80% of Mastercard in store transactions in North America today do not require a cardholder signature at checkout… That number could now reach 100% after April 2018, when we will no longer require signatures at checkout for any credit or debit purchases in Canada and the US.”
The Clearing House to secure real-time payments system with tokenization
Mastercard and The Clearing House partner on tokenization solution — Mastercard — “The Clearing House (TCH) and Mastercard announced they are partnering to enable TCH to provision and manage Mastercard-branded tokens on behalf of banks… The Clearing House will launch its card tokenization solution in the next quarter, and is in the process of extending tokenization to other networks it manages, including Real-Time Payments (RTP).”
Visa makes it easier to integrate emerging authentication technologies
Visa ID Intelligence moves payment security beyond passwords — Visa — “Available through Visa Developer Platform, Visa ID Intelligence offers a curated selection of leading third-party authentication technologies with simple integration using Visa APIs and SDKs — allowing clients to create, test and adopt new authentication solutions.”
Mastercard to use blockchain for non-card payments and product authentication
Mastercard opens-up access to blockchain API for partner banks and merchants — Mastercard — “Mastercard blockchain solution has the ability to power secure and seamless non-card payment transactions such as business-to-business payments and trade finance transactions. It also has the ability to power non- payment solutions such as proof of provenance that helps authenticate products across the supply chain.”
Apple Pay now available on older iPhones in Japan
iOS 11 activates Apple Pay for older Japanese iPhones — Ata Distance — UPDATE Further investigation has found that the following information is not accurate. Click through for further information — “With the NFC switching capabilities of iOS 11 Apple Pay Apple quietly activated Apple Pay Japan for older non-FeliCa NFC capable iPhones such as iPhone 6S. Surprised users with Japan issue cards that support JCB J/Speedy and Mastercard Contactless can add them to Apple Pay and use them at stores with EMV NFC-Pay ready readers.”
Shanghai Metro installs QR code readers at turnstiles
Shanghai Metro will soon allow QR code payments — ECNS — “With QR code readers being installed at turnstiles in several Shanghai metro stations, subway passengers can pay their tickets via Alipay or China UnionPay simply by scanning the QR code. Maglev train stations at Pudong International Airport and Longyang Road will also accept QR payments.”
Rambus to demo mobile payments, tokenization and HCE solutions at Money20/20 USA
Let’s talk about mobile payments @ Money20/20 — Rambus — PARTNER NEWS — “We will be at booth 833, showcasing a range of mobile payments products, including our Unified Payment Platform, as well as our Token Service Provider and Host Card Emulation (HCE) solutions… Interested in learning more? You can arrange a meeting with a member of the Rambus team at +31 10 885 10 10 or contact us via email.”
Singapore banks begin rollout of NetsPay NFC and QR mobile wallet
NetsPay mobile wallet available for download — The Straits Times — “Nets users can now leave their physical ATM cards at home. They can also ditch multiple mobile apps that provide similar payment functions. The NetsPay mobile wallet — which can digitise the credit, debit and ATM cards of six banks here — is currently available for download…. The app lets users pay through their digital Nets cards with just a tap of their mobile phone, or by scanning a QR code at merchants that accept the service — without encumbering users with the need to download multiple mobile apps.”
Apple Pay set to launch in Poland and the Netherlands?
Apple Pay may be coming to Poland and the Netherlands later this year — AppleInsider — “A tip and photos received by AppleInsider on Wednesday indicate that PKO Bank Polski is currently testing Apple Pay, and could offer support by the end of 2017… Several sources for Dutch site One More Thing have meanwhile claimed that ING will soon bring Apple Pay to the Netherlands, followed by a second bank, Bunq… One source suggested that Apple Pay will launch in the country on November 2.”
NFC mobile payments users triple in Poland in a year
Polish banks have almost 600,000 customers using smartphone contactless payments — Cashless.pl — “At the end of September almost 590,000 customers used Android Pay or HCE payments. That means an increase of 180,000 compared to June, when approximately 410,000 used mobile payments, and an increase of over 400,000 compared to September 2016, when banks stated that they have approximately 175,000 HCE users.”
Apple Pay to go live in Scandinavia next week?
Exclusive: Apple Pay to be launched in Sweden, Finland and Denmark next week — MacPro — “According to several sources familiar with the matter, Apple will launch Apple Pay next week in Sweden, Denmark and Finland. In Sweden, Apple is working with Nordea, a Nordic bank with its headquarters in Sweden. Which bank or banks that will partner with Apple in Denmark and Finland is yet unknown.”
Samsung Pay doubles its user base in Korea
Samsung Pay boasts 6.44m users in September — Yonhap News Agency — “According to the data compiled by industry tracker WiseApp on Android users, the number of Samsung Pay users in September was double the 3.22 million users posted a year earlier. The figure is based on the number of people who used the application at least once a month.”
Mastercard CEO: Cash is our main competitor
My competition is with cash: Ajay Banga — LiveMint — “Eighty-five percent of the world’s retail payments — person to merchant — are in cash… So who do I view as my competition? Cash. I don’t view another network, I don’t view Paytm, I don’t view Apple as competition. We are actually working with all of them. They all need our technology.”
Seamless considers sale or closure of Seqr mobile payments service
Seamless considers re-alignment for sustainable growth — Seamless — “The proposals that are up for considerations are the following: Phasing out of the B2C offering Seqr, and a renewed focus on B2B offerings, where traction is both strong and accelerating. Phasing out the B2C offering Seqr would preferably be made in the form of a sale or winding-down. To fund the growth of B2B, and exit costs of B2C, the board considers to propose the launch of a rights issue, to be completed before year-end 2017.”
PayPal to turn Venmo P2P payments app into ‘ubiquitous digital wallet’
Venmo now accepted at millions of retailers — PayPal — “Starting this week, Venmo customers can use their Venmo account to shop and make purchases on their mobile phone at more than two million US retailers, almost everywhere PayPal is accepted… Our vision for Venmo is to not only be the go-to app for payments between friends, but also a ubiquitous digital wallet that helps consumers spend wherever and however they want to pay, regardless of device.”