Drones relay RFID signals for inventory control — MIT — “MIT researchers have now developed a system that enables small, safe, aerial drones to read RFID tags from tens of meters away while identifying the tags’ locations with an average error of about 19 centimeters. The researchers envision that the system could be used in large warehouses for both continuous monitoring, to prevent inventory mismatches, and location of individual items, so that employees can rapidly and reliably meet customer requests.”
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Amazon brings its cash deposit service for the underbanked to the UK
Amazon brings its cash deposit service for the underbanked to the UK — Techcrunch — “Amazon has added the ability for UK users to pay for products and services on its ecommerce platform using cash. The service, called Amazon Top Up, lets shoppers load between £5 and £250 into their Amazon UK account in a single top-up transaction.”
OCBC Bank launches mobile keyboard to enable cashless payments directly from any mobile app
OCBC Bank launches mobile keyboard to enable cashless payments directly from any mobile app — OCBC — “The OCBC Keyboard can be used within any mobile app or browser – for instance, within Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram or Chrome – to send money instantly to anyone with a bank account in Singapore… Payments are completely secure as they are authenticated with the sender’s mobile banking credentials.”
Dogs aim to take Blue Cross canal walk donations
Dogs aim to take Blue Cross canal walk donations — Wiltshire Times — “Two specially-trained dogs are to take donations on a Blue Cross sponsored canal walk being held over the August bank holiday weekend. Nine-year-old black Labrador Pernod, and her four-year-old daughter, Doris, a yellow Labrador, will accept the contactless payments using a special vest.”
Accumulated payments with Samsung Pay surpass W10tn
Accumulated payments with Samsung Pay surpass W10tn — The Korea Herald — “Accumulated payments made with Samsung Pay surpassed 10tn won (US$8.77bn) in two years since the mobile payment service was launched, Samsung Electronics said Sunday. Use of the mobile pay service nearly quadrupled in a year after reaching 2tn won in the first year.”
Contactless to account for more than one in two POS transactions globally by 2022
Contactless to account for more than one in two POS transactions globally by 2022 — Juniper Research — “A new study from Juniper Research has found more than half (53%) of global transactions at POS (point of sale) will be contactless within five years, compared to just 15% this year… Adoption in the US would rise sharply over the period, with contactless rising from less than 2% of transactions this year to 34% by 2022.”
Face ID described as iPhone 8’s ‘crown jewel’, unlocking device in ‘a few hundred milliseconds’
Face ID described as iPhone 8’s ‘crown jewel’, unlocking device in ‘a few hundred milliseconds’ — MacRumours — “The front-facing 3D sensor on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 will be the device’s ‘crown jewel’, able to unlock the iPhone 8 in a ‘few hundred milliseconds’ to give users quick access to their smartphone and quickly authenticate Apple Pay purchases.”
British Airways owner IAG launches mobile pay on new airline Level
British Airways owner IAG launches mobile pay on new airline Level — City AM — “The technology, called Pair & Pay, will enable customers to connect mobile devices with their individual seatback screen to buy food, drinks, Wi-Fi packages, and duty-free products… Once selected items have been added to the shopping cart on the screen, passengers then connect their devices to the onboard network and pair their phone with the seatback, and can then use their phone to pay for the products.”
Heat become first NBA team with mobile-only entry
Heat become first NBA team with mobile-only entry — ESPN — “The Miami Heat announced Thursday that fans who attend home games this upcoming season will only be able to get through the gate with tickets on their phones… Teams are gradually shifting to mobile tickets, they say, in part to reduce fraud, but also to get valuable information about the fan who actually winds up in a specific seat.”
What code is running on Apple’s Secure Enclave security chip? Now we have a decryption key…
What code is running on Apple’s Secure Enclave security chip? Now we have a decryption key… — The Register — “Apple’s Secure Enclave, an ARM-based coprocessor used to enhance iOS security, became a bit less secure on Thursday with the publication of a firmware decryption key. The key does not provide access to the Secure Enclave Processor (SEP). Rather, it offers the opportunity to decrypt and explore the otherwise encrypted firmware code that governs it.”
Digital payment platforms primed to topple cash
Digital payment platforms primed to topple cash — US Bank — “According to the recent US Bank Cash Behavior Survey, 47% of consumers surveyed say they prefer the use of digital apps to make payments versus cash (45%)… Overall, 50% of survey respondents reported carrying cash less than half of the time. When they do carry cash, nearly half of consumers surveyed keep less than US$20 on hand, and 76% keep less than $50.”
New Little Caesars Reserve-n-Ready service transforms the way customers pick up pizza
New Little Caesars Reserve-n-Ready service transforms the way customers pick up pizza — Little Caesars — “Customers just place an order and pre-pay via the Little Caesars mobile app. The app will notify the customer when the order is ready. When the customer arrives at the store, they skip the line and go directly to the Pizza Portal and input a three-digit pin or scan a QR code. Then, the door on the customer’s secured compartment opens, and they take their hot, fresh order.”
Report: 2017 Mobile Payment Usage in China
Report: 2017 Mobile Payment Usage in China — Tencent Research Institute — “Chinese consumers spent US$5.5tn via mobile payment platforms last year, about 50 times more than their American counterparts… 74% of people stated that they can live for more than a month with only 100 RMB (US$14.94) in cash. 84% people reported that they could accept a totally cashless life.”
Barclaycard pilots Alipay payments in eight retail stores across UK
Barclaycard pilots Alipay payments in eight retail stores across UK — Banking Technology — “The pilot will commence on 14 August 2017 in eight retail stores across the UK, with Barclaycard providing the POS solution for payments via Alipay. The service will be available in CNY (‘offered at a competitive exchange rate,’ Barclaycard says).”
More than half the Hilton portfolio to be digital key enabled by end of year
More than half the Hilton portfolio to be digital key enabled by end of year — Hilton — “Hilton Honors members have widely adopted the app’s technology features and continue to set new records for usage and engagement, including 30m digital check-ins, three million room key downloads and more than 13.6m doors opened. In the month of July, a door was unlocked with Digital Key every two seconds.”
Walmart deploying tech that lets in-store shoppers check out — on their own
Walmart deploying tech that lets in-store shoppers check out — on their own — Chain Store Age — “The free app allows members to scan merchandise bar codes as they move throughout store aisles and add merchandise to their shopping carts. The app also keeps a running total and itemized list of merchandise and prices, and lets shoppers checkout directly through their smartphone.”
China targets mobile payments oligopoly with clearing mandate
China targets mobile payments oligopoly with clearing mandate — Financial Times — “China’s central bank has ordered online payment groups to operate through a centralised clearing house, a move likely to undercut the dominance of Ant Financial and Tencent by forcing them to share valuable transaction data with competitors… The latest PBoC instructions require all payment companies to connect to the clearing house by October 15 and to channel all payments through it by June 30.”
Big banks on notice that they’re losing ground to China’s fintech giants
Big banks on notice that they’re losing ground to China’s fintech giants — South China Morning Post — “Tencent, the Chinese company, over Chinese New Year, in five days processed 46 billion payments. Basically that means 800 million payments per hour. Visa has a maximum capacity of processing 25,000 payments per second. But Alipay can process 50,000 payments, twice as much, per second.”
Fraud cases across three prefectures involving Apple Pay exploit loophole: Sources
Fraud cases across three prefectures involving Apple Pay exploit loophole: Sources — The Mainichi — “Multiple fraud cases involving stolen credit card information via Apple’s iPhone payment system ‘Apple Pay’ occurred across Osaka, Kyoto and Saitama prefectures in late March this year, investigative sources have revealed… Apple Japan said it had confirmed the Saitama cases, and a source disclosed that after the incidents occurred, Apple reportedly gathered credit card issuing companies together and warned them to exercise caution.”
UK card expenditure statistics: June 2017
UK card expenditure statistics: June 2017 — UK Finance — “There were just under 1.4bn card payments in June, a monthly record and a 12% rise in the last 12 months. This is the highest annual rate of growth in the number of payments since June 2008, driven by a robust rise in online (+20%) and contactless (+143%) purchases… Contactless payments accounted for 34% of all card transactions, while online payments accounted for 13%.”