Samsung Pay now supports Discover cards — The Verge — “A customer service representative for Discover confirmed that customers can now add their cards to Samsung Pay. Samsung unveiled its mobile payment system in 2015, and Discover announced at the time that support for the card would come in early 2016. However, that functionality was delayed until now, prompting some complaints from users.”
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‘Connected finance’ app Curve hits £50m spend ahead of UK launch
‘Connected finance’ app Curve hits £50m spend ahead of UK launch — Curve — “London fintech startup Curve has passed 50,000 sign-ups and £50m spend in beta mode… Driven by demand and ‘exceptionally high’ satisfaction among beta users, Curve will now launch for consumers later this year.”
Venmo is testing its own physical debit card
Venmo is testing its own physical debit card — Recode — “Venmo has been testing its own version of a physical debit card that would allow people who use its app to make purchases in brick-and-mortar stores using money stored in their Venmo account, according to multiple sources.”
Google is running a massive Android Pay promo in Australia with 200,000 prizes worth $1.6 million
Google is running a massive Android Pay promo in Australia with 200,000 prizes worth $1.6 million — Android Police — “The gist is that you must be setting up Android Pay for the first time, or you must have set up a card previously but never used it. When you set up a new card in Australia or use your existing card for the first time, you will kick off a 30-day promo. Each transaction (up to 10 per day) gives you a virtual envelope, which could award you up to $500 in gift cards when opened.”
Rakbank is the first bank in the Middle East to introduce Samsung Pay solutions for its ATMs
Rakbank is the first bank in the Middle East to introduce Samsung Pay solutions for its ATMs — Rakbank — “This innovative digital solution enables the bank’s customers to make cardless cash withdrawals from Rakbank ATMs using their Samsung smartphones without the need for a physical debit or credit card. The Samsung Pay solution for ATMs is an end-to-end contactless process.”
Westpac shock as Apple bans its messaging payments app after three months
Westpac shock as Apple bans its messaging payments app after three months — Australian Financial Review — “The iPhone maker surprisingly ordered Westpac to remove a key feature of its recently revamped mobile banking application, which let customers make payments in popular chat applications… In a letter to customers, seen by The Australian Financial Review, Westpac reveals that its Westpac Keyboard function will be removed in July.”
Danske Bank brings Apple Pay to customers in Northern Ireland
Danske Bank brings Apple Pay to customers in Northern Ireland — Danske Bank — “Richard Caldwell, managing director of personal banking and small business at Danske Bank, reflected: ‘There has been a clear demand from customers for us to integrate Apple Pay, and I am delighted that we are now offering it. It is a great addition to our already strong online offering and will further improve customer experience.'”
Punchh brings Apple Pay to restaurant loyalty program
Punchh brings Apple Pay to restaurant loyalty program — Punchh — “Users visiting participating restaurants will soon be able to not only pay for their purchases, but earn and redeem rewards and loyalty points using Apple Wallet… Brands including Smashburger, Quiznos, and MOD Pizza will be offering Apple Pay with the Punchh integrated solution starting later this year.”
Harris Poll: PayPal leads mobile payment brands, yet up-and-comers making brand equity gains
Harris Poll: PayPal leads mobile payment brands, yet up-and-comers making brand equity gains — The Harris Poll — “PayPal — followed closely by Amazon brands — retains its Brand of the Year designation, leading mobile payment brands for the third consecutive year. However, up-and-coming brands Venmo (owned by PayPal), Square, and Apple Pay are making significant gains, according to new research from The Harris Poll’s 29th annual EquiTrend Study.”
MTN Benin and Youtap launch MoMoPay contactless payments for MTN Benin Mobile Money customers
MTN Benin and Youtap launch MoMoPay contactless payments for MTN Benin Mobile Money customers — Youtap — “An innovative feature of MoMoPay is the ability for users to make payments and receive small change (rendu monnaie) from merchants directly into their MTN Mobile Money accounts, solving the problem of giving small change back to customers that many merchants face today.”
Mastercard and Western Union explore digital model for refugee camps
Mastercard and Western Union explore digital model for refugee camps — Mastercard — “Mastercard and Western Union examined the needs, challenges and opportunities for refugees and their host communities at two settlement camps in northwestern Kenya. The findings have led to the development of Smart Communities: Using Digital Technology to Create Sustainable Refugee Economies, a blueprint that would combine digital access to remittances, banking, education, healthcare and other basic needs.”
Leumi Card to use Feedzai’s artificial intelligence platform to fight fraud
Leumi Card to use Feedzai’s artificial intelligence platform to fight fraud — Feedzai — “‘Fraud mitigation tools have not kept pace with today’s mobile-enabled, always-connected consumers,’ said Gilead Kehat EVP human resources and staff of Leumi Card, ‘Feedzai’s agile machine learning platform helps predict and prevent fraud before it impacts our customers.’”
New BBVA Wallet release provides enhanced functionality and convenience
New BBVA Wallet release provides enhanced functionality and convenience — BBVA Compass — “MLC uses geolocation information being transmitted by a customer’s mobile device as a means of approving debit card transactions for customers when they travel. When a customer enrolls in MLC, the bank is able to know at the time of purchase whether the cardholder’s device is nearby.”
OTP Bank launches contactless mobile payment
OTP Bank launches contactless mobile payment — Budapest Business Journal — “Hungaryʼs OTP Bank today launched its contactless mobile payment solution, which has been implemented into its Simple mobile application… ‘As of today, Simple makes contactless payment with mobiles available for millions of OTP clients, without having to contact the bank or mobile service providers’.”
Retailers to lose $71 billion in card-not-present fraud over the next five years
Retailers to lose $71 billion in card-not-present fraud over the next five years — Juniper Research — “The research predicted that three key battlegrounds would emerge in the fight against fraud in 2018. It cited machine learning as a key tool in identifying genuine users, while the shift to mobile ecommerce would rely on 3DS 2.0 and biometrics.”
Transfer money instantly to your bank account with PayPal
Transfer money instantly to your bank account with PayPal — PayPal — “PayPal users in the U.S. will soon be able to instantly transfer money to their bank accounts via eligible debit cards linked to their PayPal account… Our beta of this is now available to select PayPal users and will be made available to all U.S. PayPal users with eligible Visa or Mastercard debit cards over the coming weeks and months.”
Samsung Pay now supports HSBC and M&S Bank cards in the UK
Samsung Pay now supports HSBC and M&S Bank cards in the UK — Engadget — “It was only available to customers who bank with MBNA, Nationwide and Santander. Today, it’s playing catch-up with support for HSBC, First Direct and M&S Bank cardholders. While welcome, the app is still missing some of the big British money-lenders including Lloyds Bank and Barclays.”
New mobile payment option for PNC Bank’s Visa commercial cardholders
New mobile payment option for PNC Bank’s Visa commercial cardholders — PNC Bank — “PNC Bank announced today a new mobile payment option enabling Visa commercial cardholders to use a smartphone or mobile device to make corporate purchases via Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. PNC is one of the first U.S. banks to enable mobile wallet payments for commercial cards.”
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August — Economic Times — “The newly-launched Paytm Payments Bank will go live on the unified payment interface (UPI) by August… This will allow its customers to transact using a virtual payment address issued by the bank. The payments bank will be the latest to join the UPI bandwagon, with 50 banks already live on the platform.”
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat — CNBC — “India’s home-grown instant messaging service Hike on Tuesday announced wide-ranging updates to its app, including a new mobile wallet that lets users send and receive money instantly… The Hike Wallet has several features, including a linkage to the government-backed unified payments interface.”