PayPal leads mobile wallet rankings as users forecast to pass 2bn next year — Juniper Research — “Nearly 2.1 billion consumers worldwide will use a mobile wallet to make a payment or send money in 2019, up by nearly 30% on the 1.6 billion recorded at the end of 2017… The report also argued that while QR code-based in-store payments had seen quite astonishing levels of adoption in China, successful use cases in Europe and North America were likely to be limited to ‘closed loop’ wallets such as those deployed by Starbucks and Walmart.”
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Apple Pay runs Springtime Savings promo with ten leading brands
Latest Apple Pay promo offers 15-30% discounts from Adidas, Boxed, Goat, Headout, Saks Fifth Avenue, more — 9to5Mac — “Apple has been running regular weekly Apple Pay promos for some time now, but this week is offering deals from not just one brand but ten of them. Deals range from free rush shipping to discounts of up to 30%… The offers are applicable when using Apple Pay as your payment method either through the relevant apps, or on the web.”
China goes live with QR payments spending cap
China caps store mobile payments at $80 — Nikkei Asian Review — “The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, implemented the caps on Sunday for different types of QR code payments, based on relative risk. For payments made by scanning a printed QR code displayed by the seller, the daily limit is set at 500 yuan (about US$80)… Such popular services as Alibaba Group Holding’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay are affected.”
Apple faces pushback from iPhone users over Apple Pay ‘pestering’
iPhone users are pestered to enroll in Apple Pay — Wall Street Journal — “Apple Inc is nagging iPhone users to enroll in its mobile payment service with a persistent red-circle badge. The strategy has worked with some, but is irritating others who say it is heavy-handed and exploits the tech giant’s clout in ways that could disadvantage rivals… Users who opt not to input credit card information for Apple Pay when setting up their phones now constantly see the red circle over their settings icon.”
Swedish central bank issues cashless society warning
‘Being cash-free puts us at risk of attack’: Swedes turn against cashlessness — The Guardian — “The Riksbank governor, Stefan Ingves, called for new legislation to secure public control over the payments system, arguing that being able to make and receive payments is a ‘collective good’ like defence, the courts, or public statistics… ‘It should be obvious that Sweden’s preparedness would be weakened if, in a serious crisis or war, we had not decided in advance how households and companies would pay for fuel, supplies and other necessities.’”
Apple Pay goes live in Brazil
Apple Pay arrives in Brazil, partnering with Itaú Unibanco — Reuters — “Apple Inc’s mobile payment platform Apple Pay arrived in Brazil on Wednesday with an exclusive partnership with Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, the country’s largest private lender. The bank said Apple Pay will be available during the 90-day exclusive period to Itaú’s roughly 1.2 million card holders who also own an iPhone 6 or higher. Under the terms of the partnership, Brazilian retailers such as GPA SA will offer discounts on purchases using Apple Pay.”
40% more merchants to accept card payments by 2022
Payment card acceptance set to surge by 40% to 85m outlets worldwide by 2022 — RBR — “The number of card-accepting merchant outlets rose by an impressive 7m in 2016 to 61m. Double digit growth was recorded across Asia-Pacific, central and eastern Europe and the Middle East and Africa. Despite recent strong growth, all three regions continue to be underserved in terms of card acceptance and are expected to remain the engines of global growth, driving the total number of outlets worldwide to 85m by 2022.”
Alexa can now use Amazon Pay to make voice-based donations to charity
Alexa now lets you donate to nearly 50 nonprofits — Cnet — “Alexa allows you to make a donation between US$5 and US$5,000 and tells you it will share your name, address and email with the charity. It will ask repeatedly if you want to go through with the donation, but you can also set up a four-digit voice-shopping code to prevent accidental donations.”
Korea’s capital city plans its own payments cryptocurrency
Mayor Park Won-soon unveils Seoul cryptocurrency ‘S-Coin’ — Coindesk Korea (translation) — “Park Won-soon, mayor of Seoul, said he will create a coin currency called S-coin that can be used in Seoul… He thinks that ‘blockchains can be applied to all administrations in Seoul such as the public transport system operated by Seoul City and the provision of youth allowance.'”
Google to take its Tez mobile wallet app global
Google’s Indian payments platform looks for new markets — Financial Times — “Diana Layfield, head of Tez and vice president of Google’s Next Billion Users initiative, told the Financial Times that Google had drawn up a shortlist of three Asian markets and one other emerging market country for Tez’s next launch… Tez initially looked across Latin America, the Middle East and Africa… Countries with “similar characteristics” to India — relatively low credit card penetration and limited access to near field communications systems — were the most attractive to Tez.”
Apple rolls out support for transit cards in China
Using Apple Pay Express Card features in Beijing and Shanghai — Apple (translation) — “To use the Apple Pay Express Card feature in Beijing or Shanghai, you first need to set up an Apple Pay Transportation Card on your iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or later, or Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch Series 2 or later… In Beijing, you can use transportation cards to pay for subways and buses. In Shanghai, you can use transportation cards to pay for subways, buses, ferries and Maglev trains.”
Octopus lets Hong Kong merchants accept NFC payments on their mobile phones
Octopus App for Business now enables all Octopus users to pay on merchant mobile devices — Octopus Cards — “Octopus Cards Limited today launched a new feature to enhance the Octopus App for Business, allowing merchants to accept Octopus card payment through their NFC mobile devices. Users of all Octopus cards and products (including Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay) can simply tap on the merchants’ NFC mobile devices — which can now serve as Octopus readers for easy payments.”
Japanese banks to begin QR mobile payments pilot
Japan’s megabanks aim to introduce unified smartphone payment system — The Mainichi — “MHFG announced that it will soon embark on a verification test of smartphone payments with Toho Bank, headquartered in Fukushima Prefecture, using the barcodes. It is thought that the results of the test will be used to create uniform standards for the two-dimensional barcodes that are currently being mulled by the three banking groups.”
Dutch retailers sign up for OK mobile payments and rewards app
OK app conquers the Netherlands — OK (translation) — “Major players who will soon offer OK are the Superunie members in food retail like Coop, Deen, Dirk, Spar and DekaMarkt. Food and hospitality services include Febo and Van der Valk, as well as online players such as FonQ and deonlinedrogist.nl. Other partners include GrandVision (Eyewish, Pearle, zonnebrillen.com), Sundays, Verbunt Wines, Jamin, Karwei, Praxis, Vitaminstore and FrieslandCampina.”
Vehicle vending machine lets drivers book, pay and drive away a test car from their mobile phone
Ford, Alibaba roll out test-drive services via ‘auto vending machine’ — China Automotive News — “Users can book a test drive via the Alibaba’s Taobao mobile app or the Tmall platform. Entering a key word of ‘super test drive’, users can follow the instructions from the interface to select the vehicles they want and the time to have the test drive. To schedule a test drive, users should submit their basic information and upload their selfies on the platform. Besides, they need to pay some test drive fees and the money for vehicle purchasing intention. After all these done, consumers can pick up their test vehicle via a facial recognition at the ‘super test drive center’ in Guangzhou to enjoy a three-day ride.”
Uber applies for a European payments license
Uber seeks Dutch payments licence in drive to diversify — Sky News — “Uber Technologies has submitted an application for a European payments processing licence as it seeks to accelerate its diversification into a broad range of consumer-facing services… Sources said the attempt to become classified as an electronic money institution was being handled by a new subsidiary called Uber Payments BV.”
Beijing Metro to replace NFC ticket gates with QR codes?
Mobile phone payment to smooth out Beijing subway rides — The Beijinger — “Beginning in May, commuters will be able to pay for their fares on the Beijing Metro by using electronic payment systems like Alipay. All entrance gates to subway stations in the city will be equipped with QR code sensors… The new feature is not related to last year’s feature that allowed Beijing commuters to enter city subways using near field communication (NFC) technology… The Beijing Metro intends to phase out NFC technology at its entrance gates at an unspecified future date.”
Supermarket giant Carrefour rolls out its own NFC mobile payments service
Carrefour steps up its digital transformation with the in-store roll-out of ‘Carrefour Pay’ — its mobile payment solution — Carrefour — “Carrefour Pay is quick and easy and has no payment limit — customers can use it to pay for their shopping at all terminals which have NFC contactless technology… It can be used in 3,000 Carrefour stores in France and in all stores which accept contactless payment. All bank cards will be added in 2018, as well as all Carrefour e-commerce sites in France. Carrefour Pay can be accessed via the Carrefour&Moi mobile app and also features a loyalty card and coupon facility.”
Samsung Pay now has 7m users in Korea
Samsung Pay’s monthly Android users hit nearly 7m mark in Feb — Yonhap News — “Some 6.94m users of Android-powered smartphones used Samsung Pay at least once last month… Samsung Pay use was centered during lunch times, with those in their 30s and 40s accounting for 28% and 27%, respectively. The corresponding number for those in their 20s stood at 20%.”
WhatsApp to roll out QR payments in India
WhatsApp payments now supports QR codes: How it works — Hindustan Times — “As WhatsApp prepares for the official launch of its payment service, it has been releasing new features. The latest feature allows users to scan QR codes to send money.”