Henkel launches NFC pilot with Indola #SimplySmarter — Henkel Adhesive Technologies — “With a volume of 100,000 products to be rolled out in 35 different countries, Indola #SimplySmarter is one of the largest NFC pilots in the beauty care market to date… Professional hairstylists can simply tap the Indola product with a NFC-enabled smartphone and a landing page pops up immediately. It displays product information, how-to videos by celebrity ambassadors, and most importantly, a curated Instagram wall that is refreshed regularly to inspire and connect professional hairstylists all over the world.”
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Android Pay goes live in Czech Republic and Brazil
Android Pay goes local in Ukraine, Czech Republic, Brazil and Slovakia — Google — “A few weeks ago, we launched Android Pay in Ukraine. Today, it’s available in Czech Republic and Brazil, and soon it’ll be live in Slovakia, too.”
Canadian banks, carriers and government back blockchain-based digital IDs
Forget iris scans, Canadians to use blockchain for digital IDs — Bloomberg — “Soon Canadians will be able to verify personal information for everything from driver’s licenses to banking using mobile phones and blockchain… Canada’s six largest lenders, including Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada invested C$30m (US$24m) in the project. The country’s three main wireless carriers — owned by Rogers Communications Inc, Telus Corp and BCE Inc — are also involved through their EnStream venture, along with a number of provincial governments.”
Danish consumer council raises Apple Pay competition concerns
Apple Pay accused of unfair competition in Denmark — The Copenhagen Post — “The Forbrugerrådet Tænk consumer council is not sure that Apple Pay is operating in compliance with Danish law, and it has asked the Concurrence og Forbrugerstyrelsen competition and consumer agency to investigate… ‘We have reported Apple Pay because we believe this new payment app is in violation of our competition law and the EU rules governing this area,’ Forbrugerrådet Tænk chairperson Anja Philip told DR Nyheder.”
US banks complete first transaction using real-time payments system
First new core payments system in the US in more than 40 years initiates first live payments — The Clearing House — “’RTP is one of the most important payment transformation efforts in our industry. It goes far beyond helping financial institutions address the legacy challenges of payment processing in the US (speed, transparency, cost) and improving the client experience. Bringing online a truly real time, two way, 24×7 payment and messaging system will create new scenarios and entire new markets in ways we have not even anticipated,’ said Ian Stewart, CEO of BNY Mellon Treasury Services.”
Eftpos launches Android Pay in Australia
Rambus teams with Eftpos for Android Pay in Australia — Rambus — PARTNER NEWS — “‘With more than 40m debit cards distributed across Australia, Eftpos is one of the most popular payment methods,’ said Bret Sewell, SVP and general manager, Rambus Security division. ‘This collaboration with Eftpos enables millions of consumers the opportunity to enjoy secure mobile payments using Android Pay, leveraging our proven host card emulation (HCE) and EMV tokenization software for truly trusted transactions.’”
Barclays trials digital receipt service
Fintech startup Flux partners with Barclays for itemised receipts — Techcrunch — “Flux, the London fintech startup founded by former early employees at Revolut, has announced a partnership with Barclays in the UK that will see it trial its itemised receipt technology with 10,000 of the bank’s customers… On the merchant side, the trial also sees Flux partnering with Barclaycard, which will provide the ability for merchants, via integration through their point-of-sale devices, to issue digital receipts to any customer.”
Cybersecurity firm demos mask that can unlock an iPhone X
This $150 mask beat Face ID on the iPhone X — The Verge — “Vietnamese cybersecurity firm Bkav claims it’s been able to bypass the iPhone X’s Face ID feature using a mask… The firm does stress that the product is just a proof of concept at the moment and more research is needed… ‘Exploitation is difficult for normal users, but simple for professional ones,’ Bkav said.”
Da Vinci develops payment card with built in screen and keyboard
Give your PIN to strangers with this bank card of the future — The Memo — “There’s a new card arriving, designed and created by Simon Hewitt, the former chief security officer of one of Australia’s biggest banking groups… At first glance Da Vinci Choice, as the card’s called, looks no different to any other card in your wallet or purse — thin and plastic-y. Flip it over and the magic begins, because the entire back of the card is a tiny computer, complete with a screen and keypad.”
PayPal lets customers group together to raise funds and buy gifts
A better way to collect money from friends — PayPal — “With PayPal Money Pools, you can create a page that lets people easily chip in for group gifts, special events and more… PayPal Money Pool pages are easily shareable via link or social media… The proceeds go straight to your PayPal Money Pools account so you can track and use them whenever needed.”
Chinese retail giant to open unmanned stores with face recognition and RFID tags
Suning to open four new unmanned stores in China — Suning — “Highlights include: Facial recognition — After linking a bank card and going through the facial recognition on Suning Finance app, customers will be able to enter the store simply by letting the camera scan their faces at the entrance. Effortless shopping experience — To check out, shoppers only need to carry their goods along the payment pathway. The system will automatically recognize the shoppers and their items with the facial recognition and RFID technology – making the entire check-out process shorter than 15 seconds.”
Adidas includes NFC chip in official Fifa World Cup football
2018 FIFA World Cup official match ball unveiled: an exciting re-imagining — FIFA — “Telstar 18 features a brand new carcass, high technology and sustainable elements such as recycled packaging. It also includes an embedded NFC chip, which enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball and provides access to challenges which users can enter in the run-up to the Fifa World Cup.”
PayPal tops US survey of most trusted financial services brands
Landor Pulse: PayPal leads as most trusted financial services brand — Landor — “Approximately 30% of consumers rank PayPal as trustworthy, compared with 25% for Visa, 23% for Mastercard, and 17% for American Express… Apple Pay and Google Wallet are trusted by only 13% of consumers… Just 17% think Capital One and Chase are trustworthy, with Bank of America one point below at 16%… Bitcoin has the lowest rating of all, with only 6% of consumers believing it to be trustworthy.”
US to open up banking market to non-banks?
US regulator says time to review mixing banking with other businesses — Reuters — “US regulations that bar companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc from providing banking services need to be reviewed as they reduce competition thereby concentrating more risk among a smaller number of banks, a US banking regulator said… Noreika on Wednesday said that allowing non-financial companies to run banks could strengthen the banking system by boosting competition and increasing diversity. The OCC is exploring providing a charter specifically for financial technology providers such as payment processor Square Inc.”
Indian government sets out plans to make digital payments ‘visibly cheaper’ than cash
Govt to incentivise online payments to push digital transactions — Hindustan Times — “The incentives could include cashbacks and reward points for BHIM users… The note presented last week by the ministry of electronics and information technology to Parliament’s standing committee on finance detailed a five-step road map to push e-transactions. ‘Digital payments to be made visibly cheaper than cash,’ the note said.
BNP Paribas brings WeChat Pay to Europe
BNP Paribas launches WeChat Pay in Europe — BNP Paribas — “A ‘first’ in Europe, the WeChat Pay solution is being initially rolled out at the two Paris flagship stores owned by the Galeries Lafayette Group – Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and BHV Marais.”
Samsung Pay reports 2.5m users in India
Samsung Pay service reaches 2.5 million users in India — Android Headlines — “Samsung Pay reached 2.5 million users in India, one million more than it had in mid-September, a company official said on Wednesday… Samsung’s service is presently available on 26 devices in India, up from ten when it officially debuted in the country in early 2017. It’s currently supported by ten banks and seven more local card issuers.”
Apple Pay Cash goes live in latest iOS and watchOS public beta releases
Apple Pay Cash now available in beta on iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2 — 9to5Mac — “The new feature lets you send and receive payments using Apple Pay over iMessage as well as pay in stores with a new Apple Pay Cash virtual debit card… Apple Pay Cash will be available for all customers in the United States when iOS 11.2 and watchOS 4.2 are officially released, and developer and public beta testers can start using the feature today.”
China UnionPay tests NFC and QR transit payments
Public transport alliances set to boost UnionPay — China Daily — “In the first 19 cities where UnionPay pilot mobile payment applications will be used in public transportation, UnionPay provides users with comprehensive solutions including mobile phone QuickPass, bankcard QuickPass and QR code payment… According to Ge Huayong, president of UnionPay, more than 40 banks now accept UnionPay’s QR code payment transactions and an additional 60 or so banks are testing their systems.”
Paytm to invest US$1bn in building out its payments business
Paytm plans $1 billion top-up to cash in on note ban success — Times of India — “Sharma said they were looking at a three-pronged strategy to double the number of users in the coming year by converting Paytm users to its payments bank, tap into non-wallet users through UPI and sell financial products from next year. ‘Long ago, we realised that standalone payments as a business is an orphan and thus we are building a bouquet of products,’ Sharma said.”