Ministerial declaration on eGovernment — the Tallinn Declaration — European Commission — “We will in our countries… enable the private sector to make use of national eID schemes and trust services in securing the delivery of their digital services, where beneficial to the citizen… We will in our countries… make it possible for citizens and businesses to digitally manage their personal data held by the public administration.”
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TD Bank to add AI to mobile banking app
TD announces conversational AI platform agreement with Kasisto — Kasisto — “Through the AI-powered interactive chat interface, TD app users will be able to check account information, review transaction histories and monitor spending levels. In addition, customers will also be able to get instant answers about specific spending-related questions including how much they spent on a recent weekend getaway, what their largest transaction was last week, or what they spent on categories like groceries or coffee last month.”
EU regulators raid banks over fintech access concerns
Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections concerning access to bank account information by competing services — European Commission — “The European Commission can confirm that on 3 October 2017 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in a few Member States concerning online access to bank account information by competing service providers… These alleged anti-competitive practices are aimed at excluding non-bank owned providers of financial services by preventing them from gaining access to bank customers’ account data, despite the fact that the respective customers have given their consent to such access.”
China and India to drive growth in digital transactions
Digital payments volumes continue to rise globally as new payments ecosystem emerges — Capgemini — “Global digital payments volumes are predicted to increase by an average 10.9% through to 2020, reaching nearly 726bn transactions, according to the World Payments Report 2017… Volumes generated by emerging economies will grow by 19.6%, or three-times the rate of mature economies. Emerging Asia, led by China and India, is projected to grow 30.9%.”
Nacha selects first five US payment APIs
Nacha’s API Standardization Industry Group names first five APIs to develop to support payments industry advancement — Nacha — “The API Standardization Industry Group, formally created in spring 2017, is working to further efforts to standardize the use of APIs in the US financial services industry by creating an ‘API playbook’ or standards framework. In support of that effort, during its most recent meeting, the API Standardization Industry Group named the first five APIs — from a larger list of 16 — that it will develop to support payments industry advancement.”
Mastercard and PayPal form global digital wallet partnership
Mastercard and PayPal expand digital partnership globally — Mastercard — “Mastercard will be presented as a clear and equal payment option within the PayPal Wallet, making Mastercard and their issuers easily identifiable to the consumer when transacting… PayPal will have the opportunity to expand its presence at the point of sale by utilizing tokenization services from Mastercard, allowing consumers to use their tokenized Mastercard in their PayPal Wallet to make in-store purchases.”
Nissan drivers to use Amazon Alexa to unlock their vehicles
NissanConnect Services skill for Amazon Alexa — Nissan — “Forgot to lock your vehicle? Looking to remotely start your Nissan to heat it up or cool it down before you get in? The NissanConnect Services with Amazon Alexa skill allows you to connect with and control your Nissan vehicle, or vehicles, as quickly and easily as having a conversation… With NissanConnect Services with Amazon Alexa, you can use your voice to remotely start your Nissan, unlock your doors or flash your lights.”
German savings banks to roll out mobile payments in 2018
G+D Mobile Security enables the German savings banks finance group to provide mobile payment for their member banks — Giesecke & Devrient — “Prior to the commercial launch next year, a mobile payment pilot program with ten issuing savings banks went live in September. With this pilot, the savings banks will test the functionality, operations and user experience of the end-to-end mobile payment solution. In the nationwide commercial phase, Girocard mobile (Girocard is the most used payment card in Germany) and other schemes will be supported.”
Reserve Bank of India to issue guidelines for interoperable mobile wallets
Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies — Reserve Bank of India — “In line with the Vision for Payment and Settlement Systems in the country, the revised framework will pave the way for bringing interoperability into usage of PPIs [Prepaid Payment Instruments]. Interoperability amongst KYC-compliant PPIs shall be implemented within six months of the date of issuance of the revised Master Directions, which will be issued within a week, ie by October 11, 2017.”
Poland to introduce mobile ID cards
Poland to roll out mobile phone ID cards in 2018 — Phys.org — “The new system will be rolled out gradually, starting with young people. Mobile phone versions of driving licences, vehicle registration papers, student cards and other documents will follow… Citizens of the country of 38 million people will see their ID cards stored in the cloud and will be able to call up the documents on their mobile phones using a code received by text message.”
US government to explore new national ID concepts
The White House and Equifax agree: Social security numbers should go — Bloomberg — “The Trump administration is exploring ways to replace the use of Social Security numbers as the main method of assuring people’s identities in the wake of consumer credit agency Equifax Inc’s massive data breach. The administration has called on federal departments and agencies to look into the vulnerabilities of employing the identifier tied to retirement benefits, as well as how to replace the existing system.”
Hospital charity raises funds via NFC stickers
Norwich hospital charity introduces cashless donations for visitors — UK Fundraising — “Visitors to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals are now able to make donations to the NHS Trust charity using a variety of tap-to-donate tools ranging from vinyl stickers and ‘smart’ posters… The Trust is also using the technology to turn (charity-funded) wheelchairs into instant donation points.”
Moscow Metro to offer contactless payment rings to commuters
Moscow Metro to introduce fare payment rings — The Moscow Times — “The gadget will allow commuters to pay their fare anywhere that accepts the Troika transport card. The pass gives commuters access to Moscow’s bus, train and metro systems and is currently used by an estimated 10.5 million people… The payment rings will go on sale at the Moscow metro’s two souvenir shops and kiosks at a dozen stations across the Russian capital.”
X9 publishes new ANSI tokenization standard
ASC X9 publishes new tokenization standard that enhances security of payment card data in data breaches — X9 — “The Accredited Standards Committee X9 Inc (X9) announced the publication of X9.119 Protection of Sensitive Payment Card Data – Part 2: Implementing Post-Authorization Tokenization Systems. This new ANSI standard defines the minimum security requirements for implementing tokenization in systems that operate after a payment has been approved, to protect sensitive payment card data from data breaches.”
Apple Pay Cash enters internal testing
Apple employees testing Apple Pay Cash internally in iOS 11.1 — MacRumours — “Employee testers are required to download iOS 11.1, install an additional internal-only beta profile, and have their Apple IDs white listed to access Apple Pay Cash.”
Chinese mobile payment volumes top US$3tn in Q2 2017
China’s third-party mobile payment market continues rapid expansion — Xinhua — “In the second quarter of 2017, third-party mobile payment transactions amounted to 23tn yuan (about US$3.46tn), up 22.5% from the previous quarter… Alipay, Alibaba’s mobile payment service, led the market with a 53.7% share, followed by Tencent Finance, with a 39.1% share.”
M-Pesa rolls out contactless tags and wristbands for faster mobile money transactions in stores
Safaricom extends M-Pesa 1Tap — Safaricom — “Following successful trials over the last four months in Nakuru, Safaricom has today announced the availability of M-Pesa 1Tap in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nyeri… To make a payment, a merchant will key in the payment amount into their device, tap the customer tag, and the customer will then key in their pin on their phone to validate the payment. This cuts down the steps involved from more than eight steps using the M-Pesa tool on SIM cards to just one step for the customer.”
Baseball team uses iOS 11 to issue NFC tickets to fans
An MLB team is using the iPhone’s NFC feature for contactless stadium entry — Techcrunch — “The Oakland Athletics are piloting a new NFC ticketing solution which lets fans enter the stadium by tapping their phone (or Apple Watch) to a ticket scanner — just like you’d do to use Apple Pay. The feature uses the NFC technology that is used for contactless rewards cards (like Walgreens Balance Rewards) via Apple Pay, and this is the first time the technology is being used outside of reward cards or stored balance gift cards.”
More than 1,000 financial institutions now offer Android Pay
Android Pay is now compatible with over 1,000 financial institutions — Android Authority — “Today, Google updated the support page for Android Pay with 16 more financial institutions. That pushes the total up to 1,012.”
Asian banks develop blockchain-based customer identity platform
OCBC Bank, HSBC, MUFG, IMDA complete proof-of-concept KYC blockchain — Digital News Asia — “The KYC [Know Your Customer] blockchain – running on a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform which enables structured information to be recorded, accessed and shared across a distributed network using advanced cryptography – allows banks to collect, validate and share customer information – with the customer’s consent – accurately, efficiently and in a secured manner.”