American Express introduces Pay It Plan It: A mobile feature that gives card members two new ways to pay for credit card purchases — American Express — “With Pay It, card members can use their American Express app to select smaller purchases and pay that purchase amount right away with a tap. With Plan It, card members can select purchases over US$100 and choose to make monthly payments ranging from three to 24 months with a fixed fee and no interest.”
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Ride-hailing app Grab launches e-payment and fund transfer system
Ride-hailing app Grab launches e-payment and fund transfer system — The Straits Times — “Users will be able to transfer GrabPay credits between themselves via its in-app mobile wallet… Grab also aims to work with more than 1,000 merchants in the retail, entertainment and food and beverage industries to accept mobile payments through GrabPay in the fourth quarter of 2017.”
NXP and Changan Automobile to cooperate on infotainment and future vehicle technologies
NXP and Changan Automobile to cooperate on infotainment and future vehicle technologies — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — Changan Automobile is one of China’s largest car manufacturers and the first Chinese company to achieve long-distance self-driving… Changan will apply NXP’s vehicle-to-x (V2X) communication, near field communication (NFC) identification, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and joint R&D to further transform automobiles into mobile information hubs.”
Apple accepts WeChat Pay in bid to reverse sales decline
Apple accepts WeChat Pay in bid to reverse sales decline — China Daily — “Apple said it is ‘excited’ to introduce Chinese customers using WeChat Pay to purchase apps or subscribe to Apple Music, and will continue to offer payment options that are simple and convenient…. It previously supported credit card transactions, its indigenous Apple Pay, China’s UnionPay, and Alipay, WeChat Pay’s biggest rival.”
Mastercard lets Polish merchants accept payments with just their smartphones
Two hundred small businesses are to participate in a pilot that lets them accept contactless payments using just a mobile app on their NFC smartphones... More
Payments Council to create common QR code for Singapore
Payments Council to create common QR code for Singapore — Singapore Business Review — “The newly established Payments Council formed an industry taskforce to develop a common QR code for Singapore (SGQR)… Stakeholders in the SGQR include banks, payment schemes, QR payment service providers, and relevant government agencies.”
Visa moves to kill PINs by pushing Aussie banks towards biometric authentication
Visa moves to kill PINs by pushing Aussie banks towards biometric authentication — The Australian Financial Review — “A new Visa security roadmap outlines a four-year process for Australian banks to adopt new standards for e-commerce transactions, designed to streamline the purchasing process and reduce fraud, while implementing new information-sharing practices and tokenization technology.”
Burger King has launched its own cryptocurrency in Russia called WhopperCoin
Burger King has launched its own cryptocurrency in Russia called WhopperCoin — CNBC — “With each purchase of the burger chain’s signature Whopper sandwich, customers can receive WhopperCoin tokens via a digital wallet… WhopperCoin transactions will be powered by Ethereum rival Waves’ distributed ledger network. The blockchain platform allows users to issue and transfer custom blockchain tokens, and to trade them on an integrated peer-to-peer exchange.”
Drones relay RFID signals for inventory control
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.”
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.”
Fitbit unveils Ionic smartwatch with Mastercard, Visa, AmEx and Starbucks payments support
Fitness wearable maker Fitbit has launched Ionic, a smartwatch that will combine health and fitness functions with the ability to make contactless Visa, Mastercard and American Express payments as well as payments using the wearer’s Starbucks Card account... More
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.”
From the high street to the handset: How banks can stay connected to consumers in the smartphone era
While banks may no longer need a presence on every high street to stay connected with their customers, they do need to remain very visible, especially on the smart device, to avoid being relegated to the place of a utility, payments technology provider Dejamobile’s Lorcan Burke tells NFC World readers in an in-depth article that explores the changing role of banks in the smartphone era... More
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.”