Chinese consumers can now open digital yuan wallets using different levels of customer identification depending on the transaction and balance limits they require and can activate wallets “with the lowest authority” with just their mobile phone number in line with the “principle of controllable anonymity”, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has revealed... More
- Apple Pay users in the US to get buy now pay later option with iOS 16
- BIS reports on CBDCs in emerging markets
- Moroccan bank launches biometric payment card
- US digital bank introduces contactless payments rings
- Riksbank completes digital currency payments pilot
Coca-Cola gives away mobile wallet credits for ‘free Cokes’ in US restaurants
Consumers in the US can now receive a US$2.50 credit to their mobile wallet that they can use to buy a Coca-Cola beverage at any restaurant that accepts card payments... More
Hong Kong to explore potential for digital HK dollar
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is launching “a comprehensive study” that will explore the use cases, benefits and risks of developing a digital Hong Kong dollar as a central bank digital currency (CBDC). More
El Salvador makes bitcoin legal tender
El Salvador has become the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, allowing citizens to use the cryptocurrency to make payments for goods and services as well as pay their tax bills and receive remittances from abroad. More
Timex launches wearable payments with Chase, Visa and Tappy
PARTNER NEWS: Timex Group has officially launched a range of watches and watch straps that let the wearer make tokenized payments at any merchant equipped to accept Visa contactless payments... More
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Bank of England sets out core principles for digital pound
Financial inclusion, creating a competitive ecosystem, comparison with other payment innovations, user privacy and monetary and financial stability will be the five core principles that guide the Bank of England’s future exploration and development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the UK, the financial institution has revealed. More
Antelop launches One Digital Card SDK for banks and card issuing processors
PARTNER NEWS: Antelop Solutions has introduced a new solution that makes it possible for banks and card issuing processors to use a single software development kit to add all the very latest digital card features to their mobile banking apps... More
EMVCo releases new spec that improves mobile payments quality and speeds up transit ticketing transaction times
EMVCo has issued a new specification bulletin that makes it mandatory for contactless payment terminal suppliers to make use of IQ demodulation techniques in order to receive EMVCo certification. More
World Bank finds contactless cards are not yet displacing cash
Contactless payments technology is causing “a sizable increase in the use of debit cards for small-value payments”, but is having an “economically small and statistically insignificant” impact on the use of cash and cash demand, according to a study conducted by the World Bank... More
Riksbank extends e-krona pilot to real world test environments
Sweden’s central bank The Riksbank is to begin testing its e-krona central bank digital currency (CBDC) with external partners to assess how a digital krona would operate within a real world banking and payments infrastructure. More
Continente opens cashierless supermarket in Portugal
Portuguese supermarket chain Continente has opened its first autonomous cashierless store in Lisbon, enabling customers to use a QR code generated in the company’s Labs app to access the shop and automatically pay for their purchases from their mobile phone without needing to scan their goods or use a checkout... More
CaixaBank to let customers access all digital banking services at ATMs
Customers of CaixaBank in Spain can now use the bank’s ATMs to access the same online digital banking services and features as those available to them on its mobile app and website... More
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Apple eyes alternative payments with new business development role
Apple is seeking to recruit a business development manager to research and form partnerships with “strategic alternative payment providers”, launch “new programs” and contribute to “business strategy and product roadmaps for the growth of Apple Pay and Wallet Services”, a job advertisement posted by the company reveals. More
German savings banks trial digital receipts for NFC smartphone users
Consumers in the Cologne-Bonn area of Germany will soon be able to receive digital receipts on their NFC smartphone for in-store purchases at merchants taking part in a pilot of a new digital receipt service being launched by the Sparkasse group of savings banks... More
Hyundai to let US electric vehicle drivers make payments from their car
Motorists purchasing Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 crossover utility vehicle (CUV) in North America will be able to pay for electric vehicle (EV) charging, parking, food and beverages directly from the fully electric car’s infotainment screen... More
Nearly 90% of card present payments globally were made using EMV chip cards in 2020
Almost nine in 10 card present transactions conducted globally (86.1%) were made using EMV chip-enabled payment cards between January and December 2020, according to standards body EMVCo... More
UK merchants get extra six months to implement strong customer authentication
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has extended the deadline for the implementation of strong customer authentication (SCA) for online purchases by a further six months. More
Market Pay picks Dejamobile to let merchants accept contactless payments on NFC devices
PARTNER NEWS: Market Pay is enabling merchants to use a standard Android NFC smartphone or tablet to accept contactless payments at the point of sale without needing any additional hardware... More
Swift and Accenture lay out requirements for cross border CBDC payments infrastructure
Ensuring that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are interoperable and integrated with existing payment infrastructures are among the key requirements for their successful implementation in cross border transactions, according to a joint paper published by Swift and Accenture. More
ABN Amro lets customers pay with Google Pay
Customers of ABN Amro in the Netherlands can now use their Android devices to make payments with Google Pay from within the Dutch bank’s mobile app... More