Bitcoin mobile wallet provider OneBit has begun alpha testing its mobile payment service which works via NFC at the point of sale wherever MasterCard is accepted... More
Archive: News in brief
US shoppers buying into mobile payments
Almost one in five US consumers (18%) have used a mobile device to make either an in-store or online purchase, up from 16% in 2014 and 12% in 2013, research from Synchrony Financial reveals, based on nearly 7,000 Synchrony Bank cardholders and shoppers nationwide... More
Square ‘files for public offering’
Mobile POS provider Square is reportedly set to go public after the company filed confidentially for an initial public offering... More
In-store tests for CurrentC mobile wallet
US retailer-owned mobile payments consortium MCX is to test its CurrentC mobile wallet in stores next month, Bloomberg reports, adding: “MCX expects to formally introduce the CurrentC app some time in the third quarter.” MCX unveiled the CurrentC brand in September 2014 and confirmed to NFC World it would launch in a “mid-sized market” in April... More
25% of Brits to make NFC mobile payment this year
A quarter of British consumers (25%) expect to make an NFC mobile payment in the next year, research from MasterCard reveals... More
Apple Pay adds 35 US banks
Apple has added an additional 35 banks and credit unions to the list of US financial institutions that support Apple Pay... More
Apple Pay to hit 1.5m US locations by year end
Apple Pay is “on track” to be accepted at more than 1.5m locations across the US by the end of 2015, including at some 700 universities and colleges such as Auburn University, the University of California Irvine, Colorado State University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Oklahoma... More
LivQuick raises $1.6m for mobile wallet
Mumbai-based LivQuik, the company behind mobile payment service QuikWallet, has raised US$1.6m from existing investor Snow Leopard Ventures to scale its team, technology and merchant base... More
Apple to show ads based on prepaid balance?
Apple could begin sending targeted advertising to users based on the amount of prepaid funds they have available, according to a newly published patent application... More
7-Eleven offers mobile payments in Taiwan
Customers of convenience store chain 7-Eleven in Taiwan can now make mobile payments using a mobile wallet provided by Pi Mobile Technology backed by a bank card supplied by CTBC Bank... More
Half of UK young adults pay with contactless each month
Nearly half of 25-34 year olds in the UK (44%) use contactless payments in an average month, research from YouGov and payment systems provider ACI Worldwide has revealed... More
Nearly half of US diners interested in mobile payments
Some 46% of US diners like the idea of using their mobile phone to pay in restaurants even though they have never done so, while of the 13% that have tried it over half liked the experience, research from restaurant booking service OpenTable finds... More
One in ten UK consumers experience Apple Pay issues
One in ten UK consumers using Apple Pay experienced issues when using the contactless payment service during its first week, research from social media company Brandwatch reveals... More
Transport for London warns of Apple Pay risks
Transport for London (TfL) has warned commuters of potential risks when using Apple Pay to pay for journeys on the city’s public transport network, including a flat battery that could result in penalty fares and the possibility of being charged twice if they carry both an iPhone and Apple Watch... More
Reserve Bank of India asked to increase mobile wallet limit
One97 Communications, owner of mobile payment platform Paytm, has asked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase the limit on money that can be kept in a mobile wallet to Rs 25,000 (US$393) from Rs 10,000 (US$157)... More
Lenovo adds eSE to new smartphones
Lenovo is to equip its new smartphones in China with Oberthur Technologies’ (OT) Pearl embedded secure element (eSE) to offer mobile payment and transport services... More
Samsung Pay trial in Korea confirmed
Samsung has confirmed it began testing Samsung Pay with Korean credit card firm Samsung Card on July 15 for select customers in Korea... More
Purchases on Google test confirmed
Google has confirmed it is testing a Purchases on Google service with a “limited number of retailers”, following rumours of the company’s plans in May... More
11% of UK consumers make in-store mobile payments
More than one in 10 (11%) of UK consumers have made an in-store mobile payment and 18% are interested in doing so, research from nVest Ventures reveals... More
US consumers put trust in biometrics
Some 41% of US consumers have a “high level” of comfort when logging in to a website or mobile app using a thumbprint or face/eye scan, research from Gigya finds... More