Staff at the Warren Manor care facility in Blackpool in the UK are piloting a digital passport that enables them to verify their Covid-19 vaccination, test or recovery status when they arrive at their workplace by scanning their finger... More
Finland
Fidesmo opens NFCW Expo showcase
NFCW EXPO: Fidesmo, a contactless platform provider that makes it possible for issuers to connect payment, transit ticketing and access control cards to a wide range of both passive and active devices, has opened a booth in the NFCW Expo... More
OP Financial to pilot biometric payment card in Finland
Finland’s OP Financial Group is to pilot a biometric payment card that will allow users to authenticate payments over the contactless transaction limit with their fingerprint rather than with a PIN... More
Nordic countries record surge in contactless payments during pandemic
The proportion of in-store purchases made using contactless cards in the Nordic countries has risen from 57% in January this year to 75% in late October, an increase “in part driven by concerns around the potential spread of Covid-19,” regional payments processor Nets reports... More
Six in ten Europeans abandon digital bank applications during onboarding
Nearly two-thirds of consumers in Europe (63%) have abandoned a digital bank application in the past year, compared with 40% in 2019, according to new research... More
PayPal rolls out QR payments to 28 countries around the world
PayPal users in 28 countries across the world are now able to use their PayPal app to make QR code-based mobile payments in stores — and standard seller transaction fees are being waived “for a limited time” for merchants using the new functionality... More
Contactless payments growth rate doubles in Nordic countries
The contactless payments growth rate in the Nordic region has doubled during the first four months of this year, regional payments processor Nets reports, “as social distancing steers Nordic consumers away from chip and PIN”... More
Helsinki Regional Transport begins contactless payments rollout
Helsinki Regional Transport has begun the rollout of EMV contactless payments across the Finnish capital’s rail, bus and ferry network... More
Mastercard reports on wearable payments adoption
The volume of transactions made using wearable devices has seen an eightfold increase in Europe over the past 12 months, Mastercard reports, while Australia tops the list of countries where most wearable payments are now being made.... More
eMarketer identifies top countries for mobile payments adoption
China remains the country with by far the highest mobile payments adoption rate, with 81.1% of smartphone owners making use of the technology, eMarketer reports... More
Mobile payments providers team up to let customers make QR payments across Europe
A group of seven mobile payments service providers with a combined user base of 25 million people in nine European countries have formed a new association to deliver “interoperability of the mobile payment systems across national borders”... More
Telia tests 5G face recognition payments
Finnish carrier Telia is working with OP Bank to test the viability of using a high speed 5G network to deliver face recognition payments to merchants operating in locations without a fixed line connection... More
European mobile wallets adopt Alipay QR code format to boost payment interoperability
Six European mobile wallet providers — Bluecode (Austria), ePassi (Finland), Momo Pocket (Spain), Pagaqui (Portugal), Pivo (Finland) and Vipps (Norway) — have adopted a QR code format from Chinese payment provider Alipay to ensure digital payment interoperability and improve the international reach of customers’ wallets as well as boosting sales, participants have told NFCW... More
Finnish banks double contactless transaction limit to €50
Banks increase limits for contactless payments — News Now Finland — “Customers in most Finnish banks can now use their bank cards to make contactless payments up to €50. The previous limit was €25… 79% of Finns use contactless payments. Two years ago that figure was only 52%.”
Google Pay rolls out across Scandinavia
Google Pay is now live in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, with support from Jyske Bank, Nordea and Revolut in Denmark, Nordea, Revolut, Monobank, Storebrand Bank and Sparebanken Sør in Norway, Nordea, Revolut, Länsförsäkringar Bank and Sodexo in Sweden and Nordea, Revolut and Edenred in Finland... More
OP Financial tests face recognition for payments in stores
OP Financial Group first in Finland to pilot facial recognition payments — OP Financial Group — “The technology compares the customer’s face to a face map captured on camera. After the customer’s face has been identified, the payment itself is simple: no mobile phone, payment card, cash or other traditional payment method will be needed.”
Nordic banks to build new payments infrastructure for instant cross-border payments
Banks are building a super-speed money highway in the Nordics — Bloomberg — “The P27 project — so-called for the 27 million people who live in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland — will build on the success of smartphone payment applications that Nordic banks have already created, like Swish in Sweden, Norway’s Vipps, and MobilePay in Denmark… The aim is to make it possible to clear payments and settle accounts within seconds, regardless of currency.”
Danske Bank partners with S-Bank to expand its MobilePay service to Finland
The revolution of mobile paying begins here: MobilePay to be introduced at S Group shops — Danske Bank — “In the autumn, all Finns will be offered the possibility to pay for their shopping and collect Bonus using a mobile phone. This becomes a reality as S Group and S-Bank enable payment with MobilePay at all S Group’s grocery shops around Finland… In Denmark, MobilePay is already used by 65 banks and more than 90% of all Danes.”
Apple Pay goes live in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the UAE
Apple Pay Launches in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and UAE — MacRumors — “In Denmark, Jyske Bank (Visa debit cards only) and Nordea are supporting Apple Pay. In Finland and Sweden, Apple Pay can be used with debit and credit cards from Nordea and ST1. Edenred and N26 support will be coming soon to Finland, while Ticket Rikskuponger will support Apple Pay in Sweden in the near future. In United Arab Emirates, the following banks and cards work with Apple Pay: Emirates Islamic (Visa credit, debit, and prepaid cards), Emirates NBD, HSBC (Visa and Mastercard credit and debit cards), Mashreq, Rakbank (Mastercard credit, debit, and prepaid cards), Standard Chartered Bank”.
Apple Pay reaches 20 countries, representing 70% of the world’s card transaction volume
Apple Pay now in 20 markets, nabs 90% of all mobile contactless transactions where active — Techcrunch — “Bailey also announced that the service is launching in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and the UAE in the next few days, bringing the total number of countries where it is used up to 20. And she said that 4,000 issuers worldwide now work with the wallet… While these may not sound like massive numbers on their own, 20 markets represents a full 70% of the world’s card transaction volume, she noted.”