What's New in Payments

German consumers warm to contactless payments

Consumer insights study on German consumers’ preferred payment methods — First Data — “Contrary to the traditional ‘cash being king’ mindset, our study reveals a definite shift in consumer preference to more convenient methods of payments… 42% believe contactless payments are more convenient… 54% of consumers believe cash will become obsolete in a few years, 52% prefer card payments… 61% agree that card payments will become increasingly available.”


What's New in Payments

German savings banks to offer Apple Pay ‘this year’

Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken want to support Apple Pay in 2019 — Heise Online (translation) — “Like the savings banks, the Volksbanks offer their customers their own app for contactless payment transactions in the retail sector. However, it is only available for Android because Apple has not released the NFC interface of the iPhone for such applications. The German savings banks had demanded that Apple should open its NFC functionality to banking apps as recently as the end of 2018, but have now dropped this requirement.”


What's New in Payments

German savings banks press Apple to open up its NFC chip

Mobile payment: Sparkassen wants iPhone NFC, but no Apple Pay — Heise Online (translation) — “Apple must open the NFC transmission standard to other payment services, the savings bank association has demanded… Sparkasse offers its own mobile payment app, which until now has only been available for Android devices due to Apple’s NFC blockade. ‘Ultimately, smartphone payments should be possible on all devices, without technical hurdles and restrictions, so that customers can easily choose the right solution for them,’ the association argues.”



NFC World

The world’s biggest electronics store uses NFC tags to let shoppers self-checkout on their mobile phones

Scanning smart shelf-edge labels in a Saturn store

MediaMarktSaturn, Europe’s largest consumer electronics retailer, is piloting a mobile self-checkout service that lets customers add products to their shopping basket by tapping the NFC tag included in the digital price tags of more than 100,000 products on sale at its Hamburg city centre store... More



Deutsche Bank unveils loyalty-first mobile wallet venture

Yunar's app in use

Deutsche Bank has launched Yunar, a wholly-owned subsidiary startup that is taking a loyalty-first approach to building out a fully featured mobile wallet by initially offering a simple way to manage up to 200 loyalty points schemes — and then gradually adding a range of mobile payments and banking services as adoption takes off... More



Alipay builds travel guide into mobile payments app

Alipay launches in-app guide for Germany’s Oktoberfest — Alizila — “Alipay said Friday it launched an in-app travel guide in Chinese for visitors to Munich’s Oktoberfest celebration and the city’s 211-year-old downtown Viktualienmarkt… The pilot service will offer ‘a wealth of information on the culture and history of both venues,’ including a map, a guide to individual stalls and products, information on German behavioural norms, like how to toast with a glass of beer and advice on when and where it’s OK to take photos. Users can also pay for what they buy through the Alipay app.”


NFC World

German savings banks roll out NFC mobile payments to 45m debit card holders

Sparkassen launches mobile payments via smartphone — Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (translation) — “We have 45m girocards in circulation — and all of them can be used for mobile payments. This makes us a pioneer in Germany in terms of availability and distribution of a mobile payment solution,” says Helmut Schleweis, president of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV). In Germany, around 75% of the card terminals are equipped with the corresponding interface for contactless payment, with millions of terminals available worldwide.”



What's New in Payments

300 German savings banks to roll out their own NFC mobile payments app at the end of July

Mobile payment: Sparkassen app to be available at the end of July — Heise Online (translation) — “A beta version is currently available in the Android Play Store. However, this only works with the accounts of selected savings banks whose employees and customers are putting the system through its paces. At the launch date at the end of July, around 300 savings banks will be there, a spokesman for the savings bank subsidiary S-Payment told Heise Online… Because the savings banks are following their own plans for mobile payment, their customers can not use their credit cards with Google Pay.”




What's New in Payments

Deutsche Bank to let airlines collect payments direct from customers’ bank accounts

Deutsche Bank pilots game-changing payments solution with IATA — Deutsche Bank — “Deutsche Bank will collect customer payments directly from consumer accounts in line with the newly revised EU Payments Services Directive, PSD2. Currently, payments are mainly processed via credit and debit transactions… With direct payments being processed and received in near-real time, IATA’s member airlines will benefit from the acceleration of their funds. This will generate significant working capital and liquidity benefits — reducing days sales outstanding and the cost of funding for these airlines.”


Transit Ticketing Today

Adidas produces limited edition sneakers with a built-in transit pass

Shoe-Bahn: Berliners queue for sneaker with sewn-in annual transit ticket — The Local — “The sneaker bearing the design of seat covers on Berlin’s U-Bahn trains that has an annual ticket sewn into its flap was priced at only €180. An annual BVG ticket costs upwards of €761… The sneakers are valid until the end of 2018 as a ticket on Berlin U-bahn (subways), trams, buses and ferries — but only if they are worn at the time of travel.”


What's New in Payments

Dutch banks ING and Rabobank begin QR code payments pilot

ING and Rabobank customers can now try out Payconiq — Payconiq — “Payconiq allows their users to simply pay online and in-stores by scanning a QR code. Thanks to a direct connection with the user’s bank account, transactions can be swiftly processed against low costs for the merchants… Consumers can already pay at over 45,000 merchants in Belgium and Luxembourg and soon in Germany where Payconiq has been released earlier this month.”


What's New in Payments

eMarketer raises mobile payments forecast for China

eMarketer projects surge in mobile payments in China — eMarketer — “eMarketer has raised its projections by more than 86% for 2017, and now expects 461.4 million people in the country to use a phone to pay at the POS… By 2021, 79.3% of smartphone users will be tapping, scanning and swiping at the POS. By comparison, the US will have 31% of users doing so, and that figure will be 23% in Germany.”


What's New in Payments

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.”