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
Norway
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
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
Table: Contactless payment transaction limit increases around the world
Updated 30 January 2023 Countries around the world are increasing the contactless transaction limit in a bid to lower cash usage to combat the spread of Covid-19... More
UK raises contactless transaction limit by 50%
The spending limit for contactless card payments in the UK is being increased from £30 (US$35.33) to £45 (US$52.99), UK Finance has announced. The new spending limit will begin to roll out from 1 April 2020. More
Norwegian banks increase domestic contactless card transaction limit
Norway is increasing the transaction limit for BankAxept domestic contactless debit card payments from 400 kr (US$34.28) to 500 kr (US$42.84) “in order to minimise the number of physical touch points where infection can be transmitted”... 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
Nordic banks to launch KYC platform venture
The collaboration of six Nordic banks results in a joint KYC company — SEB Group — “The joint venture company is preparing for its first commercial launch in 2020. The company is autonomous and will initially offer KYC services to the market concerning large and medium-sized companies based in the Nordic region.”
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
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
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.”
Handelsbanken pilots waterproof payments wristbands
Handelsbanken, BankAxept and Evry launch contactless payment from micro bank cards in wristbands — Evry — “This micro bank card makes paying for small purchases quicker and simpler than any other solution currently available to customers. You can, for example, have this small waterproof card in a wristband on the beach so you can buy an ice cream as soon as you get out of the water without having to first fetch your wallet or mobile. We therefore think many people will like this solution and will use it on a day-to-day basis.”
Apple Pay launches in Norway
Nordea launches Apple Pay in Norway, DNB stays focused on Vipps — Reuters — “Nordea Bank launched Apple Pay to its customers in Norway on Wednesday… Visa separately said Apple Pay will also be available to Norwegian customers at Santander Bank, and soon also at Sbanken. Norway’s biggest bank DNB said it had been in dialogue with Apple, but will so far not offer Apple Pay to its customers as it would rather concentrate on its self-made Vipps payment solution.”
Norway’s central bank reports on the potential of issuing a digital currency
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: A report presenting the results of an in-depth investigation by Norway’s central bank into the potential of a central bank-issued digital currency is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
Apple Pay to go live in Norway, Poland and Ukraine as transit ticketing drives consumer adoption
Apple financial results conference call Q2 2018 — Apple — “We believe the availability of Apple Pay at major transit systems have been a key driver of adoption among commuters… Apple Pay is already the most successful mobile transit payment system in Tokyo, which has the busiest transit system of all. With the launch of Brazil in April, Apple Pay is now available in 21 markets and we expect Norway, Poland and Ukraine to launch in the next several months.”
One in five Brits to make mobile payments in stores this year
UK: Mobile payments still looking to grab a foothold — eMarketer — “Just over 22% of UK smartphone users will use a phone to pay for goods and services at the point of sale (POS) in 2018… China has the largest mobile proximity payments market in the world, with 77.5% of smartphone users doing so this year. Within Europe, the UK’s smartphone penetration rate will rank behind Norway (23.3%), Sweden (33.8%) and Denmark (38.9%) in 2018.”
Norwegian banks to form joint venture in bid to combat threat of global tech giants
Norwegian banks to combine payment units Vipps, BankAxept, BankID — Reuters — “Norwegian banks agree to combine payment units Vipps, BankAxept and BankID Norge to improve product offering and prepare for competition against global tech firms… DNB CEO Rune Bjerke said: “We have two choices. Either let the existing payments infrastructure wither away, or join forces and push forward.”
Nordea and Danske to join Norway’s Vipps mobile payment system
Nordea joins rival DNB’s Vipps payment app in Norway — Reuters — “Top Nordic bank Nordea will start offering rival DNB’s mobile payment app to customers in Norway, leading Danske Bank to shut its service in the country, the companies said on Wednesday… Copenhagen-based Danske Bank said it would no longer offer the Mobilepay service to Norwegian customers, and that it would instead seek a distribution deal with DNB.”
Norwegian banks join DNB to make Vipps the ‘single mobile wallet’ for customers
More than 100 Norwegian banks are to take a stake in Vipps, the person-to-person mobile payment solution launched by financial services group DNB and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in May 2015... More