Rail passengers using Eurostar services to travel between London and continental Europe are set to be the first to use a new face verification system to board their train “without showing a ticket or passport”... More
United Kingdom
NatWest to test behavioural biometrics for strong customer authentication
NatWest is working on the development of a behavioural biometrics solution for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) that could be used as a replacement for banking passwords, the UK bank has announced... More
Stocard picks Dejamobile to add payments to mobile loyalty app
PARTNER NEWS: European mobile loyalty wallet leader Stocard has added support for NFC payments to its app as it looks to evolve its digital wallet into an all-in-one payments, banking and shopping service... More
ATM industry publishes plan to combat the decline of cash withdrawals
The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has published an ATM and Cash Revival Plan “for an ATM industry hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”... More
Samsung brings its rotating NFC TV to the UK and USA
Samsung’s rotatable Sero TV, which uses NFC to let owners mirror both the content and perspective of their mobile phone, is now available in the UK and the USA... More
Financial Conduct Authority to add new protections for consumers’ funds
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to tighten up its regulations “to ensure payments firms are adequately protecting customer funds” amid concerns that the impact of Covid-19 will affect their financial viability... 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
UK consumers report growing concerns over using ATMs and payment terminals
Touching technology: preparing for a post-pandemic future — Foolproof — “Since the outbreak, three out of four people say they are now more concerned than before about ATMs, a similar number about touchscreens in GP surgeries and more than half of users are more concerned than before about smartphones. Previously much less of a worry, card payment terminals are now more of a concern for six out of ten users, making it into the top 5 touchpoints of concern.”
Survey finds 84% of consumers are ‘thinking differently about how they make payments’
Over half of UK consumers have tried a new payment method since the outbreak of Covid-19 — Paysafe — “In the company’s latest ‘Lost in Transaction’ survey, in which 8,000 consumers globally were asked about their payment habits, findings revealed that 54% of UK consumers have used new forms of payments since the Covid-19 outbreak began, and 84% of respondents globally admitted they were now thinking differently about how they make payments.”
Blackhawk Network lets UK consumers make digital gift card payments in stores
PARTNER NEWS: Blackhawk Network subsidiary One4all is using Dejamobile’s ReadyToTap Gifts & Rewards solution to make it possible for UK consumers and businesses to send a digital gift card directly to a recipient’s mobile phone — and for the recipient to then use it to make payments online and at contactless terminals in stores... More
UK extends strong customer authentication deadline
Strong customer authentication and coronavirus — Financial Conduct Authority — “In the exceptional circumstances of the Covid crisis, we are giving the industry an additional six months to implement strong customer authentication (SCA) for e-commerce. This will minimise potential disruption to consumers and merchants. The new timeline of 14 September 2021 replaces the 14 March 2021 date.”
Barclaycard reports on impact of contactless transaction limit increase
The increase in the UK contactless transaction limit from £30 (US$37.50) to £45 (US$56.25) has resulted in 43% of in-store transactions valued at between £30 and £45 now being made via contactless payments, Barclaycard reports... More
Apple Pay Express Transit payments roll out to 275 cities across China
Commuters in 275 Chinese cities can now add their T-Union public transportation card to their iPhone or Apple Watch and then use their smartphone or wearable to tap in and out of bus and subway services without the need to first validate the transaction using Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode... More
Starling Bank adds connected cards for volunteer shoppers
Customers of Starling Bank are now able to request an additional, specially restricted payment card that can be given to a friend, family member or volunteer shopper “to buy essential items on their behalf”... More
UK supermarkets launch digital volunteer shopping cards
UK supermarket chains Asda and M&S Food are making it possible for customers who are self-isolating to prepay online for purchases that volunteer shoppers can then make in-store on their behalf... 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
Mastercard: 29 countries have now agreed to raise their contactless payment limit
Mastercard is now working with 29 countries across Europe and central Asia to implement increases to their contactless payment transaction limit, the payments network says... 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
Barclays lets UK customers use its mobile banking app to make payments from accounts held at other banks
Barclays has become the first UK high street bank to leverage open banking APIs to enable its customers to use its mobile banking app to make payments from accounts they hold with other banks... More
Merchants in four European countries to pilot dongle-free contactless payments on Android NFC phones
Merchants in the UK, Germany, Bulgaria and Romania are to participate in the pilot of a new mobile POS (mPOS) service that enables contactless payments to be accepted on Android mobile devices “without the need for any additional hardware”... More