My competition is with cash: Ajay Banga — LiveMint — “Eighty-five percent of the world’s retail payments — person to merchant — are in cash… So who do I view as my competition? Cash. I don’t view another network, I don’t view Paytm, I don’t view Apple as competition. We are actually working with all of them. They all need our technology.”
Apple
Most US banks expected to renew Apple Pay contracts
They may not like the terms, but issuers will likely re-up for Apple Pay — Digital Transactions — “The first big wave of Apple Pay contracts are expiring this month, and a big question for both Apple Inc and the financial institutions that committed to support the computing giant’s mobile payments app is whether to renew, and under what terms, in the face of less-than-spectacular results for mobile payments generally… Expert observers and financial institution executives argue most if not all of the early signees are likely to re-up or have already done so, despite financial terms many experts consider unusual if not onerous.”
Barclays CEO: Payments is the battleground of finance
Barclays CEO says bank must protect payments business from Apple, Amazon — Bloomberg — “Barclays Plc will need to defend its advantages in the payments business from encroachment by technology companies including Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc, according to chief executive officer Jes Staley. ‘There are some tectonic shifts going on, driven by tech and the geopolitical environment… All the banks are very focused on the payments space. That may be where the battleground of finance is fought over the next 15 years.’”
Apple prepares to launch Apple Pay in India
Apple may launch payments service in India soon, eyes local partnerships — LiveMint — “In an interview at Apple’s Hyderabad development centre, Apple senior vice-president Eddy Cue said the company wants to launch Apple Pay in India in the near future without giving a specific date… The company will look to partner and integrate its payments service with established players in the country like Paytm, rather than build a new payments solution from scratch, Cue said.”
Face ID to add privacy layer to lockscreen notifications
iPhone X and iOS 11 bring a welcome change to iOS lockscreen notifications — Phone Arena — “The Apple iPhone X will only show lockscreen notifications with actual content when it knows you are the one who is watching and if it’s somebody else, they will only see the notification source, but not the notification content itself (which might be sensitive).”
Mastercard promotes contactless card usage with free school meal donations
Every pay as you go journey in London made using a Mastercard will feed a child this October — Mastercard — “Touch in and out with your Mastercard on London’s transport network and we’ll provide a meal for one of the world’s hungriest children… For three weeks Mastercard will donate one school meal for every pay-as-you-go journey made on Transport for London (TfL) and National Rail Services in London using a contactless Mastercard, or a Mastercard loaded into Apple Pay, Android Pay or Samsung Pay… Each school meal costs just 20p, but the benefits last a lifetime.”
Apple to drop Touch ID in 2018?
Apple predicted to ditch Touch ID for Face ID with 2018 iPhone lineup — AppleInsider — “Apple is going all in on Face ID, according to well-connected KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes the company will completely abandon its Touch ID capacitive fingerprint recognition system in favor of the depth-sensing technology when it introduces next year’s iPhone lineup.”
Discover lets cardholders redeem cashback bonus points via Apple Pay
Discover cardmembers now have ability to redeem Cashback Bonus rewards with Apple Pay — Discover Financial Services — “‘Cashback Bonus redemption through Apple Pay can happen in just two touches for Discover cardmembers,’ said Szabolcs Paldy, vice president of e-business for Discover… ‘Customer experience hinges on embracing mobile-first technologies like Apple Pay, and this new ability will make Cashback Bonus redemption even easier and more convenient for our cardmembers.’”
Apple Pay Cash enters internal testing
Apple employees testing Apple Pay Cash internally in iOS 11.1 — MacRumours — “Employee testers are required to download iOS 11.1, install an additional internal-only beta profile, and have their Apple IDs white listed to access Apple Pay Cash.”
Baseball team uses iOS 11 to issue NFC tickets to fans
An MLB team is using the iPhone’s NFC feature for contactless stadium entry — Techcrunch — “The Oakland Athletics are piloting a new NFC ticketing solution which lets fans enter the stadium by tapping their phone (or Apple Watch) to a ticket scanner — just like you’d do to use Apple Pay. The feature uses the NFC technology that is used for contactless rewards cards (like Walgreens Balance Rewards) via Apple Pay, and this is the first time the technology is being used outside of reward cards or stored balance gift cards.”
Sberbank lets customers pay via Telegram messaging bots
Sberbank and Telegram create unique payment solution — Sberbank — “The solution allows payments to be accepted from MasterCard, Visa and Mir bank cards. In addition, in a first for Russia, it is now possible to pay using Apple Pay and Android Pay within Telegram bots. This means that now Sberbank partners can easily accept payments as well as orders via Telegram bots.”
Guide explains Apple Pay integration options for banks
A 10-page guide that outlines the technologies and capabilities banks must have in place to connect to Apple Pay, along with the options open to them for integration, is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
UnionPay rolls out Apple Pay transit payments in Guangzhou
Buses and subways to become new battlefield for mobile payments — South China Morning Post — “Commuters with UnionPay cards can now pay for their ride with their iPhone or Apple Watch at more than 6,000 subway gates at all stations in the city… Payments will be possible using technology called offline data authentication (ODA), and can be completed regardless of an internet connection… UnionPay estimates 90bn individual trips are made using Chinese buses and subways annually.”
Apple publishes Face ID security white paper
Face ID Security — Apple — “To authorize an in-store payment with Face ID, you must first confirm intent to pay by double-clicking the side button. You then authenticate using Face ID before placing your iPhone X near the contactless payment reader. If you’d like to select a different Apple Pay payment method after Face ID authentication, you’ll need to reauthenticate, but you won’t have to double-click the side button again.”
Starbucks lets customers reload their cards with their Apple Watch
Starbucks now lets you reload store cards with Apple Pay on Apple Watch — 9to5Mac — “Starting today you can reload your Starbucks Card using Apple Pay right on the Apple Watch. Paying with your Starbucks Card was previously supported but… reloading required using the iPhone app.”
New iPhones and Apple Watch to support NFC-F for FeliCa payments around the world
Global FeliCa for iPhone 8, iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 3 — Ata Distance — “Though Apple is very low key about global NFC-F support, FeliCa systems outside of Japan, such as Hong Kong’s MTR system and Octopus Card, and Singapore’s EZ-Link will be able to add Apple Pay Suica-like services… It also means that ‘inbound’ visitors to Japan can add Apple Pay Suica with the new devices.”
Rambus publishes quick guide to Apple Pay
A newly updated 12-page primer that quickly explains how Apple’s NFC-based mobile payment system works in clear and simple language is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
NXP releases NFC tag toolkit for iOS
PARTNER NEWS: NXP has announced a toolkit designed to make it easy for iOS 11 developers to take advantage of the NFC tag reading capabilities that are now supported by iPhones and unlock “the potential to now connect billions of consumer and industrial products to the Internet of Things (IoT)”... More
Apple releases iOS 11 with support for NFC tag reading
iOS 11 is now available to download — The Verge — “Today, Apple pushed out the final version of iOS 11, its latest mobile operating system release. Most iPhone and iPad units made in the last few years should be capable of downloading it now if you head over to the Settings panel and check for a software update under the General tab. For those who have been part of either the developer or public beta process, you’ll likely already have the finalized iOS 11 and shouldn’t need to do anything.”