Google is working on an Android Pay API that will be “built from the ground up” for Android developers and makes use of host card emulation, “a source close to the matter” has told Ars Technica... More
Google ‘to release Android Pay API in May’
Samsung
Google renews wallet discussions with carriers
Google is in a new round of discussions with mobile network operators to get its Google Wallet payments service widely distributed on mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal reports, with incentives on offer believed to include paying carriers to feature Google Wallet prominently on their Android phones and, potentially, a share of advertising revenues... More
Samsung confirms mobile wallet ambitions with LoopPay deal
Samsung Electronics has announced it is to buy LoopPay, the startup that has developed a way for mobile payments to be made at standard magnetic stripe card terminals... More
Rabobank launches embedded NFC payments service
Customers of Dutch financial institution Rabobank with a Samsung Galaxy S4 or Galaxy Note 3 can now use a mobile wallet app that works with the secure element embedded in their mobile device to make NFC payments, check balances, store loyalty cards and redeem vouchers... More
Samsung to mandate NFC in S6 accessories?
Samsung is to require companies that manufacture accessories for the forthcoming Galaxy S6 mobile phone to include NFC-enabled authentication chips in their products, according to DDaily... More
Samsung Pay to launch at MWC?
Samsung Pay, “a payment feature which works with magnetic and NFC terminals” will ship with the Korean phone maker’s forthcoming Galaxy S6 mobile phone, BGR reports, citing a “trusted source”... More
Galaxy S6 to get new fingerprint sensor?
Samsung could replace the swipe-based fingerprint sensor used on the Galaxy S5 with a touch-based sensor on the Galaxy S6, expected to be introduced in the coming months... More
Verifone and Samsung to offer Android mPOS
Verifone and Samsung have announced a global partnership to deliver Android-based mobile point of sale (mPOS) solutions to multi-lane and enterprise retailers... More
LoopPay signs up OEMs to embed contactless tech into more products
Mobile payments startup LoopPay has announced deals with XPal Power and Trident Case to embed its Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) mag stripe emulation technology into a broad range of products including smartphones, wearables, cases and accessories, with “many other partners in the pipeline.”... More
Samsung in talks with LoopPay?
Samsung is in talks with mobile payments startup LoopPay with a view to launching a mobile payments system to rival Apple Pay in the US in 2015, “multiple sources” have told Re/code... More
Westpac adds fingerprint access
Westpac customers with an Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S5 or Note 4 incorporating a fingerprint sensor will be able to use the technology to log into their mobile banking app from January 2015, the Australian bank has announced... More
Scotiabank adds smartwatch app
Canada’s Scotiabank has launched a Quick Balance app for the Samsung Gear 2 and Samsung Gear S smartwatches that lets customers check their account balance with a swipe of the screen... More
Keyssa unveils high speed short range ‘kiss’ connectivity technology
Keyssa, a US startup backed by US$47m in funding from investors that include Intel, Samsung and Dolby Family Ventures and chaired by Nest founder Tony Fadell, has unveiled Kiss Connectivity, a solid-state embedded connector that can be used to transfer data between two devices at up to six gigabits per second. More
Paris restaurant equips waiters with wearables that alert them when orders are ready
Waiters in a Paris restaurant have been equipped with mobile phones that let them take orders on the go — and smartwatches that let bartenders and kitchen staff alert them when an order is ready to be served, avoiding delays and improving service times. More
Samsung launches Proximity mobile marketing platform
Samsung has unveiled Proximity, a location-based marketing platform that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons and works in a similar way to Apple’s iBeacon system — but without the need for consumers to be persuaded to download a marketer’s own app to access the service... More
Samsung to offer money transfers
Samsung will launch a mobile money transfer service in Korea at the end of this year in partnership with mobile payment service provider Yelopay and six banks, Korea Bizwire reports... More
Acer Pay is on the way
Taiwanese computer maker Acer is to join Apple and Samsung in introducing a payment service for users of its mobile phones and wearable devices, Want China Times reports... More
New Zealand banks and carriers to begin Semble NFC wallet rollout in November
TSM NZ, the NFC payments joint venture between New Zealand’s carriers and the Paymark payments network, has announced a new brand name, a November date for its first trials — and a marketing partnership with Samsung... More
RBC expands cloud-based NFC wallet to BlackBerry and Virgin
Royal Bank of Canada’s cloud-based NFC wallet is now available to Virgin Mobile subscribers and to customers with a BlackBerry Z10 or Z30 mobile phone, the bank has announced... More
Samsung Pay lands in China
Samsung’s version of Apple Pay is now live in China, Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports... More