Diners at McDonald’s restaurants in Sweden can now turn their Happy Meal boxes into a set of virtual reality goggles and play a skiing game endorsed by the Swedish National Ski Team using their smartphone. More
Fast food
Barclaycard reports increase in UK contactless spending
Contactless spending by Barclaycard’s UK customers in pubs and bars, pharmacies, supermarkets and on commuter transport increased 164% in 2015, the company has revealed. More
India’s Freecharge wallet signs another mPOS network
Indian closed-loop mobile wallet provider FreeCharge has partnered with mobile point of sale provider Ezetap to let its users make in-store mobile payments at “thousands of Ezetap service points consisting of small and mid-sized retailers across India”... More
Chase Pay goes to Starbucks mobile app
Users of Chase Pay will soon be able to buy food and drinks at more than 7,500 Starbucks cafés in the US through the coffee chain’s own mobile app or with the Chase Pay app... More
Visa extends Visa Token Service to auto manufacturers
Visa is extending its Visa Token Service platform to auto manufacturers to enable in-vehicle payment experiences through Visa Checkout. The company has partnered with Honda and car parking solutions provider ParkWhiz to demonstrate fuel and parking proof-of-concept solutions at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. More
Apple Pay launches in China
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across China, letting consumers pay in-store with compatible Apple devices using their China UnionPay credit and debit cards at QuickPass-enabled POS terminals as well as make purchases within participating mobile apps. More
FreeCharge takes mobile payments to ePaisa network
Mobile wallet provider FreeCharge has partnered with mPOS company ePaisa to offer its services to “thousands” of retailers across India... More
Amazon Echo adds Domino’s pizza orders
US customers of pizza chain Domino’s can now speak their orders into Amazon’s Echo voice-driven home shopping device, which is supported by virtual assistant Alexa... More
McDonald’s rolls out FreeCharge mobile payments to 216 Indian restaurants
McDonald’s customers across West & South India can now pay for their orders in-store using their mobile device... More
UK contactless spending volumes rise sharply following increase in transaction limit
Contactless transaction volumes have risen sharply since the UK transaction limit increased from £20 (US$30) to £30 (US$46) in September 2015, research from Barclaycard reveals. Service stations, pubs and bars, supermarkets and fast food outlets have seen the biggest increases. More
Android Pay to launch in Australia, adds in-app payments in US
Google will launch its Android Pay mobile payment service across Australia in the first half of 2016 with support from several of the country’s major financial institutions, including ANZ, Westpac, Bank of Melbourne, Bank of South Australia, Bendigo Bank, Cuscal, ING Direct, Macquarie Bank and St George. The mobile payment service has also enabled in-app payments in the US. More
UnionPay launches HCE mobile payments with Beijing banks
Customers of more than 20 commercial banks in Beijing can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using a new service launched by bankcard association UnionPay... More
In-store mobile payments increase four-fold across the US
The use of in-store mobile payments increased nearly four-fold across the US this year, from 5% in 2014 to 18% in 2015, research from Deloitte reveals, with approximately one in five consumers using their phone to make a payment at the point of sale... More
Burger King launches mobile rewards in New Zealand
Customers of fast food chain Burger King in New Zealand can now receive personalised offers, coupons and reward points on their mobile device... More
Half of UK shoppers think wearable payments will be commonplace within five years
More than half of UK shoppers (51%) believe that wearable devices including smartwatches, wristbands, fobs, stickers and smart clothing will be commonplace for in-store payments within two to five years, a survey by Vista Retail Support reveals... More
German football fans get HCE mobile payments
Fans of the FC Kaiserslautern football team can now make host card emulation (HCE) mobile payments at snack kiosks across its Fritz Walter Stadium using a mobile app developed by Sandpiper Group member companies Payment Solution and Ergonomics... More
Dunkin’ Donuts pilots mobile ordering
Members of Dunkin’ Donuts’ DD Perks Rewards program in Portland, Maine can now place and pay for orders on their mobile device using a new On-the-Go ordering app... More
McDonald’s and NTT Docomo launch mobile payments promo in Japan
Customers of fast food chain McDonald’s will get a 3% discount on purchases made at 3,000 locations across Japan when they use mobile network operator NTT Docomo’s iD mobile payment platform from December 1. Diners using Docomo credit cards will also earn extra credit points and a loyalty program will operate at McDonald’s branches in Tokyo. More
Telkomsel launches NFC mobile payments and loyalty service in Indonesia
Mobile network operator Telkomsel Indonesia has launched an NFC mobile payment and loyalty service in partnership with Verifone Mobile Money and financial services provider Finnet Indonesia to allow more than 140m subscribers to tap and pay with their mobile device at participating merchant locations... More
Starbucks, KFC and Chili’s to support Apple Pay
Coffee chain Starbucks is to begin accepting Apple Pay across all its 7,500 US stores... More