Apple Pay is experiencing “phenomenal traction”, with transaction volume up 450% over the last 12 months, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed. Monthly Apple Pay transactions have grown by nearly 300% in the last year across the UK, while in Japan more than half a million transit users are completing 20m Apple Pay transactions per month. More
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Mastercard rolls out Messenger payment bots with US retailers
Subway, FreshDirect and The Cheesecake Factory have begun rolling out payment bots for Facebook Messenger across the US, allowing their customers to secure and complete payments using Mastercard’s Masterpass digital payment platform without having to leave the instant messaging service. More
Esso customers get mobile payments and rewards at 1,000 Canadian gas stations
Motorists across Canada can now pay for fuel and car washes as well as accumulate loyalty rewards using a mobile payment service that is being rolled out by fuel retailer Imperial Oil to 1,000 Esso-branded gas stations nationwide. More
Samsung Pay goes live across India with support for Paytm and UPI money transfers
Samsung Pay has launched in India with support from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank, with Citibank India support expected “shortly”. The service has also integrated India’s leading mobile wallet Paytm and comes with support for peer-to-peer money transfers through the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface platform. More
Rambus unveils Unified Payment Platform for mobile payments and loyalty
PARTNER NEWS: Rambus has unveiled a mobile payments platform that will allow retailers to launch mobile payment and loyalty services that securely store and manage a variety of payment cards, as well as gift cards and loyalty points, to enable consumers to pay with credit, points and coupons in a single transaction at the point of sale... More
US consumers to use loyalty points as currency for in-store payments
US consumers will soon be able to purchase goods using loyalty points from multiple programs through Verifone Points Redemption, a new service designed for merchants which connects to third party loyalty programs and alerts shoppers when they have enough points available to complete a payment... More
Carnival unveils NFC and BLE wearable for cruise ship passengers
Holidaymakers aboard Carnival Corporation cruise ships will soon be given an NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) enabled wearable device, designed by the man behind Disney’s MagicBand, that will let them access a range of next generation services including boarding without checking in, unlocking rooms, accessing personalised entertainment, ordering food and making payments. More
Android Pay offers Christmas rewards
Android Pay users in the UK are receiving virtual Christmas rewards whenever they use the mobile payment service to pay in-store or on the Transport for London network... More
Loyalty and gifts added to Apple Pay
Prepaid card provider Blackhawk Network is to integrate gift cards, egifts, loyalty and rewards programs into Apple Pay... More
Liquid Pay targets 25,000 retailers in Singapore with QR code mobile payments
Some 25,000 retail locations in Singapore are expected to accept a new mobile payment service within the next 12 months... More
Samsung Pay to launch Samsung Rewards programme in the US
Samsung Pay is to launch a rewards programme in the US this week that will let users earn points for each purchase, which can be redeemed for items such as gift cards at participating stores, prepaid Samsung Rewards Visa gift cards, Samsung products “and more”, the company says... More
Android Pay launches in Hong Kong
Google is rolling out its Android Pay mobile payment service in Hong Kong with support for Mastercard and Visa cards from The Bank of East Asia, DBS, Dah Sing Bank, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank... More
Kona unveils Kona Money for digital gift cards and mobile payments
PARTNER NEWS: South Korean smart card provider Kona has unveiled Kona Money, a mobile payment service that integrates gift cards and allows for purchases to be made at the point of sale using NFC, QR code or barcode scanning... More
US and UK consumers warm to mobile payments, loyalty and coupons
The majority of US and UK consumers (54%) have now used a mobile wallet, research from Urban Airship reveals, with 30% of respondents using them in the past week. More
Apple promotes Apple Pay with iTunes gift cards
UK and US consumers are being encouraged to sign up and use Apple Pay with a £5 or $5 iTunes gift card at Apple retail stores across both countries... More
Canadian NFC mobile wallet SureTap to close down
The SIM-based NFC Canadian mobile wallet SureTap is to be discontinued in August 2016 due to “ongoing changes in the market”, the mobile wallet provider has announced. More
Starbucks launches mobile payments in China
Customers at Starbucks stores in China will now be able to pay for their order using their mobile phone and the coffee giant’s QR code-based mobile payment service which has now been launched in 2,200 locations across the country. More
Walmart Pay completes nationwide rollout
US supermarket giant Walmart has completed its nationwide rollout of Walmart Pay, making the service available in more than 4,600 stores across the country. The retailer has also recorded a 45% increase in Walmart Pay transactions in the last week. More
Android Pay launches in Singapore
Google has begun rolling out Android Pay across Singapore, marking the mobile payment service’s debut in Asia. It will work with MasterCard and Visa cards from DBS Bank, OCBC Bank, POSB Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB. More