Bahrain to launch national e-wallet on July 4 — Trade Arabia — “The national e-wallet is a joint initiative of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and Benefit and a first-of-its-kind project in the kingdom. It will enable instant payments via smartphones and also facilitate the collection of payments electronically through debit, credit and prepaid cards and online bank accounts, for online and in-store purchases.”
Mobile wallet
Samsung Pay now supports Discover cards
Samsung Pay now supports Discover cards — The Verge — “A customer service representative for Discover confirmed that customers can now add their cards to Samsung Pay. Samsung unveiled its mobile payment system in 2015, and Discover announced at the time that support for the card would come in early 2016. However, that functionality was delayed until now, prompting some complaints from users.”
Google is running a massive Android Pay promo in Australia with 200,000 prizes worth $1.6 million
Google is running a massive Android Pay promo in Australia with 200,000 prizes worth $1.6 million — Android Police — “The gist is that you must be setting up Android Pay for the first time, or you must have set up a card previously but never used it. When you set up a new card in Australia or use your existing card for the first time, you will kick off a 30-day promo. Each transaction (up to 10 per day) gives you a virtual envelope, which could award you up to $500 in gift cards when opened.”
Danske Bank brings Apple Pay to customers in Northern Ireland
Danske Bank brings Apple Pay to customers in Northern Ireland — Danske Bank — “Richard Caldwell, managing director of personal banking and small business at Danske Bank, reflected: ‘There has been a clear demand from customers for us to integrate Apple Pay, and I am delighted that we are now offering it. It is a great addition to our already strong online offering and will further improve customer experience.'”
Dankort gets lockscreen mobile payments and Touch ID support
Danish consumers using the Dankort mobile payments app on an iPhone can now make payments from their lockscreen when they shop in Dansk Supermarked Group stores and validate purchases over DKK 200 (US$30) using Touch ID... More
East London gets local currency built on the blockchain
Residents across East London can now make mobile payments at small businesses with a local currency launched by Tel-Aviv-based digital wallet provider Colu which makes use of blockchain technology... More
US consumers turn to digital payments for online purchases
More than 70% of online shoppers across the US have used digital payment services including mobile wallets, one-click checkout buttons and peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps, research released by American Express reveals, with 41% “always or sometimes” choosing to use digital solutions when they pay... More
Samsung Pay now supports HSBC and M&S Bank cards in the UK
Samsung Pay now supports HSBC and M&S Bank cards in the UK — Engadget — “It was only available to customers who bank with MBNA, Nationwide and Santander. Today, it’s playing catch-up with support for HSBC, First Direct and M&S Bank cardholders. While welcome, the app is still missing some of the big British money-lenders including Lloyds Bank and Barclays.”
New mobile payment option for PNC Bank’s Visa commercial cardholders
New mobile payment option for PNC Bank’s Visa commercial cardholders — PNC Bank — “PNC Bank announced today a new mobile payment option enabling Visa commercial cardholders to use a smartphone or mobile device to make corporate purchases via Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay. PNC is one of the first U.S. banks to enable mobile wallet payments for commercial cards.”
Antelop launches HCE SaaS solution to quicken time-to-market for banks
PARTNER NEWS: Antelop Solutions has unveiled a new Mastercard and Visa compatible software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform which allows banks to build HCE-based NFC mobile payments into their own apps more quickly... More
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat — CNBC — “India’s home-grown instant messaging service Hike on Tuesday announced wide-ranging updates to its app, including a new mobile wallet that lets users send and receive money instantly… The Hike Wallet has several features, including a linkage to the government-backed unified payments interface.”
San Francisco retailers offer special discounts and prizes through Apple Pay
US consumers will be given exclusive offers and discounts on purchases when they choose to make a payment using Apple Pay in stores across the Hayes Valley Shopping District and San Francisco Marina as part of Apple’s Lose your Wallet promotion... More
Magazine explores conversational commerce and Aadhaar payments
PARTNER NEWS: A 40-page magazine featuring articles about conversational commerce, national ID-based payment systems using India’s Aadhaar biometrics ID system as a case study, and the financial gender gap in relation to mobile money is now available to download from the Knowledge Centre... More
Cuscal partners with Samsung Pay
Cuscal partners with Samsung Pay — Cuscal — “Samsung Electronics Australia today announced a partnership with Cuscal, Australia’s leading independent provider of payment solutions that will enable 38 financial institutions to offer Samsung Pay… Cuscal joins Westpac, Citibank and American Express as Samsung Pay partners.”
Mahindra Comviva and Rambus sign up to Visa’s token service provider
PARTNER NEWS: NFC World partners Mahindra Comviva and Rambus are among the 13 companies that signed up to participate in Visa’s token service provider (TSP) platform earlier this month... More
Android Pay to debut in August in Korea
Android Pay to debut in August in Korea — Business Korea — “At present, every one of the eight credit card companies in the country is discussing a joint Android Pay service with Google.”
NXP supports launch of common mobile wallet platform across the UAE
PARTNER NEWS: NXP has joined Emcredit, a subsidiary of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), and payments solutions provider Cardtek to launch Empay, a common mobile wallet platform that will enable citizens across the United Arab Emirates to make retail payments, initiate money transfers and pay for government utilities using their NFC smartphone or wearable device... More
Samsung Pay adds Bixby voice-controlled banking in South Korea
Samsung Pay users across South Korea can now use the Bixby artificial intelligence feature in Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus handsets to conduct transactions with their voice, including completing peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and finding out their account balance... More
Apple Pay to add P2P payments to iMessage through iOS 11
Apple Pay users across the US will soon be able to make peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers to friends and family using a new feature set to be integrated into Apple’s iMessage platform through the latest iOS 11 operating system... More
LG Pay goes live in Korea with Wireless Magnetic Communication technology
LG has announced the launch of its LG Pay mobile payments service in Korea, allowing consumers with the LG G6 smartphone to make mobile payments using the service’s Wireless Magnetic Communication (WMC) technology... More