MUFG seeks to quicken cashless push with card unit buyout — Nikkei — “Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to turn a credit card unit into a wholly owned subsidiary and position it as a hub for new financial services such as virtual currency payment… MUFG’s move is driven by the prospect that cashless payment methods such as digital wallets and virtual currency will proliferate in Japan as financial technologies evolve.”
Mobile wallet
CTBC aims to be one of first banks to provide Android Pay services
CTBC aims to be one of first banks to provide Android Pay services — Focus Taiwan — “CTBC Bank is among the Taiwanese banks gearing up to provide Android Pay services, which could be launched in the local market in June. Other candidates for the new service include First Commercial Bank and Bank SinoPac.”
Android Pay continues international expansion
Android Pay will be rolled out to a number of additional countries including Brazil, Canada, Russia, Spain and Taiwan over the “coming months”, Google’s director of engineering for payment products Varouj Chitilian has revealed... More
Apple Pay launches in Italy with support from UniCredit and Carrefour Banca
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Italy with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by Carrefour Banca and UniCredit, with American Express, CartaBCC, ExpendiaSmart, Fineco Bank, Hype, Banca Mediolanum, N26 and Widiba listed as “coming this year”. The launch takes Apple Pay to a total of 16 markets globally. More
China’s biggest mobile payment service launches in Toronto
China’s biggest mobile payment service launches in Toronto — Tourism Toronto — “Tourism Toronto announced today a new strategic partnership with OTT Financial Group that introduces the Chinese mobile payment service, WeChat Pay, into local tourism businesses to boost travel and shopping consumption by Chinese travellers.”
Samsung Pay goes live in the UK with iris scan authentication and faster transit payments
Samsung Pay is now available in the UK for customers of three financial institutions — MBNA, Nationwide and Santander — with “more on the way”. The service supports iris scan authentication as well as PIN and fingerprint authentication for Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ owners and offers a ‘transport card’ option designed to speed up transactions on busy Transport for London (TfL) services. More
Carrefour and BNP Paribas unveil “universal” mobile payments and loyalty service
Supermarket giant Carrefour and French bank BNP Paribas have unveiled a new QR code-based mobile payment platform that will let customers make in-store, online and peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payments as well as store loyalty cards, coupons and special offers on their mobile device. More
Telenor Wallet gets NFC SIM-based payments
Hungarian mobile network operator Telenor has added SIM-based NFC mobile payments to its Telenor Wallet app to let its customers make payments using a “purpose-made” bank card issued by Budapest Bank under the brand Telenor MobilPass... More
CSOB: Why HCE was the right choice for a mobile wallet that goes beyond payments
Open communication and the right education for customers is key to the successful deployment of a host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payment service in a country where new banks — with their simple products and new communication style — are becoming more attractive to the younger generation, says Czech bank CSOB’s innovation manager. More
Kiwis warm to mobile, wearable and biometric payments
Nearly six in ten New Zealanders (59%) think mobile payments will be the next major payments technology to take off, followed by payments using wearables like smartwatches (47%) and biometrics such as facial recognition and fingerprints (42%), research released by Mastercard reveals. More
Visa to use token service to offer customised digital card services
Visa has developed a range of customised digital card management “experiences” that will allow issuers to offer Visa cardholders “greater control and insight over how they pay, where they pay and who can pay” with a digital version of their Visa card... More
Galaxy S8 gets Gemalto secure element to support Samsung Pay
PARTNER NEWS: Digital security giant Gemalto’s embedded secure element (eSE) solution is to be integrated into Samsung Galaxy S8 devices to support the deployment of Samsung Pay — including for transit and ticketing services — in select markets. More
Apple Pay transactions grew 450% in the last 12 months, Tim Cook reports
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
PayPal applies for mobile wallet licence in India?
PayPal has applied for a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to enter the mobile wallet space in the country, according to the Economic Times... More
HSBC adds Apple Pay in Australia
HSBC has become the latest bank in Australia to add support for Apple Pay... More
Samsung Pay rolls out to Gear S3 in Korea as Samsung Pay Mini launches
Samsung Pay is now available on the Gear S3 smartwatch in Korea and Samsung Pay Mini — the pared-down version of the mobile payment service — has also gone live in the country... More
Meet NFC World partners at Seamless Middle East
PARTNER NEWS: NFC World partners Antelop Solutions, Gemalto, Mahindra Comviva and Rambus will be attending the Seamless Middle East 2017 expo in Dubai from 1 to 2 May... More
Apple to launch P2P payments and debit card this year?
Apple is working to launch a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service later this year, according to Recode... More
Guide introduces how Android Pay works
PARTNER NEWS: A seven-page guide that explores how Google’s Android Pay mobile payments platform works and why the service is beneficial to both consumers and banks is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
Samsung Pay launches in Sweden and the UAE, enters early access in Hong Kong and Switzerland
Samsung Pay has expanded to four additional markets with official launches in Sweden and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and early access launches in Hong Kong and Switzerland. The service has also been made available on Samsung’s Gear S3 smartwatch in Russia, Sweden and the UAE in addition to its availability on the Gear S3 in the US, Singapore and Australia. More