PARTNER NEWS: Retail giant Carrefour is piloting a mobile payments and loyalty service in France, secured with Gemalto’s Mobile Protector platform, that allows customers to validate payments with a PIN code or their fingerprint, receive and redeem coupons and access loyalty programs... More
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Samsung lets smart fridge owners use voice commands to order groceries
US consumers will soon be able to use their voice to order groceries directly from their fridge with the latest edition of Samsung’s smart connected fridge platform and an updated version of the Groceries by Mastercard mobile app... More
Citi app adds range of biometric authentication options
An update to US bank Citi’s mobile banking app allows customers to log in using a range of biometric authentication methods, including fingerprint, voice and facial recognition... More
Indian government working on Aadhaar mobile payments app
The Government of India is working on a mobile app that can be used by shopkeepers and merchants for receiving Aadhaar-authenticated payments, “bypassing credit and debit cards, PIN and password”, Business Standard reports... More
Masterpass comes to 30,000 South African merchants after SnapScan deal
South Africans can now use Mastercard’s Masterpass digital wallet to pay for goods and services at more than 30,000 merchants accepting SnapScan in South Africa, using their mobile phones by scanning a QR code at the point of sale... More
Barclays pilots cash withdrawals using NFC mobile phones and contactless cards
UK bank Barclays has begun piloting a contactless mobile cash service that will enable customers to withdraw cash with a tap of their NFC mobile phones or contactless debit card... More
Banca Intesa launches HCE mobile payments in Serbia
Customers of Serbia’s Banca Intesa — a subsidiary of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo — have become the first in the Balkan country to be able to make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments, using their Visa debit cards at any contactless terminal... More
Italian bank customers get electronic PIN delivery
PARTNER NEWS: Customers of Italian retail bank Intesa Sanpaolo can now receive their PIN codes through SMS or via the web, without having to wait for postal delivery... More
Smartphone users rate security most important app attribute, survey finds
PARTNER NEWS: More than two thirds of smartphone owners use mobile banking apps, while nearly 80% consider security and reliability the most important attributes of a paid app, says a survey by Gemalto which is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
UK Vodafone customers get NFC payments through PayPal
Vodafone customers in the UK can now make NFC mobile payments through PayPal using Vodafone Wallet at any contactless terminal as well as across the Transport for London (TfL) network and on National Rail services in and around the capital using their Mastercard or Visa cards... More
Study shows growing appetite for mobile payments and biometrics
Nearly two fifths of Western European consumers (38%) are ready to pay using their smartphones while more than 70% of those in Africa and the Middle East are prepared to do so, research by Mastercard reveals... More
Visa reveals growing Euro interest in biometric authentication
More than three in five European consumers (62%) believe using biometric forms of payment authentication will be faster and easier than passwords and PINs, research by Visa reveals, with 42% believing that the procedure could completely eliminate the need for multiple passwords and PIN codes... More
Smartphone cases get bPay to enable NFC mobile payments
Smartphone case manufacturer Case Station has integrated Barclaycard’s bPay contactless payment technology into its new range to allow consumers to make NFC mobile purchases with a tap of their handset at any contactless terminal... More
UK consumers save years using contactless
UK consumers collectively save an average of 34 years of time every month by paying with contactless cards, research from Card Cutters reveals... More
Walgreens integrates rewards with Android Pay
US drugstore giant Walgreens has become the first retailer to integrate its loyalty program with Android Pay, allowing more than 85m active Balance Rewards members to earn and redeem points in-store through the mobile payments service... More
Samsung Pay on menu in US restaurants
Diners at 3,000 US restaurants with Ziosk pay-at-the-table tablets can now settle their bill using Samsung Pay... More
Samsung Pay to get iris authentication with Galaxy Note 7
Samsung Pay users will soon be able to secure purchases by scanning their eyes with the Galaxy Note 7, the latest addition to the Korean phone-maker’s pen-oriented line up. More
Motorists rewarded for mobile payments at the pump
Motorists using the GC Express gas station in Caro, Michigan, are being offered a free coffee or drink whenever they pay for fuel purchases of US$10 or more with Team One Credit Union’s mobile banking app. More
Safaricom pilots M-Pesa NFC cards
Kenyan carrier Safaricom is testing a new PIN-based NFC-enabled ‘Tap-and-Go’ card for its M-Pesa mobile money service... More
Mahindra Comviva introduces Mobiquity Wallet 2.0
PARTNER NEWS: Mobile financial solutions firm Mahindra Comviva has released an updated version of Mobiquity Wallet, a digital wallet platform that launched in March 2014 with support for QR codes, Bluetooth, NFC and host card emulation (HCE). More