Nearly six in 10 (58.6%) UK digital buyers aged 14 and over will make retail ecommerce purchases using their smartphone this year, research released by eMarketer predicts, with retail ecommerce sales through smartphones set to reach £16.42bn (US$22.16bn) in 2017... More
Contactless now the favoured way to pay for British shoppers as spending leaps 34 per cent since the start of 2017 — Barclaycard — “More than half (51%) of all transactions up to the eligible spending limit of £30 are now made using contactless… The amount spent by users of Barclaycard’s Android Contactless Mobile app has jumped by 90% in 2017.”
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
Customers of Belgium’s Belfius Bank can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using the bank’s mobile app, making it the “first solution available on the Belgian market” that enables contactless payments with the Bancontact debit card... More
Paytm Mall to bring brick-and-mortar stores online via QR codes — LiveMint — “Similar to QR stickers used for Paytm app, Paytm Mall QR codes will be unique for each retailer. Customers will be able to scan the code using their smartphones and get access to the store’s inventory online… Customers using the feature will also get access to exclusive offers on Paytm Mall.”
Amazon gives 2% rewards back to Prime members who deposit cash via their bank account — GeekWire — “Amazon Prime Reload gives customers 2% back when they reload their Amazon Gift Card Balance with a connected checking account and linked debit card. For example, if you load $100 onto your Gift Card Balance from your checking account, you’ll get an extra $2 in Amazon dollars added within minutes.”
Customers of US retail giant Target will soon be able to redeem offers and make in-store payments using a single service on their mobile phone, as the chain announces plans to fully integrate its Cartwheel offers app into its main Target mobile app to enable a “one-stop shop”... More
Ant Financial extends online credit service to retailers — China Daily — “Ant Financial Services Group, the online finance firm backed by billionaire Jack Ma, will extend its online consumer credit service to four million retail businesses across the country to boost sales and encourage spending－as China’s consumers increasingly feel more comfortable shopping with borrowed money.”
PARTNER NEWS: NXP is “excited about the expanding number of users of NFC applications” following the announcement made by Apple earlier this week that it is to add support for NFC tag reading to its iPhone 7, 7 Plus and Apple Watch devices... More
Customers of US supermarket giant Walmart will now be able to make in-store payments using their Walmart credit card as soon as they are approved through the retailer’s Walmart Pay QR code-based mobile payments service — without having to wait for the physical card to arrive in the post... More
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
Bango enables new payment option for Amazon customers in Japan — Bango — “Amazon customers with a KDDI (au) or NTT Docomo mobile phone account can now pay for physical goods from Amazon.co.jp, by charging the cost to their mobile phone bill… A KDDI or NTT Docomo subscriber simply adds carrier billing as a payment option in their Amazon.co.jp account and then purchases can be made from any device.”
Customers visiting US pharmacy and wellness center Chambers’ Apothecary in Chambersburg can now tap their NFC devices against NFC tags affixed to shelves throughout the store to interact with products and access a “wide variety of information” including user reviews, customer surveys and videos directly on their mobile phone... More
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
At Alibaba, artificial intelligence is changing how people shop online — Alizila — “Alibaba is spreading artificial intelligence throughout its core e-commerce operations, making it a cornerstone technology to speed the arrival of what company officials envision to be the future of not only e-commerce, but all commerce.”
Android Pay has launched in Taiwan, taking the mobile payment service to a total of 13 markets following its debut in Canada earlier this week... More
McDonald’s Taiwan launches smart cards — Taiwan News — “McDonald’s Taiwan is launching new stored-value cards which can accumulate points to exchange for menu items… Each purchase of NT$10 (US$.33) will result in the the accumulation of one point and with a certain number of points, the holder can obtain a menu item for free and discounts of up to 15%.”
China UnionPay rolls out QR payment solution — ECNS — “The latest UnionPay product offers multiple payment modes with customers able to scan seller QR codes or vice versa, while transfers can be made person-to-person, facilitating payments between individuals, individuals and businesses, and among businesses. In future, cash withdrawals from ATMs via QR codes and other premium service solutions will also be available.”
Android Pay has begun rolling out across Canada with support for eligible Visa and Mastercard credit cards from BMO Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Banque Nationale, Scotiabank, Desjardins, President’s Choice Financial, ATB Financial and Canadian Tire Financial Services as well as prepaid Scotiabank and Desjardins cards... More
Four Belgian banks and three mobile network operators have unveiled a mobile ID platform that will let consumers use a single digital identity to access a range of services such as requesting government documents and confirming online transactions using the SIM card on their mobile phone and a unique five-digit code... More