Discover and PayPal collaboration gives cardmembers new way to redeem rewards — Discover Financial Services — “Discover cardmembers can now use their Cashback Bonus or Miles to pay for purchases at millions of online stores through PayPal… Once cardmembers link their Discover card with PayPal, they can instantly redeem any amount of their rewards on eligible purchases at checkout.”
Rewards
Survey finds US consumers would switch to mobile payments to save money
Ibotta Holiday Shopping and Mobile Payments Study — Ibotta — “Of the 61% of survey respondents who have used their phones to make an in-store purchase, 63% are motivated by payment methods that offer rewards, rebates and cash back, while 55% would be inclined to adopt mobile payments if the solutions saved them money… More than half (52%) of these shoppers say they feel overwhelmed by the large number of mobile payments and rewards programmes.”
PayPal and Venmo to move into in-store payments ‘next year’
PayPal is to begin a major new push into in-store payments next year, under both the PayPal and Venmo brands and using both NFC and QR codes, CEO Dan Schulman has told Axios... More
Kraft Heinz promotes cheese slices with tamper resistant NFC tags
PARTNER NEWS: Food giant Kraft Heinz is using tamper resistant NXP NFC tags for an innovative marketing campaign that lets customers tap their NFC phone to a tag incorporated into product packaging for a chance to win a gift card — but only if they have first purchased the product and opened the packet... More
Japanese merchants report sharp increase in mobile transactions
The introduction of the Japanese government’s Cashless Japan initiative, which provides consumers with cashback incentives when they use a card or mobile phone to make a purchase, has led to a significant upswing in mobile payments adoption, according to reports from a number of merchants and mobile payments providers... More
Samsung Pay adds digital cash card and money transfers
Samsung Pay users in the US are now able to send international money transfers from within the mobile payments app — and use a new Samsung Pay Cash account to make payments in stores and online “right from the Samsung Pay app”... More
Apple expands 3% cashback network for Apple Card holders to Walgreens and Duane Reede stores
US Apple Card holders shopping at Walgreens and Duane Reade stores can now earn 3% cashback on their purchases when they use their mobile phone to make an Apple Pay payment with their Apple Card... More
PepsiCo unveils customer loyalty programme that delivers cashback rewards to PayPal and Venmo accounts
PepsiCo has launched a loyalty programme that lets customers use their mobile phone to scan a code printed on drink bottles and snack bags to earn 10% cashback each time they buy both a drink and a snack — and receive their rewards as an automatic credit to their PayPal or Venmo account each time their balance reaches US$2... More
NAB to integrate receipts into mobile banking app
Customers of National Australia Bank will be able to begin viewing receipts for their purchases from within their mobile banking app from later this year... More
Apple rolls out Apple Card, extends 3% cashback offer to third party merchants
Apple Card is now available to all US consumers, the iPhone maker has announced — and the 3% cashback offered to cardholders who use their card to make an Apple Pay mobile payment for an Apple product will now be available from “more merchants and apps”... More
NFC mobile payments to account for ‘just 1.6%’ of in-store transactions this year
Payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay will be used by US consumers to make transactions valued at a total of US$78.6bn this year, representing 1.6% of all US brick-and-mortar retail sales, according to a new forecast from 451 Research... More
LG Pay goes live in the US with NFC and mag stripe mobile payments
LG has launched its LG Pay mobile payments service in the US, enabling owners of its G8 ThinQ smartphone to make payments via NFC in stores equipped with a contactless POS terminal — and in stores with a magnetic stripe terminal using Wireless Magnetic Communication (WMC)... More
Iceland uses mobile wallet-based discount vouchers to boost footfall, sales and basket value
UK frozen food specialist Iceland has become the first national retailer to trial mobile wallet technology with in-store redeemable mobile discount vouchers installed on more than 20,000 devices... More
McDonald’s links up with Alibaba’s food ordering app to drive loyalty card sign ups
McDonald’s China links loyalty program to Ele.me app — Alibaba — “Starting this week, Ele.me users can activate a McDonald’s membership card with just one click on the app to earn loyalty points for purchases and receive vouchers worth up to RMB88.5 ($12.80). The fast food giant attracted nearly 20,000 new members on its first day of launching the service on May 20, while single-day orders increased about 20% week-over-week, McDonald’s China said.”
Google Pay to add a rewards platform?
Google’s new plan to push Google Pay in India: cashback incentives in Android apps — Techcrunch — “The company has built an in-app engagement rewards platform that promises to help developers and businesses retain users and drive engagement on their apps, two sources familiar with the matter said… Sitting at the core of this new play is Google Pay, which will be used for transactions between businesses and users, thereby expanding the reach of Google’s payment service.”
Belfast to introduce digital currency that lets residents earn rewards to spend in local shops
Belfast City Council has partnered with Israel-based Colu for the launch of Belfast Coin, a city-wide rewards and payment platform that enables participants to earn rewards for taking part in ‘good citizen’ activities such as shopping at local businesses, volunteering and recycling... More
Vending machine firms to use blockchain ID platform to automate sale of age-restricted items
Twelve vending machine providers with an installed base of more than one million vending machines have signed up for Civic Pay, a blockchain-based platform that combines identity and age verification, QR code mobile payments, loyalty and rewards... More
McDonald’s integrates Alipay mobile payments and rewards into Hong Kong app
McDonald’s has incorporated the AlipayHK payments wallet into its mobile app for consumers in Hong Kong. In a global first for the fast food retailer, the app also allows customers to order food and access exclusive Alipay rewards. More
Apple enters financial services market with privacy-first credit card
Apple has launched a credit card to link with Apple Pay... More
Samsung Pay promotes mobile payments adoption with prize draw for UK users
Samsung offers customers thousands of prizes with Samsung Pay — Samsung — “To enter the prize draw and be in with a chance to win, new and existing Samsung Pay users must enter the prize draw, then use Samsung Pay to make five transactions by 3 May 2019. Prizes include a 55-inch 2018 Q9F flagship QLED 4K television, a selection of 42mm Galaxy Watches and Samsung Level Box Slim Bluetooth speakers as well as 64GB Micro SD cards.”