Transit Ticketing Today

UnionPay rolls out Apple Pay transit payments in Guangzhou

Buses and subways to become new battlefield for mobile payments — South China Morning Post — “Commuters with UnionPay cards can now pay for their ride with their iPhone or Apple Watch at more than 6,000 subway gates at all stations in the city… Payments will be possible using technology called offline data authentication (ODA), and can be completed regardless of an internet connection… UnionPay estimates 90bn individual trips are made using Chinese buses and subways annually.”



Transit Ticketing Today

Gateless transit ticketing system to be piloted in the UK

Your face could be your ticket at the Tube station of the future — Wired — “One of the problems Cubic is trying to solve is the bottleneck that occurs at ticket gates when everyone rushes to dig out their ticket or pass. To avoid this crush, Cubic suggests removing the gates completely. Instead, its prototype system uses an object tracking system to track passengers as they walk through… Cubic aims to get this gateless tracking system to a UK station within the year.”



What's New in Payments

US consumers continue to rely on cash for payments

Cash is still a constant for US consumers — Glory — “84% of US consumers would still like the option to pay by cash while 63% feel it is the most secure way to pay… 61% of Americans trust cash more than mobile payments and 55% favor it over cards respectively. Convenience also plays a key role in consumers’ choice of payments, with 87% wanting the option to pay with cash in all transactions… 64% of consumers use cash the same amount or more than they did a year ago.”


What's New in Payments

AirPlus staff test cards with built-in fingerprint readers

AirPlus pilots biometric corporate card — Business Travel News — “Payments provider AirPlus is testing a biometric corporate card for which users can use a fingerprint rather than a pin at checkout, AirPlus head of research and development Uli Danz told BTN… The card may not be available to clients for a while because, as Danz told BTN, “in the credit card business there are a lot of rules, and the rules are not yet set for biometrics or fingerprints on card.”


What's New in Payments

Supermarket giant Carrefour launches mobile wallet in China

Carrefour unveils digital wallet, teams up with China UnionPay to develop mobile payment ecosystem — Yicai Global — “Europe’s largest retailer, France-based Carrefour SA, has introduced its own mobile wallet dubbed CarrefourPay and joined hands with China UnionPay, a bankcard provider, to build a mobile payment ecosphere… The cross-industry partnership will see both firms working together in such areas as general payment platforms, membership systems, secure payments, big data analysis and smart retail.”


New protocol alerts users to encryption breaches

Computer scientists address gap in messaging privacy — University of Birmingham — “With current end-to-end encryption, if an attacker compromises a recipient’s device, they can then put themselves in a position to intercept, read and alter all future communications without sender or recipient ever knowing. The new protocol, published in IEEE Transactions on Information Forensics and Security, forces attackers to leave evidence of any such activity and alerts users to take action.”


HSBC to let customers view accounts from multiple banks in one app

HSBC to let UK customers manage different bank accounts on one screen with new app — CNBC — “Customers can add accounts from up to 21 different banks, including Barclays, Lloyds and Bank of America. When a new account is added, login details for each account are tailored to that bank’s interface… The bank has spent US$2bn globally to work on its digital banking platform.”


NFC World

Dubai government picks NFC for blockchain currency launch

Dubai Economy launches partnership to expedite emCash — Dubai Department of Economic Development — “Founded on the latest blockchain technology, emCash will be the digital currency in emPay wallet… emPay allows UAE residents to make varied payments, from their daily coffee and children’s school fee to utility charges and money transfers, through the near field communication (NFC) option in their phones. With emCash, emPay users will have the option of a secure digital currency, and merchants receive such payments in real time without going through intermediaries.”


What's New in Payments

American Express launches mobile-first credit card in Canada

American Express goes mobile-first with its new millennial-facing credit card — IT Business Canada — “According to AmEx director of new product development Laura Cocksedge, the card was designed start to finish as a mobile-first experience, with users able to use the Cobalt’s accompanying app to register for the card, verify their identities, track their spending, and use it with mobile payment platforms including Apple Pay, Android Pay, and American Express’s own AmEx Pay.”


Apple publishes Face ID security white paper

Face ID Security — Apple — “To authorize an in-store payment with Face ID, you must first confirm intent to pay by double-clicking the side button. You then authenticate using Face ID before placing your iPhone X near the contactless payment reader. If you’d like to select a different Apple Pay payment method after Face ID authentication, you’ll need to reauthenticate, but you won’t have to double-click the side button again.”



Chinese government to embed eIDs in SIM cards

China to introduce eIDs embedded in SIM cards — ECNS — “China is planning to embed personal identity information into SIM cards to better protect citizens’ private information, according to the country’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS)… When making transactions with SIM eIDs, citizens will no longer need to provide personal information, such as their names, address, phone number, and ID number, because online platforms will be able to verify the authenticity and validity of the eID.”


What's New in Payments

Ant Financial signs mobile wallet joint venture deal in Hong Kong

CK Hutchison and Ant Financial form strategic partnership to provide digital financial inclusive services in Hong Kong — CK Hutchison — “The two companies will form a joint venture to offer a consumer-oriented digital wallet under the ‘AlipayHK’ brand… CK Hutchison Group and its affiliated companies’ consumer networks have over 124m retail loyalty members and over 123m telecom and 35m utility customers… The joint venture is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, subject to regulatory approval.”



What's New in Payments

Japanese banks get go ahead for digital currency launch

Japan’s big banks plan digital currency launch — Financial Times — “A consortium of banks, led by Mizuho Financial Group and Japan Post Bank, has won support from the country’s central bank and financial regulator to launch the J Coin, an electronic currency to pay for goods and transfer money using smartphones. The J Coin would be convertible into yen on a one-to-one basis, operating via a smartphone app and using QR codes to be scanned in stores.”


What's New in Payments

UK supermarket pilots self-checkout service that lets shoppers scan and pay by smartphone

Sainsbury’s to launch app which helps customers avoid checkout queues — The Independent — “Sainsbury’s are currently testing the app at their London Euston station store meaning that shoppers can buy the £3 ‘On the Go’ meal deal by simply scanning the products and paying using their phone. As soon as payment is confirmed, customers are free to leave the store without the hassle of time-consuming queues.”


What's New in Payments

Contactless ‘beer wall’ lets students serve and pay for their own drinks

Reading University introduces self-serve 16-tap ‘beer wall’ — The Telegraph — “With students able to pour themselves a beer and pay with their contactless plastic or mobile wallet, the bars will have increased capacity, speedier service and a reduced threat of theft, claims Drink Command, the company behind the self-serve beer technology, which is also being rolled out in other bars across the UK and Ireland, including in Hilton Hotels.”