Bahrain to launch national e-wallet on July 4 — Trade Arabia — “The national e-wallet is a joint initiative of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) and Benefit and a first-of-its-kind project in the kingdom. It will enable instant payments via smartphones and also facilitate the collection of payments electronically through debit, credit and prepaid cards and online bank accounts, for online and in-store purchases.”
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Square gets green light to take on banks with ‘PIN on glass’ mobile technology
Square gets green light to take on banks with ‘PIN on glass’ mobile technology — Australian Financial Review — “Banks are set to face more competition in the lucrative mobile point of sale technology game as secret trials featuring Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments company Square are set to help credit card companies allow more payments through smartphone screens.”
Jack Ma’s Ant Financial nearly doubles profits amid deal push
Jack Ma’s Ant Financial nearly doubles profits amid deal push — Bloomberg — “The company controlled by Alibaba’s billionaire co-founder Jack Ma racked up an 86% jump in pretax profit to 5.56 billion yuan ($814 million) in the year ended March, according to Bloomberg’s calculations… Since starting as Alipay in 2004, Ant Financial has grown into an online giant that controls more than half of China’s $5.5 trillion mobile payments market.”
Starling Bank passports to Europe, first stop Ireland
Starling Bank passports to Europe, first stop Ireland — Techcrunch — “After a staggered launch of its current account kicked off in March, the digital-only bank is announcing imminent expansion to Europe, starting with the Republic of Ireland where it has attained a so-called ‘banking passport’.”
Samsung Pay now supports Discover cards
Samsung Pay now supports Discover cards — The Verge — “A customer service representative for Discover confirmed that customers can now add their cards to Samsung Pay. Samsung unveiled its mobile payment system in 2015, and Discover announced at the time that support for the card would come in early 2016. However, that functionality was delayed until now, prompting some complaints from users.”
English churches to trial contactless donations this summer ahead of wider roll out
Churchgoers in England will begin trialling contactless donations in 40 churches across the country this summer, as the Church of England announces plans to roll out contactless handheld terminals to process card payments for donations as a replacement for loose change... More
‘Connected finance’ app Curve hits £50m spend ahead of UK launch
‘Connected finance’ app Curve hits £50m spend ahead of UK launch — Curve — “London fintech startup Curve has passed 50,000 sign-ups and £50m spend in beta mode… Driven by demand and ‘exceptionally high’ satisfaction among beta users, Curve will now launch for consumers later this year.”
Venmo is testing its own physical debit card
Venmo is testing its own physical debit card — Recode — “Venmo has been testing its own version of a physical debit card that would allow people who use its app to make purchases in brick-and-mortar stores using money stored in their Venmo account, according to multiple sources.”
Google is running a massive Android Pay promo in Australia with 200,000 prizes worth $1.6 million
Google is running a massive Android Pay promo in Australia with 200,000 prizes worth $1.6 million — Android Police — “The gist is that you must be setting up Android Pay for the first time, or you must have set up a card previously but never used it. When you set up a new card in Australia or use your existing card for the first time, you will kick off a 30-day promo. Each transaction (up to 10 per day) gives you a virtual envelope, which could award you up to $500 in gift cards when opened.”
Rakbank is the first bank in the Middle East to introduce Samsung Pay solutions for its ATMs
Rakbank is the first bank in the Middle East to introduce Samsung Pay solutions for its ATMs — Rakbank — “This innovative digital solution enables the bank’s customers to make cardless cash withdrawals from Rakbank ATMs using their Samsung smartphones without the need for a physical debit or credit card. The Samsung Pay solution for ATMs is an end-to-end contactless process.”
Westpac shock as Apple bans its messaging payments app after three months
Westpac shock as Apple bans its messaging payments app after three months — Australian Financial Review — “The iPhone maker surprisingly ordered Westpac to remove a key feature of its recently revamped mobile banking application, which let customers make payments in popular chat applications… In a letter to customers, seen by The Australian Financial Review, Westpac reveals that its Westpac Keyboard function will be removed in July.”
ABN Amro pilots wearable payments with select customers
A select group of ABN Amro customers has begun piloting payments using NFC-enabled rings supplied by Kerv and smartwatches... More
Danske Bank brings Apple Pay to customers in Northern Ireland
Danske Bank brings Apple Pay to customers in Northern Ireland — Danske Bank — “Richard Caldwell, managing director of personal banking and small business at Danske Bank, reflected: ‘There has been a clear demand from customers for us to integrate Apple Pay, and I am delighted that we are now offering it. It is a great addition to our already strong online offering and will further improve customer experience.'”
Dankort gets lockscreen mobile payments and Touch ID support
Danish consumers using the Dankort mobile payments app on an iPhone can now make payments from their lockscreen when they shop in Dansk Supermarked Group stores and validate purchases over DKK 200 (US$30) using Touch ID... More
Punchh brings Apple Pay to restaurant loyalty program
Punchh brings Apple Pay to restaurant loyalty program — Punchh — “Users visiting participating restaurants will soon be able to not only pay for their purchases, but earn and redeem rewards and loyalty points using Apple Wallet… Brands including Smashburger, Quiznos, and MOD Pizza will be offering Apple Pay with the Punchh integrated solution starting later this year.”
East London gets local currency built on the blockchain
Residents across East London can now make mobile payments at small businesses with a local currency launched by Tel-Aviv-based digital wallet provider Colu which makes use of blockchain technology... More
Meet NFC World partners at Money20/20 Europe
NFC World partners Antelop Solutions, Dejamobile, Gemalto, NXP and Rambus will be attending the Money20/20 Europe expo in Copenhagen from June 26-28... More
US consumers turn to digital payments for online purchases
More than 70% of online shoppers across the US have used digital payment services including mobile wallets, one-click checkout buttons and peer-to-peer (P2P) payment apps, research released by American Express reveals, with 41% “always or sometimes” choosing to use digital solutions when they pay... More
Transfer money instantly to your bank account with PayPal
Transfer money instantly to your bank account with PayPal — PayPal — “PayPal users in the U.S. will soon be able to instantly transfer money to their bank accounts via eligible debit cards linked to their PayPal account… Our beta of this is now available to select PayPal users and will be made available to all U.S. PayPal users with eligible Visa or Mastercard debit cards over the coming weeks and months.”
Mobile payments for online purchases set to rise across the UK
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