Lithuania-based mobile wallet platform provider Worapay has raised €400,000 in new funding from Israel’s Entree Capital, Verslo Zinios reports... More
- Apple Pay users in the US to get buy now pay later option with iOS 16
- BIS reports on CBDCs in emerging markets
- Moroccan bank launches biometric payment card
- US digital bank introduces contactless payments rings
- Riksbank completes digital currency payments pilot
Visa to launch new payments service in September, Apple could be the first customer
Visa has unveiled a suite of services designed to “facilitate secure payments across a broad range of internet-connected devices and wearables”. The announcement of the new Visa Digital Solutions service comes amid reports that Apple is in talks with the payments network to enter the mobile payments market this year and includes the news that Visa’s cloud-based tokenization service will go live in September 2014 — the same month that the next iPhone and the first iWatch are expected to launch. More
Amazon releases mobile wallet app for Android
Amazon Wallet, an Android app that lets users store gift cards and loyalty cards on their mobile phone, is now available to download from Google Play and the Amazon Appstore. Amazon Wallet also ships with the online retail giant’s recently launched Fire phone. More
Westpac trials HCE mobile payments in New Zealand
Westpac has begun a host card emulation (HCE) pilot in New Zealand, enabling customers’ credit and debit card details to be securely stored in the cloud and then used at the point of sale to make mobile payments on their Android NFC device. More
Consult Hyperion demos EMV mobile payments over BLE on an iPhone
UK payments technology specialist Consult Hyperion has unveiled a proof-of-concept solution that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and host card emulation (HCE) to enable both iPhone and Android NFC phone owners to make MasterCard, Visa and other open loop EMV payments at the point of sale. More
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IBM partners with Monitise
IBM and Monitise have formed a strategic alliance designed to help financial institutions deliver cloud-based mobile banking, payments and commerce solutions to their customers... More
Four in ten mobile wallet users choose mobile as primary mode of payment
While convincing consumers to make use of a mobile wallet remains an issue for many providers, shoppers that do convert to mobile payments make extensive use of the technology, Nielsen’s Q2 2014 Mobile Wallet Report has found. More
CU Wallet signs up 65 credit unions for QR mobile payments
CU Wallet, a mobile payments platform developed for US credit unions and majority owned by its cooperative members, has been adopted by 65 credit unions with a combined total of more than seven million customers, the company reports. More
Barclays reports Pingit stats
Barclays’ Pingit P2P payments service has been used to send £540million since the launch of the service in February 2012, the bank has revealed, and the app has been downloaded 3m times... More
Wallaby launches Gear 2 app
Card management app Wallaby, which helps holders of multiple credit cards view their balances and decide which is the best to use for any given transaction, is now available for use on Samsung Gear 2 smartwatches... More
Facebook tests buy button
Facebook is testing a ‘buy’ button which allows consumers to purchase products through the social media platform... More
Twitter buys Cardspring
Twitter has acquired card-linked offers platform Cardspring for an undisclosed sum... More
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Snapchat to add payments?
Messaging app Snapchat has applied to extend its trademark into two classes relating to payments, Techcrunch reports... More
PayPal offers loyalty rewards
PayPal has introduced a rewards program for “our most active and enthusiastic customers who use PayPal online, in store, or on mobile devices”... More
Apple Japan adds digital gift card
Apple has introduced a digital version of the iTunes gift card in Japan that replaces the need for customers to buy a physical card... More
Google Wallet adds support for gift cards and P2P payments
Google Wallet users can now store gift cards on their mobile phone and redeem them electronically in stores. Users can also send money requests to friends, make debit card payments free of charge and access a Spanish language version of the app if they have activated Spanish language settings on their mobile device. More
Visa Inc abandons digital wallet ambitions, Visa Europe to continue investing
Visa Inc is replacing its V.me digital wallet service with Visa Checkout, a new payment service that enables consumers in the US, Canada and Australia to pay for goods online, on any device, in “just a few clicks”. Visa Europe will continue to support V.me, however, and has pledged to invest a further €200 million in the digital wallet service. More
Alpha Bank launches NFC in Greece
Greece’s Alpha Bank has officially launched its Tap n Pay NFC mobile payment service... More
PayPal adds loyalty cards to mobile wallet app
A new version of the PayPal iOS app has been released that enables users to store a wide range of loyalty cards within their mobile wallet. More
Australian supermarket chain launches mobile wallet that works with NFC stickers
Australian supermarket chain Coles has launched the Coles Mobile Wallet, an iOS and Android app that works in conjunction with an NFC sticker to provide customers with a way to make mobile payments, manage their spending, collect loyalty points and access special offers. More