Google to launch payment app ‘Tez’ in India — The Ken — “Google is expected to partner ‘several large private banks in India’ for its payment product, Tez. Besides its own UPI-based service, Google is expected to integrate third-party payment wallets such as Paytm and MobiKwik among others on its platform.”
India
Soon, walk into metro station without taking your card from pocket
Soon, walk into metro station without taking your card from pocket — The Times of India — “Chennai Metro Rail Limited has invited tenders to introduce contactless smart cards which can be detected by scanners at stations even if the passenger keeps it in the pocket or a bag. The ticket price will be deducted once the passenger passes by the detector at the entrance to the platforms. These cards may later be used for other modes of transport as well.”
Visa chasing Indian payments market as mobile money gains traction
Visa chasing Indian payments market as mobile money gains traction — Developing Telecoms — “Visa CEO Alfred Kelly has affirmed the company’s goal to claim a ‘fair share’ of India’s incipient cashless payment market by offering low cost, low hassle solutions to merchants… ‘Because it’s an exciting market and a lot is going on, there’s a number of players trying to get into the market,’ said Kelly. ‘We clearly have to have a way that’s low cost, low hassle, low friction to enable merchants to sign up.’”
Mahindra Comviva expands payment options for merchants in India
PARTNER NEWS: Mahindra Comviva has enhanced its PayPlus mobile POS solution to enable Indian merchants to accept payments via Aadhaar, Bharat QR, UPI, card and mobile wallets through a single interface... More
MobiKwik integrated with Samsung Pay Mini
MobiKwik integrated with Samsung Pay Mini — The Hindu — “The tie-up will enable one-tap payments at more than 1.4m MobiKwik-powered merchants pan-India. Alternatively, users just need to do one swipe and a click to scan and pay immediately at these merchants, improving convenience for them. MobiKwik will also be available soon on Samsung Pay,”
Khushi Baby adds biometric security to NFC health records
Khushi Baby, a service that uses NFC necklaces to track the healthcare given to mothers and babies in India, has added biometric security to its platform to further protect the personal information of patients... More
Google gearing up to enter mobile payments In India by integrating Android Pay with UPI
Google gearing up to enter mobile payments In India by integrating Android Pay with UPI — Inc42 — “Google is developing a separate India-focused app, which it will name differently, in integration with a bank. It is expected that Google will launch a UPI-enabled app within the next two-three months for mobile payments. If this happens, it could be a big boost to given that Android is the dominant operating system in India.”
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August
Paytm Payments Bank to join the UPI bandwagon in August — Economic Times — “The newly-launched Paytm Payments Bank will go live on the unified payment interface (UPI) by August… This will allow its customers to transact using a virtual payment address issued by the bank. The payments bank will be the latest to join the UPI bandwagon, with 50 banks already live on the platform.”
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat
Indian messaging unicorn Hike moves into payments, taking notes from Tencent’s WeChat — CNBC — “India’s home-grown instant messaging service Hike on Tuesday announced wide-ranging updates to its app, including a new mobile wallet that lets users send and receive money instantly… The Hike Wallet has several features, including a linkage to the government-backed unified payments interface.”
Paytm Mall to bring brick-and-mortar stores online via QR codes
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.”
Electronic money transactions are back to pre-demonetization levels
Electronic money transactions are back to pre-demonetization levels — Livemint — “To hasten India’s shift towards a cashless economy, the government has been aggressively pushing digital payments, which had gained momentum after demonetization. However, six months later, Indians seem to have gone back to their old ways of cash.”
Digital India: UPI-based transactions grew more than 20 times since demonetization
Digital India: UPI-based transactions grew more than 20 times since demonetization — BGR — “UPI is now one of the most widely used mobile payments systems, and could reach 100 million users in a few years… UPI’s monthly transaction value shot up from $15 million before November 8 to $359 million by the end of the financial year (March 2017).”
Google and Stripe eye a slice of UPI pie in India
Google and Stripe eye a slice of UPI pie in India — Economic Times — “Google is preparing to introduce its digital wallet, Android Pay, in India this year, anchoring the platform to the government-backed Unified Payments Interface as are other global companies including Stripe and WhatsApp… Google has started testing UPI on its Android Pay platform, said one person aware of the developments.”
Chip card shipments top more than 2bn in 2016
More than 2bn chip cards were shipped globally by Smart Payment Association (SPA) members in 2016, representing an increase of 4% from 2015, the trade body reveals, with contactless cards accounting for more than 50% of shipments in most regions... More
Samsung Pay rolls out across Hong Kong following early access launch
Samsung Pay has gone live in Hong Kong with support from Mastercard, Visa and American Express and banks including Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citibank, DahSing Bank, DBS and Standard Chartered. The launch takes the mobile payment service to a total of 17 markets globally and follows its debut in Taiwan earlier this month. More
Introducing Paytm Payments Bank
Introducing Paytm Payments Bank — Paytm — “We are proud to bring you Paytm Payments Bank — India’s first bank with zero charges on online transactions, no minimum balance requirement and free virtual debit card… Our ambition is to become India’s most trusted and consumer-friendly bank.”
Samsung Pay goes live in Taiwan with seven banks
Samsung Pay has been launched across Taiwan with support from Visa and Mastercard along with seven major banks including Citibank, Cathay United Bank, E.Sun Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank, Fubon Bank, Union Bank of Taiwan and Standard Chartered. The service supports iris scan authentication for those with Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ devices. More
NFC secure element shipments to grow 12% in 2017
Some 560m NFC secure elements will be shipped worldwide in 2017, representing a 12% increase from 2016, smart security industry association Eurosmart reveals. A total of 495m NFC secure elements were shipped in 2015, which increased by 1% in 2016 to reach 500m units. More
Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank to expand user base
Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank to expand user base — Bloomberg — “The funding into One97 Communications, which operates the Paytm brand, will help the startup expand its user base of 220 million and build a large offering of financial services products… Alibaba and its payments affiliate Ant Financial held a 40 percent stake in One97 before this investment.”
PayPal applies for mobile wallet licence in India?
PayPal has applied for a prepaid payment instrument (PPI) licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to enter the mobile wallet space in the country, according to the Economic Times... More