Samsung Pay has launched in India with support from Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and Standard Chartered Bank, with Citibank India support expected “shortly”. The service has also integrated India’s leading mobile wallet Paytm and comes with support for peer-to-peer money transfers through the Indian government’s Unified Payments Interface platform. More
Russia
Sweden becomes first Nordic country to get Samsung Pay
Samsung Pay has launched in beta across Sweden, the first Nordic country to see the mobile payment service rolled out, with support from debit and credit card providers Mastercard, Mastercard SAS, Visa, Eurocard, and banks Nordea and SEB... More
Apple Pay goes live in Ireland with support from Mastercard, Visa and two banks
Apple Pay has been launched across Ireland with support from Mastercard, Visa, KBC and Ulster Bank, allowing customers to make in-store, online and in-app payments using their compatible devices... More
Samsung Pay goes live in Malaysia
Samsung Pay has begun rolling out in Malaysia with support from CIMB, Citibank and Standard Chartered, with Hong Leong Bank coming soon... More
Apple and Samsung boost Russian interest in virtual cards
The launch of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay in Russia helped to produce a fivefold increase in the number of consumers using online payment service Yandex.Money to pay for goods and services in 2016, Vedemosti reports... More
Russian mobile network MTS launches first phase of Money Wallet payments, transfer and loyalty service
Russian mobile network operator MTS has launched MTS Money Wallet, an online payments and money transfer service that incorporates loyalty points, offers and discounts, and is to be expanded to transport and in-store payments via NFC, SMS and USSD technologies later this year... More
Mobile wallet providers ‘failing to realise full potential of loyalty programs’
Mobile financial service providers are failing to fully realise the potential of loyalty programs to drive revenue growth, a survey by customer experience solutions provider Amdocs and consultancy firm Ovum says, while those who employ loyalty programs are “better placed” to increase usage and adoption of their mobile wallet service... More
Google unveils Android Wear 2.0 and new watch with support for NFC mobile payments
Google has officially unveiled Android Wear 2.0, the new version of its operating system for smartwatches, and two new watches from LG — one of which comes with NFC to support HCE mobile payments using Android Pay... More
Apple Pay triples users in 2016 and prepares to launch in Taiwan
The number of Apple Pay users has more than tripled over the past year, with transaction volume up 500% year-over-year, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed during the company’s first quarter earnings call. The mobile payment service is also expected to launch in Taiwan “soon”. More
Android Pay heading to Russia in 2017
Google is planning to bring Android Pay to Russia this year, according to Russian newspaper Izvestia... More
Moscow Metro cuts ticket price for Apple Pay users
Commuters paying with Apple Pay or a contactless bank card across the Moscow metro are receiving a 20% discount off the ticketing price, Russian publication Appsad reports... More
Samsung Pay added to Galaxy A phones
Samsung has unveiled its latest mid-range Galaxy A series of smartphones, which all come equipped with support for Samsung Pay mobile payments... More
Apple Pay offer for Moscow rail passengers
Passengers using the Moscow Central Ring rail line can now pay for journeys using Apple Pay at ticket offices, ticket machines and through turnstiles... More
Apple Pay adds banks in Australia, China, Russia and the US
Apple has updated its list of Apple Pay-supporting financial institutions in Australia, China, Russia and the US... More
PayPal launches Siri payment requests in 30 countries
PayPal has enabled money transfers via Apple’s Siri voice command function, enabling users with iOS10 devices to make payments by speaking requests... More
Samsung Pay gets Sberbank support in Russia
Customers of Russian bank Sberbank can now add their cards and make payments through Samsung Pay... More
Nine Russian banks support Apple Pay
Apple has added nine more financial institutions in Russia which support Apple Pay, AppleInsider reports... More
Apple Pay transactions up 500% year on year, CEO reports
Apple Pay transactions have risen nearly 500% year on year, with more purchases made in September 2016 than during the whole fiscal year in 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed during the company’s latest quarterly financial results call... More
Samsung Pay boss reveals plans for ‘more aggressive expansion’
Samsung Pay is planning “more and more aggressive expansion”, global general manager Thomas Ko has told NFC World in an exclusive interview at Money2020 in Las Vegas, as it emerged a new Deals feature will go live next month and the mobile payments service will operate in Malaysia and Thailand by the end of the year... More