Tencent extends WeChat Pay to the US with focus on Chinese tourists — South China Morning Post — “WeChat Pay’s US launch is the company’s latest globalisation push as both Tencent and Alibaba seek to expand overseas amid their intensified mobile payment competition at home.”
- Bank of China lets taxi drivers accept central bank digital currency payments on NFC mobile phones
- Juniper forecasts 25% increase in POS terminal transaction values by 2028
- STMicroelectronics launches NFC tag chip with elliptic curve cryptography
- NFC Forum survey finds majority of consumers now prefer making payments with their mobile phone
- Hello, NFCW readers!
NFC World’s Partner Program shortlisted for commercial innovation award
NFC World’s Partner Program has been shortlisted in The Drum Online Media Awards’ Best Commercial Innovation category alongside The Financial Times and UK national newspaper group Johnston Press... More
Thailand to get standardised QR code payments in move towards cashless society
Mastercard, Visa and UnionPay International have introduced a standardised QR code platform for payments in Thailand that will let consumers make a transaction with their mobile device at any supporting location. The service has been designed to support the Bank of Thailand’s cashless agenda which aims to “drive innovation, interoperability and security in payments” across the country. More
Germany slowly catching up on mobile payments
More than one in ten German mobile phone users (11.4%) will make a “proximity mobile payment by tapping, swiping or checking in with that device” while in a store in 2017, compared to 20.5% in the US, research released by eMarketer reveals... More
Iran launches NFC payments
Iran launches NFC payments — Financial Tribune — “The Central Bank of Iran is developing new mobile payment systems so people may use their smartphones or watches for making purchases, said the director of CBI’s IT Department.”
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Canadian city rolls out mobile app that links payments for parking to a driver’s licence plate
Drivers across the Canadian city of London can now pay for parking at more than 3,100 spaces across the city — including all municipal parking lots and on-street spaces — using a mobile app that lets them “seamlessly search, pay for and top up parking from their phone or tablet”. The service is being rolled out by the City of London. More
CSOB: Why HCE was the right choice for a mobile wallet that goes beyond payments
Open communication and the right education for customers is key to the successful deployment of a host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payment service in a country where new banks — with their simple products and new communication style — are becoming more attractive to the younger generation, says Czech bank CSOB’s innovation manager. More
Kiwis warm to mobile, wearable and biometric payments
Nearly six in ten New Zealanders (59%) think mobile payments will be the next major payments technology to take off, followed by payments using wearables like smartwatches (47%) and biometrics such as facial recognition and fingerprints (42%), research released by Mastercard reveals. More
Transport and mobile community define management framework for delivering mobile ticketing services
Transport and mobile community define management framework for delivering mobile ticketing services — GlobalPlatform — “Designed in collaboration with the Smart Ticketing Alliance and the GSMA, the document brings the transport ticketing and mobile communities together to ensure interoperable mobile ticketing is brought to market efficiently and securely using an agreed framework.”
Square is rolling out its first debit card
Square is rolling out its first debit card — Recode — “The prepaid card isn’t linked to your bank account, but instead to the Square Cash app. That means you can only use it to spend money that you are holding in your Square Cash account.”
Android Pay v1.22 prepares Visual ID facial recognition based on Hands Free and reveals testing for Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, and Canada
Android Pay v1.22 prepares Visual ID facial recognition based on Hands Free and reveals testing for Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, and Canada — Android Police — “Visual ID is a secure way to confirm your identity at participating stores, making it easier to do things like earn loyalty points and redeem rewards”
Mobile biometric payment volumes to triple in 2017 to nearly 2bn
Mobile biometric payment volumes to triple in 2017 to nearly 2bn — Juniper Research — “The size of the opportunity has been boosted by the greater availability of fingerprint sensors — around 60% of smartphone models are expected to ship with such sensors this year, with many Chinese vendors incorporating them into mid-range models.”
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Visa to use token service to offer customised digital card services
Visa has developed a range of customised digital card management “experiences” that will allow issuers to offer Visa cardholders “greater control and insight over how they pay, where they pay and who can pay” with a digital version of their Visa card. More
Samsung Pay previews in Taiwan
Samsung Pay has launched in pilot in Taiwan ahead of an official roll-out expected on 23 May... More
CIBC stops supporting SIM-based NFC mobile payments in Canada
Canadian bank CIBC has decided to “stop supporting” its CIBC SIM-based NFC mobile payments service due to a “strong” and “positive” customer response to alternative mobile payment services such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. More
Galaxy S8 gets Gemalto secure element to support Samsung Pay
PARTNER NEWS: Digital security giant Gemalto’s embedded secure element (eSE) solution is to be integrated into Samsung Galaxy S8 devices to support the deployment of Samsung Pay — including for transit and ticketing services — in select markets. More
Android Pay set for launch in Russia this month?
Android Pay is set to launch in Russia on May 16, according to Russian publication Interfax... More
Apple Pay transactions grew 450% in the last 12 months, Tim Cook reports
Apple Pay is experiencing “phenomenal traction”, with transaction volume up 450% over the last 12 months, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed. Monthly Apple Pay transactions have grown by nearly 300% in the last year across the UK, while in Japan more than half a million transit users are completing 20m Apple Pay transactions per month. More
Contactless proving popular with UK over 50s
Almost 12m UK consumers aged over 50 are actively using contactless payments today, with one in five doing so up to three times a week, research released by Saga Money reveals... More
Hyundai builds car with contactless payments for Stand Up To Cancer donations
UK consumers will soon be able to make contactless donations to the Stand Up To Cancer charity by tapping their contactless card or NFC mobile phone against five payment points built into a Contactless Car designed by Hyundai Motor UK using a zero-emission Ioniq electronic vehicle. More