New survey finds fewer merchants accepting Apple Pay — Kount — “Support is up across the board for near field communication (up from 29% to 37%) and other mobile payments at the physical point-of-sale… Online merchant support for Apple Pay has gone down from 48% to 35%, Google Pay (previously Android Pay), is down from 38% to 25%, support for PayPal increased (from 48% to 64%) while 10% accept AliPay and 10% accept other e-wallets. The share of merchants who accept Samsung Pay, Visa Checkout, MasterPass, and Chase Pay all stayed constant from last year.”
PayPal
PayPal extends its partnership with Google Pay
Deepening our partnership with Google Pay — PayPal — “Soon, users in the US who add PayPal to any one of Google’s services will be able to pay across the Google ecosystem, anywhere that PayPal is offered as a payment method, with only minimal setup.”
PayPal to acquire iZettle for in-store payments push
PayPal agrees to acquire iZettle — PayPal — “Upon closing, we will gain in-store capabilities in 11 markets, near-term in-store expansion opportunities into other existing PayPal markets, and the acceleration of omnichannel commerce solutions in Australia, UK and US.”
Amazon to offer discounts to merchants that sign up for Amazon Pay
Amazon offers retailers discounts to adopt payment system — Bloomberg — “Amazon.com Inc is offering to pass along the discounts it gets on credit card fees to other retailers if they use its online payments service, according to people with knowledge of the matter, in a new threat to PayPal Holdings Inc and card-issuing banks. The move shows Amazon is willing to sacrifice the profitability of its payments system to spread its use.”
PayPal patents augmented reality payments system
PayPal has an idea for augmented reality payment glasses — here’s how it could work — CNBC — “The software as imagined could overlay product information and purchasing options onto physical objects, according to the patent — originally filed in 2016 but extended earlier this week. A shopper looking at an item on the storefront shelves would see a hovering, virtual description including price, payment options and return policy. The glasses could also walk shoppers through the steps to purchase items online, with vendor and purchaser information already stored in the system.”
Barclays signs digital and mobile payments deal with PayPal
Barclays and PayPal announce industry leading partnership — Barclays — “Consumers are expected to benefit from a raft of new features that will make it even easier to manage their PayPal account in Barclays digital channels, and to use their Barclays products in their PayPal digital wallet… PayPal and Barclays will explore unique ways to connect Pingit and PayPal to improve how customers can move and manage their money. The partnership will also explore opportunities for US consumers to redeem Barclays reward points at businesses that accept PayPal worldwide.”
PayPal can now be used to make Samsung Pay mobile payments in US stores
Continuing to make choice a reality with Samsung Pay — PayPal — “Today, we have begun rolling out the ability for consumers to use PayPal within Samsung Pay and make purchases at the millions of retailers that accept Samsung Pay. Samsung Pay users can load their PayPal account with the debit card or bank account found in their PayPal Wallet for use in-store — all while continuing to earn Samsung Rewards points.”
PayPal expands into mainstream banking
PayPal makes a move toward traditional banking — Wall Street Journal — “The San Jose, Calif-based payments company has been quietly reaching out to groups of customers in recent months with an offer to add basic banking features to their PayPal digital wallet. The features include Federal Deposit Insurance Corp insurance for their balances, a debit card that can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs and the ability to direct-deposit their paychecks.”
Juniper predicts 2.1bn mobile wallet users in 2019
PayPal leads mobile wallet rankings as users forecast to pass 2bn next year — Juniper Research — “Nearly 2.1 billion consumers worldwide will use a mobile wallet to make a payment or send money in 2019, up by nearly 30% on the 1.6 billion recorded at the end of 2017… The report also argued that while QR code-based in-store payments had seen quite astonishing levels of adoption in China, successful use cases in Europe and North America were likely to be limited to ‘closed loop’ wallets such as those deployed by Starbucks and Walmart.”
PayPal patents faster cryptocurrency payments system
Expedited virtual currency transaction system — USPTO — “The systems and methods of the present disclosure practically eliminate the amount of time the payee must wait to be sure they will receive a virtual currency payment in a virtual currency transaction by transferring to the payee private keys that are included in virtual currency wallets that are associated with predefined amounts of virtual currency that equal a payment amount identified in the virtual currency transaction.”
Over half of US consumers are now using a P2P payments service
US consumers and debit: Shift to online may inhibit use — Mercator Advisory Group — “57% of all respondents and 78% of young adults aged 18 to 34 use person-to-person payment services such as PayPal, Venmo, Google Wallet, Facebook Messenger, and others accessible online and in-app by mobile devices and nearly half of them use a P2P service at least once a month.”
eBay to replace PayPal as its main payments provider
eBay to intermediate payments on its Marketplace platform — eBay — “eBay intends to further improve its customer experience by intermediating payments on its Marketplace platform. In doing so, eBay will manage the payments flow, simplifying the end-to-end experience for buyers and sellers… eBay will move as quickly as possible to complete this process within the parameters of the operating agreement with PayPal, which remains in place through mid-2020.”
Softbank to launch new global digital payments system?
Softbank plots digital payments raid with plans for Paypal rival — City AM — “Japanese technology giant Softbank is planning to create a global digital payments system that could rival giants such as PayPal, according to reports. The tech firm will lead a consortium backed by some of the world’s biggest banks… Under the plan, Softbank could acquire a large financial software business as a springboard to rolling out the new system.”
Cargo turns Uber cars into convenience stores
How Cargo is helping Uber drivers earn extra cash by selling stuff to passengers — VentureBeat — “Cargo partners with brands across confectionery, electronics, cosmetics, and more to offer riders access to goods such as chocolate bars and USB cables. The company sends a transparent case to drivers, along with the goods, which they place in the vehicle’s front compartment, allowing passengers to see at a glance what’s on offer. The traveler can then make payment using PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, or their credit card through Cargo’s mobile website, using a unique code to ensure payment goes to the right driver.”
Survey finds high level of consumer satisfaction with mobile payments in US and UK
Auriemma Consulting Group conducts parallel study of mobile pay usage in the US and the UK — Auriemma Consulting Group — “While UK cardholders are slightly more likely than their US counterparts to have used Apple Pay (12% v 9%) and Visa Checkout (9% v 6%) within the past month, other options, such as PayPal In-Store Checkout (5% each) and Android Pay (4% each) show similar usage patterns. Although usage metrics are low, satisfaction with each technology is extremely high.”
PayPal lets customers group together to raise funds and buy gifts
A better way to collect money from friends — PayPal — “With PayPal Money Pools, you can create a page that lets people easily chip in for group gifts, special events and more… PayPal Money Pool pages are easily shareable via link or social media… The proceeds go straight to your PayPal Money Pools account so you can track and use them whenever needed.”
PayPal tops US survey of most trusted financial services brands
Landor Pulse: PayPal leads as most trusted financial services brand — Landor — “Approximately 30% of consumers rank PayPal as trustworthy, compared with 25% for Visa, 23% for Mastercard, and 17% for American Express… Apple Pay and Google Wallet are trusted by only 13% of consumers… Just 17% think Capital One and Chase are trustworthy, with Bank of America one point below at 16%… Bitcoin has the lowest rating of all, with only 6% of consumers believing it to be trustworthy.”
Facebook Messenger adds PayPal P2P payments
Send money to friends and family in Messenger with PayPal — PayPal — “We’re excited today to announce an expansion of our relationship with Facebook with the addition of PayPal as a funding source for peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, right in Messenger… We are also introducing our first-ever PayPal customer service bot for Messenger, so PayPal customers can seamlessly receive payment and account support directly in the app.”
PayPal to turn Venmo P2P payments app into ‘ubiquitous digital wallet’
Venmo now accepted at millions of retailers — PayPal — “Starting this week, Venmo customers can use their Venmo account to shop and make purchases on their mobile phone at more than two million US retailers, almost everywhere PayPal is accepted… Our vision for Venmo is to not only be the go-to app for payments between friends, but also a ubiquitous digital wallet that helps consumers spend wherever and however they want to pay, regardless of device.”
Bank of America reports $4bn in P2P payments
A big bank Is catching up to PayPal and Square — Barron’s — “Bank of America released its third quarter earnings on Friday morning and executives spoke confidently about Zelle, the payments platform used by several big banks. The total number of peer-to-peer payments made over the Zelle network by Bank of America customers jumped 68% on a year-over-year basis to 13.6m, and the total payment volume jumped 40% to US$4bn, the bank said. Earlier this year, Bank of America integrated Zelle into its mobile app.”