Swiss watchdog investigates banks over alleged payments system boycott — Reuters — “Switzerland’s competition watchdog has raided the offices of financial companies, including Credit Suisse and UBS, to investigate a suspected boycott of mobile payment solutions such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay… ‘There is the suspicion that the companies agreed not to make their credit cards available for use with Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, in order to favor the Swiss solution Twint,’ competition commission Weko said.”
Competition
Visa cuts transaction fees in India by up to 95%
Visa slashes fee on debit card payments, wants more small merchants on board — Economic Times — “In a note circulated among member banks recently, Visa said it would cut rates on debit card transactions by up to 95%… The largest quantum of decrease will apply to transactions under Rs 2,000 (US$29.57)… ‘Effectively, merchants and banks pay nothing for small value transactions. With this move, it should become more attractive for banks to deploy terminals at small shops and encourage debit card payments,’ said a senior banker.”
Apple faces pushback from iPhone users over Apple Pay ‘pestering’
iPhone users are pestered to enroll in Apple Pay — Wall Street Journal — “Apple Inc is nagging iPhone users to enroll in its mobile payment service with a persistent red-circle badge. The strategy has worked with some, but is irritating others who say it is heavy-handed and exploits the tech giant’s clout in ways that could disadvantage rivals… Users who opt not to input credit card information for Apple Pay when setting up their phones now constantly see the red circle over their settings icon.”
Boston Fed: One in four US financial institutions now offer a mobile payments service
Survey: Retail mobile banking nearing universal adoption, mobile payment offerings accelerate — Federal Reserve Bank of Boston — “Implementation of mobile payment services is accelerating as financial institutions respond to competitive pressure and the industry momentum for mobile payments: In addition to the 24% already offering mobile payments, 40% plan to do so within two years. Additionally, more than two-thirds of respondents partner or plan to partner with third-party processors and more than half are considering a partnership with a near-field communication (NFC) wallet provider.”
Norwegian banks to form joint venture in bid to combat threat of global tech giants
Norwegian banks to combine payment units Vipps, BankAxept, BankID — Reuters — “Norwegian banks agree to combine payment units Vipps, BankAxept and BankID Norge to improve product offering and prepare for competition against global tech firms… DNB CEO Rune Bjerke said: “We have two choices. Either let the existing payments infrastructure wither away, or join forces and push forward.”
Danish consumer council raises Apple Pay competition concerns
Apple Pay accused of unfair competition in Denmark — The Copenhagen Post — “The Forbrugerrådet Tænk consumer council is not sure that Apple Pay is operating in compliance with Danish law, and it has asked the Concurrence og Forbrugerstyrelsen competition and consumer agency to investigate… ‘We have reported Apple Pay because we believe this new payment app is in violation of our competition law and the EU rules governing this area,’ Forbrugerrådet Tænk chairperson Anja Philip told DR Nyheder.”
US to open up banking market to non-banks?
US regulator says time to review mixing banking with other businesses — Reuters — “US regulations that bar companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc from providing banking services need to be reviewed as they reduce competition thereby concentrating more risk among a smaller number of banks, a US banking regulator said… Noreika on Wednesday said that allowing non-financial companies to run banks could strengthen the banking system by boosting competition and increasing diversity. The OCC is exploring providing a charter specifically for financial technology providers such as payment processor Square Inc.”
Mastercard CEO: Cash is our main competitor
My competition is with cash: Ajay Banga — LiveMint — “Eighty-five percent of the world’s retail payments — person to merchant — are in cash… So who do I view as my competition? Cash. I don’t view another network, I don’t view Paytm, I don’t view Apple as competition. We are actually working with all of them. They all need our technology.”
Barclays CEO: Payments is the battleground of finance
Barclays CEO says bank must protect payments business from Apple, Amazon — Bloomberg — “Barclays Plc will need to defend its advantages in the payments business from encroachment by technology companies including Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc, according to chief executive officer Jes Staley. ‘There are some tectonic shifts going on, driven by tech and the geopolitical environment… All the banks are very focused on the payments space. That may be where the battleground of finance is fought over the next 15 years.’”
EU regulators raid banks over fintech access concerns
Antitrust: Commission confirms unannounced inspections concerning access to bank account information by competing services — European Commission — “The European Commission can confirm that on 3 October 2017 its officials carried out unannounced inspections in a few Member States concerning online access to bank account information by competing service providers… These alleged anti-competitive practices are aimed at excluding non-bank owned providers of financial services by preventing them from gaining access to bank customers’ account data, despite the fact that the respective customers have given their consent to such access.”
Spanish winemaker uses NFC in major promotional campaign
Spanish luxury winemaker Barbadillo has added promotional neck collars equipped with NFC tags to 126,000 bottles of its best-selling Castillo de San Diego white wine for a nationwide campaign that gives customers the chance to win a €1,000 (US$1,172) prize... More
ACCC to question Apple on Westpac chat app payments ban
ACCC to question Apple on Westpac chat app payments ban — Australian Financial Review — “Technology giant Apple’s controversial decision to order Westpac Banking Corporation to disable a mobile banking feature that let customers make payments in chat apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger has caught the attention of Australia’s competition watchdog, amid concerns it could be attempting to remove rivals to its own upcoming service.”
Australian banks call Apple’s NFC restriction “completely baseless”
Apple’s claim that allowing access to the NFC technology within its iPhones would diminish the security of Apple Pay has been branded “completely baseless” by a group of four Australian banks, who are seeking greater powers of negotiation over the entry of third-party mobile wallets in the country... More
South Korean firms the latest to take action against Apple
A group of South Korean financial services providers are following in the footsteps of four Australian banks by preparing to take action against Apple in a bid to pressurise the technology giant into opening up the NFC technology within its iPhone handsets... More
Apple says NFC access “not open to negotiation with any bank”
Apple has made clear that allowing access to the NFC technology within its iPhone is “not open to negotiation with any bank”. More
Coles backs Australian banks versus Apple
Supermarket giant Coles is backing the group of Australian banks seeking power to “collectively negotiate” with third party mobile wallet providers... More
ACCC rejects Australian banks’ negotiation bid
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has decided not to grant a group of Australian banks interim authorization to “collectively negotiate” with third party mobile wallet providers. More
Apple says Australian banks’ plans would “diminish” security
Apple is urging the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to reject a request from a group of the country’s banks to “collectively negotiate” with third party mobile wallet providers over the introduction of mobile payment services. More
ANZ accused over Apple Pay support
Australian bank ANZ is being accused of “pulling a fast one” after walking away from a collaborative effort with its big four rivals to seek stronger negotiating powers over third party mobile wallets and announcing its support for Apple Pay... More
Australian banks seek stronger negotiating powers with third party mobile wallet providers
A group of Australian banks have submitted an application to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), urging for the right to ensure they are able to “collectively negotiate” with third party mobile wallet providers. More