mPOS provider Square could soon be launching a physical Square Cash debit card, according to Recode... More
Debit card
Facebook Messenger adds group payments in the US
Facebook Messenger users across the US can now send and receive money between groups of people in a Messenger conversation by selecting the payments icon and then choosing who to send or request money from using a list of conversation participants. More
Westpac adds Samsung Pay in Australia
Westpac has become the first of Australia’s big four banks to begin supporting Samsung Pay, taking the service to “millions of Westpac Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cardholders” following its launch in the country with support from American Express and Citibank in June 2016... More
Deutsche Bank customers get HCE mobile payments
Customers of Deutsche Bank in Germany can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using their Mastercard credit or debit card through the bank’s Deutsche Bank Mobile app... More
Contactless overtakes traditional card payments in Hungary
Contactless payments accounted for more than half of all transactions made with payment cards in Hungary in 2016, the country’s central bank says... More
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
Belgium becomes tenth country to go live with Android Pay
Android Pay has launched in Belgium with support for Mastercard and Visa credit cards from BNP Paribas Fortis, Hello Bank... 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 to launch in India with support from five Visa and Mastercard issuers — and Paytm
Samsung has begun inviting Galaxy phone owners in India to register for early access to Samsung Pay. Customers can opt to pre-register Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Standard Chartered Bank debit or credit cards and SBI Cards credit cards today with support for American Express and Citibank to follow. Paytm’s market leading mobile wallet will also be supported by the service. More
Rambus unveils Unified Payment Platform for mobile payments and loyalty
PARTNER NEWS: Rambus has unveiled a mobile payments platform that will allow retailers to launch mobile payment and loyalty services that securely store and manage a variety of payment cards, as well as gift cards and loyalty points, to enable consumers to pay with credit, points and coupons in a single transaction at the point of sale... More
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa launches HCE mobile payments developed with Antelop
PARTNER NEWS: Customers of French bank Crédit Mutuel Arkéa can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using the bank’s Paylib mobile app and authorise payments at the point of sale with a scan of their fingerprint, making it the “first bank offering a fingerprint-supported HCE solution in France”... More
US banks launch money-transfer app
Nineteen US banks have launched Zelle, the mobile P2P money transfer service unveiled last October to compete with the likes of Venmo, allowing users to send money directly to each other’s bank accounts within minutes... More
EMV card shipments grow less than 1% in 2016
Global EMV payment card shipments increased by less than 1% year-on-year in 2016, reaching nearly 3bn, ABI Research says... More
Jaguar brings in-car fuel payments to Shell service stations
Luxury car maker Jaguar has begun integrating a mobile payments system into its vehicles, allowing drivers to use PayPal or Apple Pay to pay for fuel at Shell service stations using an app and the touchscreen found inside their vehicle... More
Smart Benches offer Londoners chance to make contactless charity donations
Ten Smart Benches have been installed across London to enable passersby to donate £2 (US$3) to Cancer Research UK with a tap of their contactless debit or credit card. The Smart Bench network is currently being piloted in two boroughs in the city, with a further 90 benches to be permanently rolled out later this year. More
France to increase contactless limit to €30
The contactless spending limit in France will increase from €20 (US$21) to €30 (US$32) at the end of this year... More
Indian government unveils sweeping proposals to reduce the use of cash
The Government of India has introduced a series of incentives designed to encourage consumers and businesses to adopt digital and mobile payments and significantly reduce the use of cash in the economy — including plans to encourage banks to introduce one million point-of-sale terminals by March 2017, rising to two million by September... More
Target to launch mobile payment service this year
US retail giant Target is to introduce its own mobile payment service to “one or more of its own apps” later this year, the company’s Michael McNamara has told Recode... More
25% of UK card payments now contactless
A quarter of all UK card transactions in November 2016 were made using contactless debit and credit cards, The UK Cards Association reveals... More
Samsung lets smart fridge owners use voice commands to order groceries
US consumers will soon be able to use their voice to order groceries directly from their fridge with the latest edition of Samsung’s smart connected fridge platform and an updated version of the Groceries by Mastercard mobile app... More