Amazon will open checkout-free stores in Chicago and San Francisco — Engadget — “Amazon has posted job listings for store managers in both Chicago and San Francisco, making it clear where the automated stores are headed next… Amazon has a building permit for a store in Chicago’s Loop, while a San Francisco Chronicle report claimed that a store would open near Union Square. An earlier Recode scoop asserted that Amazon would open as many as six more stores in 2018, with one possibly coming to Los Angeles.”
Amazon plans to open as many as six more cashier-less Amazon Go stores this year — Recode — “Some of the new high-tech stores are likely to open in Amazon’s hometown of Seattle, where the first location is based, as well as Los Angeles… It’s not clear if Amazon will open up Go stores in any other cities this year.”
Facebook may soon test a ‘red envelope’ payments feature — Recode — “Red envelopes are typically used for gift giving, especially for holidays like Chinese New Year, but the ability to gift someone money on Facebook would mean Facebook could also facilitate peer-to-peer payments. The company already offers payments like this in Messenger, but not on Facebook’s main website or app.”
Venmo will allow users to pay at merchants like Williams-Sonoma — Recode — “Venmo oversaw US$8bn in transactions in Q2 of 2017, double what it did the year before, but has yet to find a way to monetize since the regular service is free. Merchant processing fees from partnerships like Williams-Sonoma would be the first step in making money from transactions… Earlier this year, Venmo started testing a physical debit card in which Venmo customers could use their balance toward purchases at all retailers.”
Venmo is testing its own physical debit card — Recode — “Venmo has been testing its own version of a physical debit card that would allow people who use its app to make purchases in brick-and-mortar stores using money stored in their Venmo account, according to multiple sources.”
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.”
Apple is working to launch a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment service later this year, according to Recode... More
mPOS provider Square could soon be launching a physical Square Cash debit card, according to Recode... More
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
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
More than 30 banks and credit unions in the US have added their support for Apple Pay, as well as five more in Australia... More
Apple Pay is now accepted by 35% of US retailers, representing about 4m locations across the country, Apple VP Jennifer Bailey has revealed during the Re/code Code Commerce event in San Francisco... More
Apple Pay will be available as a payment option on mobile websites “before this year’s holiday shopping season”, Re/code reports... More
CurrentC, the mobile wallet offered by US retailer-led consortium MCX, may not launch widely this year as originally planned, CEO Brian Mooney has said... More
Twitter is reportedly integrating with e-commerce platform Shopify to offer its Buy buttons to a wider range of businesses... More
Samsung paid about US$250m to acquire LoopPay, developer of the magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology that will form a key part of Samsung Pay when it launches later this year, according to Recode... More
Paypal is to acquire Paydiant, a white label mobile payments specialist and developer of a platform that allows retailers to incorporate payment, loyalty and offers functionality into their own apps... More
The team working on PayPal’s move into in-store payments has been among the hardest hit by layoffs across parent Ebay Inc’s three divisions, Re/code reports, adding that “PayPal’s in-store initiatives, which includes mobile payments and a credit card reader called PayPal Here, have largely been viewed as big disappointments inside the company”... More
Samsung is in talks with mobile payments startup LoopPay with a view to launching a mobile payments system to rival Apple Pay in the US in 2015, “multiple sources” have told Re/code... More
PayPal is now available as a payment option in Apple’s online retail store for US and UK shoppers having previously only been available as a payment option in Apple’s app and content stores, Re/code reports... More
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