Armenia’s Ardshinbank has launched a software-only point of sale (softPOS) solution that enables merchants to accept contactless payments on Android NFC smartphones, tablets and other devices. ... More
Retail
GSMA reports ‘faster than predicted’ growth in mobile money services
The number of registered mobile money accounts globally rose by 13% from 1.4bn in 2021 to 1.6bn in 2022 and total mobile money transaction values grew by 22% from US$1tn to US$1.26tn over the same period, according to research by the GSMA... More
Yahoo Japan to trial face biometrics for in-store payments
Customers using Yahoo Japan’s convenience store in the Yoyogi Uehara district of Tokyo can now opt to pay for their purchases at a self-service checkout with their face using biometric payment... More
Apple Pay launch drives surge in Hyundai Card uptake in Korea
The number of new Hyundai Card users in South Korea rose by 75% from 116,000 in February to 203,000 in March following the launch of Apple Pay in the country on 21 March... More
Apple rolls out support for contactless payments acceptance on iPhones to merchants in Taiwan
Merchants in Taiwan have become the first outside the USA to be able to accept in-store contactless payments on iPhones using Apple’s Tap to Pay software point of sale (sPOS) feature... More
US employee rewards programme trials online virtual prepaid card provisioning
Employee reward and incentive programmes provider Halo is trialling a digital card provisioning solution that enables users to quickly and easily add a virtual prepaid rewards card directly to their digital wallet without needing to download an app or add their bank details... More
India and Nepal to sign cross-border mobile payments agreement
Residents of India will soon be able to make mobile payments for goods and services when visiting Nepal from their smartphone’s digital wallet using an interoperable cross-border payments system to be implemented between the two countries... More
Lithuanian supermarket chain begins rolling out contactless stores
Lithuanian supermarket chain IKI has opened its second contactless convenience store in the capital Vilnius, enabling customers to check in at the store door by tapping their payment card, mobile wallet or retailer’s app, select the products they want and pay for their purchases without needing to scan them, by tapping their payment card as they leave... More
Amazon expands contactless pay by palm technology to Whole Foods Market stores in Colorado
Customers at Whole Foods Market stores in the greater Denver area in the US state of Colorado can now gain access to the supermarket and make contactless payments for their purchases with their palm... More
Hugo Boss adds NFC tags to baseball caps
Fashion house Hugo Boss has added an NFC tag to a range of baseball caps that enables purchasers to create non-fungible token (NFT) digital twins that they can use to dress avatars on the Ready Player Me metaverse platform... More
Korean merchants turn to softPOS for Apple Pay acceptance
Merchants in South Korea can now opt to accept Apple Pay payments on their smartphone without needing to purchase and install NFC readers at the point of sale as a number of new or upgraded software POS solutions roll out across the country... More
Singapore and Malaysia launch cross-border QR code payments system
Residents of Singapore and Malaysia can now make contactless QR code-based payments for goods and payments in either country using an interoperable cross-border payments system launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)... More
Number of digital payment cards issued globally to top 1.3bn by 2027
The number of payment cards issued via digital card issuance platforms worldwide will increase from 500m in 2023 to more than 1.3bn by 2027, according to a Juniper Research forecast... More
European Banking Federation lays out principles for a retail digital euro
The proposed retail digital euro should be appropriately designed in collaboration with the private sector, create value for end-users, preserve financial stability and incentivise and enable private sector intermediaries to add solutions and services within the central bank digital currency (CBDC) ecosystem, according to a European Banking Federation (EBF) vision paper... More
Google Wallet begins to roll out in Japan
Google Wallet has launched in Japan, enabling users to store and use their credit, debit, transit and loyalty cards, boarding passes, tickets and other digital credentials on their Android NFC smartphone or Wear OS smartwatch... More
India’s national contactless transit card rolls out in Bengaluru
Passengers travelling on Bangalore Metro services in the Indian city of Bengaluru can now make contactless fare payments with the RuPay-enabled National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) that can also be used to pay for fuel, parking, tolls and in-store purchases... More
Half of drivers rank in-car payments as a top priority for connected car services
More than half of drivers globally would choose the ability to make in-car payments for parking, fuel, tolls and food as a priority when ranking the important features of connected car services (56%), according to a survey... More
JP Morgan to pilot in-store biometric payments with US merchants
Financial services company JP Morgan is to pilot a biometric payments solution that will enable consumers to make contactless in-store payments with their palm or face at selected bricks-and-mortar merchants in the USA and “potentially” at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix in May... More
Panera Bread installs biometric palm payments devices at US bakery stores
Customers at Panera Bread outlets in St Louis, Missouri, in the USA can now opt to access their loyalty account and make contactless payments for their purchases with their palm... More
Apple Pay goes live in South Korea
Apple Pay has launched in South Korea with support for Mastercard, Visa and local debit and credit cards issued by Hyundai Card... More