Secure, affordable and dedicated Android NFC devices issued to local agents, farmers and financial institutions in emerging markets are improving the delivery of a wide range of services including branchless banking, know your customer procedures and food aid distribution, according to a 19-page white paper that is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre. More
Business travellers will soon be able to make in-store purchases at select retailers and restaurants inside three US airports and have their expenses automatically submitted on their behalf through the point-of-sale system so that they “don’t need to worry about creating an expense claim down the line”. More
Customers at select McDonald’s restaurants across the UK can now order ahead using their mobile phone... More
Starbucks customers in India can now use their phones to pay for orders and earn loyalty program ‘Stars’ following the launch of the Starbucks India app... More
PARTNER NEWS: A service to improve women’s safety, by allowing them to recharge their prepaid mobile account at any retail outlet with a private code generated by SMS rather than their phone number, will roll out across India later this month... More
Relying on Android or alternatives to NFC for successful mobile payment services in a country with one of the world’s largest iPhone market shares and high contactless card use is “unrealistic”, the group of Australian banks seeking access to the iPhone’s NFC functionality say in their latest submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)... More
Luxury watchmaker Tag Heuer has unveiled the second generation of its connected watch range, powered by Google’s Android Wear 2.0 operating system and offering host card emulation (HCE) payments through Android Pay... More
US bank JPMorgan Chase is to acquire the payments technology of US retailer-led consortium MCX to “help expand” the Chase Pay mobile payments service... More
PARTNER NEWS: A 13-page e-book which examines how to build consumer confidence in mobile payments is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
A digital cash service allowing consumers — including those without bank accounts — to load money onto a range of wearable items and make contactless payments in retail outlets will roll out across “eight or nine countries” in North America, Europe and Africa from April 2017... More
Android Pay has launched in Belgium with support for Mastercard and Visa credit cards from BNP Paribas Fortis, Hello Bank... More
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
McDonald’s will launch its mobile order and pay service in 20,000 restaurants in “some of our largest markets including the US” by the end of 2017, with the fast food giant aiming to enhance its digital capabilities and the use of technology to “dramatically elevate the customer experience” and “unlock meaningful growth and increase guest counts”... More
Nearly 20% of US smartphone owners have used a mobile payment app at a retail location, research released by Parks Associates shows... More
Pizza Hut has unveiled a pair of shoes with a button that lets wearers order pizza and get it delivered... More
Istanbul-based mobile retailer Getir has integrated Mastercard’s Masterpass service into its Facebook Messenger bot, enabling customers to choose products, place their order and pay from within a chat window... More
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
Apple is promoting adoption of Apple Pay in Japan via a two month campaign that offers a wide range of rewards and benefits to consumers who choose to use the NFC payments service. More
The number of mobile transactions as a percentage of all in-store transactions has grown by 247% in the UK over the last year, analysis of transaction data and a consumer survey conducted by payments processor Worldpay has found. Workers paying for lunch on the go and payments for drinks in bars are the main drivers of the increase in transaction volume. More
A third of all transactions processed by PayPal are now conducted using a mobile device, PayPal COO Bill Ready has revealed, with the company processing more than US$31bn in mobile payments in the fourth quarter of 2016 — up 53% from the same period in 2015... More