Amazon and Google to add phone calls for virtual assistants?
Consumers with Amazon Echo or Google Home could use the virtual assistant devices to make or receive phone calls later this year, the Wall Street Journal reports... More
Wall Street Journal
Samsung to add AI button to new smartphone
Samsung is considering adding a dedicated button for an improved artificial intelligence feature for its next flagship smartphone, the Wall Street Journal reports... More
ClearXChange to rebrand as Zelle
Early Warning’s bank-led digital payments network ClearXChange is set to change its name to Zelle... More
Ingenico to support Alipay in Europe
Alipay customers will soon be able to make mobile payments at Ingenico point of sale terminals across Europe, according to the Wall Street Journal... More
Kroger sues Visa over EMV authentication
US supermarket chain Kroger has filed a lawsuit against Visa for allowing customers to verify EMV purchases with a signature instead of a PIN... More
Amazon to expand Dash service despite “cool” response
Amazon is to announce that it is adding “dozens of new brands” to its Dash push-button ordering devices despite “evidence that consumers are cool to them”, The Wall Street Journal reports... More
Huawei teams up with China UnionPay to roll out NFC mobile payments
Handset maker Huawei has partnered with bank card association China UnionPay for the roll out of Huawei Pay, an NFC-based mobile payment service that makes use of tokenization technology and is expected to be available on a wide range of Huawei handsets. More
Swatch to focus on mass market smartwatches
Luxury watchmaker Swatch will focus its smartwatch activities on its plastic Swatch brand before considering the technology for its pricier models... More
Ant Financial seeks US$3bn in funding
Alipay parent Ant Financial is planning to raise up to 20bn yuan (US$3.1bn) in its current funding round at a valuation of more than $50bn, according to The Wall Street Journal... More
Apple Pay to launch in China by February?
Apple is planning to launch Apple Pay in China by 8 February 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal... More
Apple to add P2P payments to Apple Pay?
Apple is reportedly holding discussions with US banks about developing a payment service that would let users send money to one another from their phones through Apple Pay... More
CurrentC to be tested in Ohio
Mobile payments consortium MCX will test its CurrentC mobile wallet in Columbus, Ohio, in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reports... More
New Google Glass ‘released soon’
A second version of Google Glass is in the works and will be “released soon”, according to the CEO of Italian eyewear maker Luxottica... More
McDonald’s to pilot mobile order and pay in China
McDonald’s is to begin piloting a mobile ordering and payment service in China in the third quarter of this year, with the aim of speeding payments and to meet consumer demand... More
Google misses out on transaction fee revenues
Google won’t earn any transaction fees from credit card issuers for Android Pay, unlike Apple which receives 0.15% of the value of each credit card transaction made with Apple Pay, sources have told The Wall Street Journal.“That is because Visa and MasterCard recently standardised their tokenization card-security service and made it free, preventing payments services from charging fees to issuers,” the newspaper reports... More
Swatch smartwatch to launch in two countries
Swiss watchmaker Swatch Group is to launch its NFC smartwatch in two countries this summer, Switzerland and “one big country”, CEO Nick Hayek revealed during the company’s annual general meeting... More
Google to launch mobile buy buttons?
Google is expected to add buy buttons to search results pages on mobile devices in the coming weeks that will guide consumers to product pages where they can pick sizes, colours and shipping options before completing a purchase... More
Jawbone to add NFC payments?
Wearable device maker Jawbone could be about to add NFC payment capabilities to its fitness trackers... More
Apple stores hit hardest by Apple Pay fraudsters
Credit card data stolen in recent data breaches at big retailers has led to a wave of fraudulent Apple Pay transactions, reports the Wall Street Journal... More
Google renews wallet discussions with carriers
Google is in a new round of discussions with mobile network operators to get its Google Wallet payments service widely distributed on mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal reports, with incentives on offer believed to include paying carriers to feature Google Wallet prominently on their Android phones and, potentially, a share of advertising revenues... More
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