Fortumo Takes Mobile Billing to 4th-Largest Consumer Market (Dec. 10, 2013)
Mobile carrier billing company Fortumo today is launching mobile operator billing in Indonesia, the fourth-largest country in the world by population.
Mobile
Garanti Bank rolls out Turkcell mobile wallet
Turkey’s Garanti Bank and mobile operator Turkcell have partnered with Visa Europe in a deal aimed at bringing the Turkcell mobile wallet to more consumers in Turkey.
Most U.K./U.S. Consumers in the Dark about NFC, Surveys Suggest (Dec. 9, 2013)
Surveys suggest that U.S. and U.K. consumers don’t know much about NFC and don’t care.
PayPal Inks Acceptance Deal with M-POS Provider PayAnywhere (Dec. 5, 2013)
Mobile POS provider PayAnywhere has struck a deal to enable its merchant clients to accept payments via PayPal’s payment card.
Oberthur and mBank target emerging markets with mobile wallet
Digital security firm Oberthur Technologies has partnered with mobile services specialists mBank in a project aimed at bringing “branchless” banking services to people in emerging markets.
Second IT glitch “unacceptable” says RBS
An IT problem that left customers of RBS and its Natwest and Ulster Bank subsidiaries unable to use their accounts yesterday evening was described as “unacceptable” by a bank spokeswoman. For three hours – on what was expected to by the largest online shopping day of the year, dubbed “Cyber Monday” – the banks’ customers […]
NRF: Weekend Shopping Tops 2012; More Cyber Shoppers Go Mobile (Dec. 2, 2013)
Shoppers and retailers continued to blur the line between Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday as consumer traffic on the holiday grew 27 percent, to nearly 45 million shoppers from 35 million a year ago, according to a National Retail Federation survey.
V.me Moves Forward in Europe (Dec. 2, 2013)
Visa’s entry into the digital wallet space is now live in a quartet of European countries.
PayPal Makes It Easier to Spend with Prepaid Cards; Tests M-Payments in Berlin (Dec. 2, 2013)
PayPal has made it easier for consumers with network branded prepaid gift cards to redeem them while shopping online.
RBS commits to V.me by Visa mobile wallet as Nationwide beats it to roll-out
RBS has confirmed that it is to launch V.me by Visa, the digital wallet built by Visa Europe. The decision follows a pilot programme, and will mean that RBS follows in the footsteps of Nationwide Building Society, which has just become the first UK high street brand to roll out the wallet to its customers.
Voxsmart prepares cloud mobile voice recording service for banks
A new mobile voice recording service is being developed by UK tech company Voxsmart, which it claims is the first to automatically capture every type of communication on a mobile device so that it can be used for trading compliance purposes, including the FCA in the UK and Dodd-Frank in the US.
Turkey: where worlds collide
For centuries, Turkey has stood at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. While the country is leading the way in mobile banking, its infrastructure reflects a culture where minarets mix with mobile masts and ATMs compete for space with ancient monuments.
European Central Bank seeks comment on mobile security proposals
A draft set of 14 recommendations to promote the security of mobile payments has been published by the European Central Bank for public consultation.
Moving Money: the ATM makers’ view of the future
With the rise in mobile payments and wallets, cash is dead and so is the ATM business, right? Not according to the ATM manufacturers, who are all being remarkably sanguine.
Who Needs NFC? Google Wallet Adds Plastic Payment Card (Nov. 21, 2013)
Google Wallet is giving users a way to pay the old fashioned way, unveiling a plastic payment card that can be used instead of a smartphone to make in-store purchases.
TCS Bank readies Russian mobile wallet for Christmas
Russian bank Tinkoff Credit Systems has become the latest financial institution to launch a mobile wallet service, which is due to go live on 1 December 2013. The new wallet will target Russia and will be available on both Android and Apple iOS devices.
FIS: making a mark in mobile
Financial software giant FIS is sitting in the middle of the move to mobile, with its customers serving 21 million users. Doug Brown, senior vice president, e-banking, says that’s just the beginning.
PayPal Hits the Road with Uber Deal (Nov. 19, 2013)
Add car rides to the ever-growing list of things that can be purchased with PayPal, now that the popular Uber service has begun accepting fares via the payments giant.
Isis aims to breathe new life into US mobile wallet market
The latest version of the telco-backed Isis mobile wallet service has been launched across the US, following 18 months of testing in Texas and Utah by owners AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless.
Isis Goes Live (Nov. 14, 2013)
Three years after its initial unveiling, the Isis digital wallet has finally rolled out nationwide but Isis faces numerous competitors and a lingering uncertainty over NFC payments.
InComm’s Mobile-Optimized Shopping Cart Boosts Gift Card Sales (Nov. 12, 2013)
Prepaid product and transaction services provider InComm is giving retailers a new way to offer gift cards to their customers via mobile device.
Telecom Italia, Visa Europe Offer Mobile Wallet to 31 Million Consumers (Nov. 12, 2013)
An agreement announced today between Telecom Italia and Visa Europe will bring mobile payments capabilities to more than 31 million Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) customers throughout Italy, enabling them to make contactless payments using certain NFC-equipped smartphones at POS terminals across Europe.
Square Scraps Monthly Pricing Option; Pogo> Hits Hong Kong (Nov. 12, 2013)
Merchants using Square for payment card transactions no longer will have the option of paying a flat monthly rate to process payments, effective Feb. 1, 2014.
Prepaid Key to NFC Rollout in France (Nov. 11, 2013)
Mobile network operator Orange is teaming with Visa Europe in a strategic partnership to roll out its Orange Cash NFC-based mobile payments in France in the latest example of a prepaid card-based approach to contactless payment.
Orange and Visa team up on NFC payments in France
French operator group Orange has formed a strategic partnership with payment provider Visa to accelerate awareness and everyday usage of contactless payment technology in France. The operator has also launched a mobile prepayment solution called Orange Cash in the country.
PKO Polski bets on mobile replacing card formats
Mobile phone-based payment solutions will eclipse cards by allowing bank customers to pay directly from their accounts, says a PKO Polski executive.
Is Square Going Public in 2014? (Nov. 7, 2013)
San Francisco-based Square Inc.—one of many m-POS device providers, but the company with arguably the greatest name recognition—created buzz this week after a report that Square CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey might take the company public.
Two New Products to Enter Canadian Wallet Arena (Nov. 7, 2013)
Canada seems poised to become the next battleground in the mobile wallet wars with a pair of new wallets joining the fray—one from a telecom provider, and the other from a team of banks.
Blog: The $800MM Braintree Acquisition and PayPal’s Pursuit of the Emerging Digital Marketplace (November 2013)
PayPal’s pending acquisition of Braintree will broaden its scope of innovative digital commerce solutions, support its developer platform overhaul and bring P2P competitor Venmo into the fold.
Skrill goes global with mobile
Mobile payments company Skrill has launched a mobile app that it says can send money to anyone, anywhere in the world at any time. The app has several uses, including cross-border remittance payments to various countries in eastern Europe and around the world.
Mobile, Big Data and Credit Steal Show in Vegas (November 2013)
Las Vegas hosted the 21st Annual ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum last month, where industry stakeholders were abuzz about monetizing mobile and big data and, surprisingly, credit.
Bank branch “not dead” says report – but banks must be more mobile
Mobile banking may be on the rise around the world but the bank branch is not dead, according to new research by IT firm GFT Technologies.
Blackboard Tests NFC Phone-based Payments at Two Campuses (Nov. 5, 2013)
Could college campuses serve as labs for U.S. NFC payment adoption? The answer may depend on the results of pilots launched last month at two midsize universities.
m-POS Options Bubbling with Square-Staples Promo, Sprint-Vantiv Venture (Nov. 5, 2013)
Square Inc. is turning up the heat in the m-POS race with a major promotion with Staples to drive sales of its Square Stand POS solution to smaller brick-and-mortar merchants.
Citi launches NFC mobile wallet collaboration with 3 Hong Kong
Citibank and mobile operator 3 Hong Kong have co-launched an NFC mobile wallet in the form of a sticker for iPhone and mobile app for Android.
Citibank-Backed Mobile Wallet Launches in Hong Kong (Nov. 4, 2013)
Citibank Hong Kong and 3 Hong Kong, the mobile operation of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Ltd., have launched 3 Citi Wallet for mobile subscribers of 3 Hong Kong and Citibank Visa cardholders.
Google Wallet Pulls End-Run Around Telecoms (Nov. 4, 2013)
Google’s latest Android mobile operating system includes a new feature that could enable Google Wallet to cut out telecom providers as middlemen for NFC applications.
Starbucks Chief Exits Square’s Board; Coffee Giant Tests Digital Gratuity Feature (Oct. 31, 2013)
Starbucks, arguably the largest mobile payments operator in the world with its wildly popular closed-loop mobile app, grabbed attention late Wednesday with news that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has resigned from Square Inc.’s board after 15 months.
Mobile Payments Startup Loop Goes to School (Oct. 31, 2013)
Mobile POS payment startup LoopPay Inc. is getting out of the gate fast, inking a deal to distribute its dongle-based mobile wallet to college students through marketing and payments provider Campus Nation Network (CNN).
Report: Mobile Bill Pay Has $2.1 Trillion in Potential (Oct. 31, 2013)
More than 12.5 million Americans already are taking advantage of mobile bill payments, but the untapped potential of the market could be worth $2.1 trillion, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. That’s the total amount Javelin estimates Americans spend annually on seven essential bill types: open-loop credit cards, store-branded credit cards, […]
