First Data Amps up Gifting Platform with Latest Acquisition (July 14, 2015)
First Data Corp. has made another move to bolster digital gifting options for its retail clients, acquiring digital gift card platform Transaction Wireless Inc. (TWI).
Mobile
MasterCard Pilots ‘Selfie’ Online Payments (July 8, 2015)
Biometrics authentication continues to draw interest from some of payments’ biggest players, with MasterCard unveiling a new pilot program that will enable online shoppers to approve purchases with a facial scan.
Visa Europe Pulls Back on Monitise Investment (July 8, 2015)
Two days after revising its earnings expectations for the year, London-based financial technology firm Monitise plc told investors today that Visa Europe plans to withdraw its remaining investment in the company.
Apple mops up mobile payments market
iPhone devices account for more than one in three mobile transactions, and are used for 10% of all global online transactions, according to new figures published by payment specialist Adyen.
Apple Eyeing P2P, Patent Filing Suggests (July 7, 2015)
P2P providers may have to brace for yet another competitor to enter the crowded field—Apple Inc.—which has filed a patent suggesting plans to extend P2P services to its Apple Pay users.
Facebook P2P Service Goes Nationwide (July 1, 2015)
Facebook’s mobile P2P payments service now is available throughout the U.S., the social media giant announced this week.
Santander and Monitise Form Joint Venture to Spark Fintech Innovation (July 1, 2015)
Spanish banking titan Santander and U.K.-based mobile banking firm Monitise today announced the formation of a joint venture to launch new fintech startups in their own backyards, using the companies’ combined strategic and technical resources.
Wirecard Gives Retailer Apps a Boost with More Functionality (June 30, 2015)
Wirecard this week has launched a mobile checkout development platform enabling retailers to boost the capabilities of their own apps by integrating open- and closed-loop contactless payments, P2P gifting, offers, merchant loyalty functionality and electronic receipts.
Canada’s suretap Gets Support from More Wireless Carriers, CIBC (June 25, 2015)
A group of Canada’s major wireless carriers this week announced support for the NFC-based suretap mobile wallet, and with one major bank already on board, the move looks like a watershed moment for telco-led mobile wallets, which generally have struggled to catch on elsewhere.
India’s War on Cash Continues with New Tactics (June 25, 2015)
The Indian government’s efforts to shift the country’s economy away from cash have taken a significant step forward.
Banking Technology Forum 2015 afternoon sessions: mobile, regulation data and cyber
The afternoon sessions at the Banking Technology Forum 2015 focused on mobile payments, the data dilemma, cyber-security and regulation with speakers from Zapp, GSMA, EY and many others
Dunkin’ Donuts Boosts Mobile App with Visa Checkout in Coffee Giants’ M-Payments Race (June 22, 2015)
Coffee kings Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks are racing to see who can get consumers their caffeine fix fastest by streamlining mobile ordering and payments in their respective apps.
Report: M-Commerce Strong in Asia-Pacific; China, India, Taiwan Leading the Way
Mobile shopping is growing fast in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a newly released study by MasterCard.
HSBC sees boom in use of mobile among corporate customers
Corporate users are increasingly adopting mobile payments, according to figures from HSBC, which expects usage of its HSBCnet Mobile corporate banking platform to double over the next 18 months, reaching $100 billion in payments.
The Bancorp to Offer HCE-Based M-Payments in Europe (June 15, 2015)
The Bancorp, a major provider of prepaid card services in the U.S. and Europe, is extending open-loop mobile contactless payment capabilities to its clients in the region through a new partnership with mobile payments company MeaWallet.
MasterCard Extends Tokenization with Support for Private-Label Cards for Use in E-Wallets (June 15, 2015)
MasterCard is extending its digital enablement services (MDES), which provide digital tokens, to store-branded credit cards and merchant card-on-file programs, including apps, e-commerce sites and recurring billing services.
Apple Pay to Meet the U.K. (June 9, 2015)
Apple Pay is coming to the U.K., but it’s unclear whether Apple is adjusting its business model to entice issuer participation as it moves across the pond.
Visa Europe Predicts Mobile Payments Boom by 2020 (June 8, 2015)
The U.K. might not be a cashless society by 2020, but Visa Europe research predicts mobile payments will help displace cash as they gain popularity.
Reuters: Retailer Take-Up of Apple Pay Slow (June 8, 2015)
Reuters research suggests Apple may be having more trouble signing up top retailers to accept Apple Pay than the tech company anticipated.
Samsung Pay Pushes Back Launch, Adds Consumer Rewards Program (June 3, 2015)
Samsung Pay will roll out in September, a bit later than its originally planned summer 2015 launch. But when the m-payments service goes live in the U.S. and Korea, it will include a consumer rewards program.
Mobile Payments Providers Must Win Over Nearly 50% of U.K. Consumers (June 3, 2015)
Despite industry fervor behind mobile payments, 47 percent of U.K. consumers don’t want to use their phone to make payments, with 81 percent citing security concerns, according to a recent survey.
Security fears ‘putting people off’ contactless mobile payments
Nearly half of smartphone users do not want to use their device to make contactless payments, mostly over fears about security, according to a survey.
Mobile Fintech Surges in Global Funding Boom (June 2, 2015)
Fintech funding is booming globally and within the overall sector, mobile fintech is getting the most money.
P2P Push Continues as Oink Adds Transfer Function (June 2, 2015)
On the heels of Facebook’s app-based money transfer service expanding to New York City and adding functions, money management provider Virtual Piggy Inc. has unveiled a P2P transfer service of its own.
Android Pay Signals Turning Point for M-Payments
If Apple Pay provided the first example of a mobile wallet with the right ingredients to finally ignite user (and partner) interest, Google Inc.’s Android Pay platform is poised to accelerate m-payments scale.
Gift Card Buyers, Recipients Want It All: Plastic, Electronic, Omnichannel (May 27, 2015)
Gift card providers should expect stronger sales as the weather gets warmer and summer celebrations get into full swing, according to the latest research from the Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA).
Will Android Pay Make Banks Line Up for Google Wallet? (May 26, 2015)
Strong signs suggest Google Inc. this week will announce Android Pay, its new mobile payments API for developers, likely revitalizing prospects for Google Wallet, and kicking off a summer of fresh m-payments competition, putting the heat on Apple Pay and other emerging approaches.
Mobile banking: what consumers really want
The growth of mobile money has been a steep upward curve and looks set to continue – Juniper Research predicts that there will be one billion mobile banking users worldwide by the end of 2017, up from 590 million in 2013. A recent Forrester report predicted that purchases on mobile devices would double by 2018, as even more people become comfortable buying online and retailers create more user-friendly mobile experiences
MasterCard Send Promises Faster B2B, P2P Payments via Debit (May 21, 2015)
The race to accelerate payments heated up this week with the introduction of MasterCard Send, a new platform enabling the rapid transfer of funds by businesses, merchants, governments, nonprofits and card issuers to consumers via debit network rails.
APEX Europe: Apple Pay’s Business Model a Tough Sell in Europe (May 21, 2015)
Apple may have a hard time exporting its Apple Pay business model to Europe, where interchange revenue is much lower than in the U.S.—and about to get lower.
Axis Bank Offers P2P Payments with Ping Pay (May 21, 2015)
Customers of India’s Axis Bank are now able to send money to each other through Facebook, messaging apps Twitter and WhatsApp, email and phone contact lists using Ping Pay, a multi-social media app developed by Fastacash, a Singapore-based social payments vendor.
Alibaba Receives U.S. Money Transmitter License (May 19, 2015)
Alibaba, the China-based e-commerce giant, appears to be sharpening its focus on the U.S. payments arena.
Walmart Accepting Alipay m-Payments in China (May 19, 2015)
Walmart is making bold moves with mobile payments in China, where it’s signed on with e-commerce giant Alibaba to accept mobile payments via the Alipay Wallet in 25 of its 410 Chinese outlets, the Arkansas-based retailer announced this week.
Customers’ Coffee Costs a Latte More; Must Improve Password Maintenance (May 19, 2015)
Starbucks customers last week noticed their purchases were costing a lot more than expected after hackers exploited the Starbucks app’s auto-reload function that’s connected to consumers’ payment cards, according to reports.
Samsung Terminates Wallet, Prepares for Samsung Pay Rollout in U.S., Europe and Korea (May 18, 2015)
Samsung is terminating its mobile wallet service at the end of June, paving the way for Samsung Pay, its mobile payment service for Android devices.
Aite Study: Gathering Steam, NFC Payments Set to Skyrocket (May 18, 2015)
Proximity payment transaction volume is estimated at $7.5 billion this year and is expected to grow gradually before skyrocketing to $487 billion in 2020, according to an Aite Group report.
Mobile banking users to double by 2020
On the background of a recent study revealing that UK mobile banking users are set to double to 32.5 million by 2020, banks need to tailor their customer experience models heavily towards mobile devices, with the fundamental focus on creating a “mobile-first” strategy, if not the more radical “mobile-only” strategy
LevelUp Breaks into POS Mobile Carrier Billing via Sprint (May 13, 2015)
LevelUp is trying something it says is a first in the U.S.—enabling users of its mobile payments platform to charge in-store purchases to their mobile phone bills, beginning with Sprint customers.
Alibaba Could Open Apple Pay’s Door to China (May 12, 2015)
Two of the biggest names in global commerce are exploring a partnership that could bring Apple Pay to China.
Mitek Verifies Consumers with the Snap of a Driver’s License (May 12, 2015)
Mitek Systems has unveiled authentication technology, which it says will improve customer acquisition efforts by enabling issuers to instantly verify a consumer remotely or in a brick-and-mortar bank location using a driver’s license.
