Western Union Integrates with Nigerian Mobile Payments Service (March 18, 2014)
Western Union is continuing its global expansion in mobile payments, announcing a new mobile money transfer service for Nigeria.
Mobile
LevelUp Powers Payments App for Smartwatch (March 18, 2014)
Mobile payments with a flick of the wrist are here.
Visa Europe: Contactless Booming in U.K., across Continent (March 17, 2014)
Holders of contactless Visa cards in the U.K. made 94.3 million contactless purchases in 2013, a surge from the 25 million made in 2012, according to data from Visa Europe.
China’s Central Bank Proposes Curbs on Third-Party Payments, Halts Product Rollouts (March 17, 2014)
China’s central bank last week released draft rules that would limit the use of third-party payment systems, including the payment operations of Alibaba Holding Group and Tencent Holdings Inc.
Cachet Makes Mobile Wallet Foray with Moneto Buy (March 12, 2014)
Minneapolis-based remote deposit capture (RDC) specialist Cachet Financial Solutions has made a major move into the mobile wallet arena, acquiring the moneto mobile payment platform from DeviceFidelity Inc.
McDonald’s Sweden Integrates SEQR Payments into Mobile App (March 12, 2014)
McDonald’s Sweden has integrated the SEQR payment service of Stockholm-based software development company Seamless into its own mobile app, enabling customers of the QSR to pay with SEQR.
Report: European Prepaid Maturing, Open-Loop Spend to Hit €112 Billion by 2020 (March 11, 2014)
Prepaid products now have a proven track record in many major European countries, where the industry has begun the process of transitioning from its adolescent phase into one of mature, stable growth.
Mobile Parking Payments Coming to Chicago (March 11, 2014)
Many Chicago drivers soon won’t have to dig under the seat for spare change to feed the meter. The city has announced a new initiative to launch a mobile payment system for parking, set for a pilot run in the downtown area this spring, with a rollout throughout Chicago to follow.
Vodafone Wallet Goes Live Across Germany (March 11, 2014)
Vodafone’s NFC-based mobile wallet and prepaid Vodafone SmartPass Visa account went live this month in Germany, enabling Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica Deutschland mobile network subscribers to conduct contactless and P2P transactions with NFC-ready phones via participating banks.
EMVCo Releases Tokenization Specification, Invites Feedback (March 11, 2014)
EMVCo today has released its tokenization specification, and is inviting all payments industry participants to provide feedback.
MasterPass Expansion Continues with UAE Launch (March 10, 2014)
MasterCard plans to roll out its MasterPass mobile wallet platform to the United Arab Emirates later this year.
The name’s Paym – UK Payments Council names mobile service
The mobile payments system planned by the UK Payments Council will be branded Paym. The Council says that it will announce the go-live date next month and final testing is on track.
Isis Reveals Usage Stats, Dangles NYC Taxi Promo to Attract More Users (March 6, 2014)
Four months after the nationwide rollout of the Isis mobile wallet, two-thirds of Isis users have installed at least one payment card on the wallet, and those users make an average of six to seven NFC-based transactions with Isis each month.
Znap puts merchants at heart of mobile commerce revolution
Mobile payment isn’t about reinventing the wheel – it’s about making merchants and customers’ lives better by establishing a relationship built on knowledge and trust, according to mobile payments platform Znap.
Getin goes for biometric signature verification in virtual branch roll-out
Poland’s Getin Bank has implemented biometric signature verification in a roll-out of unstaffed remote branches using Virtual Teller Machines under its Getin Point brand. The technology allows customers to carry out banking tasks that require a signature without having to go to a traditional branch.
MasterCard and Syniverse launch “not just another” mobile payment service
MasterCard has partnered with mobile technology specialist Syniverse under an audacious plan that aims at nothing less than “bringing mobile financial services to every single mobile user on the planet”.
New Smartphone Offers PayPal Payments with the Swipe of a Finger (Feb. 25, 2014)
Owners of the new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone soon will be able to make in-store payments via their PayPal accounts by just lifting—or rather, swiping—a finger.
BBVA Keeps It Simple; Ezetap, mCASH Rake in Funding (Feb. 25, 2014)
Spanish financial services group BBVA has announced it is acquiring Paybefore Award-winning Simple, the Portland-Ore.-based digital banking company founded in 2009, for $117 million.
Prepaid Cards Play Key Role in New Contactless Transit-Payment Systems
When upgraded public transit fare-payment systems went live recently in Chicago and Salt Lake City, contactless payment transactions soared into the millions.
MasterCard Acquires M-Payments Partner C-SAM, Launches In-App Payments (Feb. 24, 2014)
MasterCard has entered into an agreement to acquire Chicago-based mobile payment technology provider C-SAM.
Amazon Coins Expand to All Android Devices (Feb. 24, 2014)
Amazon has announced that customers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany now can use the e-retail giant’s Amazon Coins in-app currency on all Android-based smartphones and tablets.
Millicom debuts Rwanda and Tanzania mobile currency conversion
Luxembourg telecoms company Millicom has launched an African cross-border mobile payments service in Rwanda and Tanzania, which it claims is the first to automatically include currency conversion.
Raincoats, taxis and the future of banking
What do taxis, the weather, mobile wallets and raincoats have in common? They are all potential variables in determining a person’s daily spend – and they provide a great opportunity for banks to use data to save customers money, according to Aman Narain, global head of digital banking Singapore at Standard Chartered.
Google Nabs Audio Authentication Startup (Feb. 20, 2014)
Google has acquired Israeli startup SlickLogin, which has developed technology that uses high-frequency sound waves to authenticate user identity when logging into Websites.
Blog: From Atoms to Bits: The Digital Age of Money
As we move to digitize everything, the transition to digital wallets hasn’t been an easy feat. O2 recently announced it would discontinue its mobile wallet and despite efforts by industry heavyweights, mass adoption of a digital/mobile wallet still is proving elusive.
Visa and MasterCard Green-Light HCE, Giving Banks and Merchants New NFC Options (Feb. 19, 2014)
Visa and MasterCard today announced plans to support Host Card Emulation, which enables storage of card credentials in the cloud, rather than using the secure element embedded in handsets, a move observers say could reignite prospects for NFC.
Orange Cash Expands to Spain (Feb. 19, 2014)
Mobile network operator Orange is launching its Paybefore Award-winning Orange Cash prepaid MasterCard in Spain.
U.S. Bancorp, Monitise Unveil Digital Watermark-Based Mobile Shopping Platform (Feb. 18, 2014)
U.S. Bancorp and U.K.-based Monitise plc have partnered to launch a white-label mobile commerce platform dubbed Peri.
RBI Report Outlines Technology for Banks, Telcos to Develop Mobile Banking (Feb. 18, 2014)
The Reserve Bank of India continues to encourage development of mobile banking across its nation, where 870 million consumers have a mobile handset but fewer than half of those have bank accounts.
Etrali rolls out mobile voice recording to Japanese market
Etrali Trading Solutions has rolled out its mobile voice recording service in Japan, allowing financial institutions to meet FSA regulations in the country. Etrali’s solution is SIM-based, and is already being used in Europe and the US.
Cashing out: Ontario mobile payment infrastructure is on the money
Canadians are in a hurry to get rid of their cash – at least as a method of payment, nor are they content with the contactless tap-and-go cards currently in use; they are anxious to replace cards with contactless smartphone technology, writes Aaron Rosland, senior economic counsellor for the Government of Ontario, Canada.
Amazon Goes with ‘Flow’ to Challenge Brick-and-Mortar Retailers (Feb. 13, 2014)
Amazon this month updated its iOS shopping app with a new feature called Flow, which could add rocket fuel to the “showrooming” phenomenon already affecting brick-and-mortar retailers.
MasterPass Says ‘Hola’ to Spain (Feb. 13, 2014)
MasterCard has launched its MasterPass online shopping service in Spain, the payment card network said this week.
MCX Adds Platform Provider Paydiant and Burger Chain Wendy’s (Feb. 13, 2014)
Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the Coppell, Texas-based, retailer-led mobile payment consortium founded in 2012, is adding Paydiant’s cloud-based platform to its mobile commerce infrastructure.
Orange and Visa Europe launch Orange mobile wallet in France
Orange and Visa Europe have launched a new mobile wallet service called Orange cash in the French cities of Caen and Strasbourg, making Orange the first mobile network operator in France to offer mobile contactless payments to its customers.
Payza Looks to Grow Global Reach with New Enterprise Service (Feb. 11, 2014)
Online payment provider Payza has begun offering its platform directly to money service companies, officially launching its strategic partnership phase, first announced at the end of 2013.
Vodafone Adds MoneyGram Network for M-Pesa Remittances (Feb. 11, 2014)
Vodafone has inked a deal with MoneyGram that will enable anyone to send funds via MoneyGram’s 334,000 agents worldwide to users of Vodafone’s popular M-Pesa mobile payment service.
PayNearMe Expands Footprint with Family Dollar Deal, Raises $20 Million (Feb. 10, 2014)
Hot on the heels of a fresh infusion of capital, PayNearMe, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based cash transaction network, last week announced a deal with Family Dollar, enabling consumers to use cash for online purchases, payments toward loans and rent, among other transactions, at the discount retailer’s more than 8,000 locations.
Bangkok Bank invests in mobile banking and payments
Thailand’s Bangkok Bank has installed a new mobile banking and payments platform built by technology company Fiserv, which it says will give customers better security and the bank a stronger presence on mobile devices.
Mobile vulnerabilities require banking apps rethink
Concerns are emerging over the failure of some mobile banking providers to address security risks. According to a recent review of 40 home banking apps from the world’s top 60 banks, nine out of ten apps had serious security vulnerabilities.
