Clinkle a Clunker? (Sept. 25, 2014)
After three years in “stealth mode”—and $30 million in venture funding—once-hot mobile payments startup Clinkle has finally launched, but with a drastically scaled back platform.
Mobile
ICICI Bank unveils Indian mobile app quartet
India’s ICICI Bank has launched four new mobile banking apps, as part of a drive to adopt digital channels and spread into India’s vast rural hinterland.
Citi Mobile Challenge Launches to Fuel Innovation (Sept. 23, 2014)
Citi this week launched Citi Mobile Challenge, a global competition to facilitate new concepts among technology developers surrounding mobile banking and payments.
E-Payments Surge in Nigeria, but Challenges Remain (Sept. 23, 2014)
Electronic payments are growing fast in Nigeria, with the total volume of e-payments reaching a new high of N10.85 trillion (US$ 62.2 billion) in 2013, according to data from the country’s central bank.
Citi seeks developers in global mobile banking challenge
Citi has launched a global mobile challenge that it says will help to inspire technology developers to reimagine mobile banking and payments. The bank plans to host a series of events in Miami, New York and Silicon Valley in November, after which finalists will get the chance to bring their product to market with help from Citi.
Citi launches Total Touch block trading app
Citi has launched an equity trading app called Total Touch, which it says will help make it easier for investors to execute block trades in the European market.
Simple Adds Touch ID, Support for Android Wear (Sept. 18, 2014)
Electronic banking provider Simple has added support for Apple’s Touch ID and Android wearable devices.
Apple Pay Coming to China (Sept. 17, 2014)
Apple and China UnionPay Co. have struck a deal to bring Apple Pay, the wallet app featured on the new NFC-enabled iPhone 6 and Apple Watch, to China.
Kalixa, Millicom Form JV to Serve Africa and Latin America (Sept. 17, 2014)
Luxembourg-based telecom Millicom and Kalixa, a London-based payments service provider and 2014 Paybefore Awards Europe winner, have created a joint venture to develop a payments service provider to operate in Africa and Latin America.
SUBWAY Deploying Softcard-Branded Payment Terminals at 26,000-Plus Stores (Sept. 16, 2014)
Starting next month, Softcard users will be able to pay for food at SUBWAY using their mobile phones, as the quick service restaurant announced today it will launch Softcard-branded NFC payment terminals at its 26,000-plus locations in the U.S.
Amazon Getting Out of P2P—at Least for Now (Sept. 16, 2014)
Amazon is shutting down its WebPay P2P money transfer service next month, the online retail giant announced this week.
The brave new world of mobile banking
The digital era is changing your bank rapidly. Is your mobile testing & assurance practice ready? P Venkatesh, director of the product division, and Srivatsan TT, vice president of the solutions group, at Maveric Systems discuss the issues
NBPCA, Gov’t, Consumer Groups Weigh In on Mobile Financial Services (Sept. 15, 2014)
Mobile financial services can play an important role among a large group of American consumers. That much the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, the FTC and consumer organizations, including U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Center for Digital Democracy, agree on.
Reports: Weve Pulls Plug on Mobile Wallet (Sept. 15, 2014)
Weve, the mobile payments joint venture from mobile operators Vodafone UK, Telefónica UK’s O2 and EE, has abandoned plans to develop its own mobile wallet product after the U.K.’s three largest mobile telecom providers failed to agree on how to run the wallet.
The mobile movement driving multi-channel banking
Despite the significant challenges faced by the UK’s banking sector over the last decade, there has been a dramatic evolution in the customer experience following the introduction of online, telephone and mobile banking. While the branch remains an important channel, especially for older customers, mobile technology is rapidly redefining how customers interact with their banks.
Apple’s arrival will change the payments landscape – eventually
Apple may have lined up the chief executives of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase to laud the launch of Apple Pay, but reaction from the wider industry was more muted – disappointed, even.
Will Apple Pay and Its Backers Ignite Mobile Wallets? (Sept. 11, 2014)
Numerous payments providers, financial institutions and merchants have thrown their support behind Apple Inc.’s new Apple Pay service—and if the tidal wave of early backing is any indication, the Apple and iPhone brands already may have overcome one of the most vexing issues hindering mobile wallet adoption—lack of widespread support by stakeholders in the value chain.
Visa Launches Token Service for Safer Online, Mobile Transactions (Sept. 11, 2014)
Visa Inc. has launched Visa Token Service to provide more security for e-commerce transactions, including online and mobile, by replacing payment account information with a digital account number, or token, which can be stored safely by online merchants or on mobile devices.
MasterCard Sets Contactless Payments Deadlines for European Merchants (Sept. 11, 2014)
MasterCard has given European merchants accepting MasterCard and Maestro a deadline of no later than 2020 to update their POS systems so consumers will be able to tap to pay with their contactless cards and NFC-enabled devices at all POS terminals throughout the continent.
Barclaycard to Fold Quick Tap, Making Room for Wearables
Quick Tap, the U.K.’s first NFC-based mobile payment app, will go down as a casualty of the speed of change in mobile payments technology when it folds next month, and it likely won’t be the last.
Millicom ramps up African mobile money rush in Tanzania
Telecoms company Millicom has stepped up its push to gain ground for its mobile money service in the Tanzania as competition heats up between operators in the region
Twitter Testing ‘Buy’ Button in Latest E-Commerce Play (Sept. 9, 2014)
Twitter is testing a “buy” button that merchants embed in their tweets.
New Skrill App Benefits Consumers, Retailers (Sept. 9, 2014)
Online payments and digital wallet provider Skrill USA Inc. has launched a mobile app enabling its U.S. customers to manage their digital wallets more conveniently and to send and receive payments, whether they are paying for goods and services or transacting on gaming sites.
All Aboard for Apple’s NFC Payments Launch (Sept. 8, 2014)
Apple’s new iPhone 6 to be announced tomorrow is almost certain to shake things up in the fledgling mobile wallets ecosystem, with an NFC-based mobile wallet that will debut with the support of major retailers, payments networks and banks.
Getting ready for mobile payments
With the penetration of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets constantly growing, attention is increasingly turning to mobile marketing, mobile commerce and mobile payments. It is still the case, however, that these trends are largely played out in specialised media, and do not influence the actual behaviour of consumers. This is especially true for mobile payments, with consumers very sceptical about this concept
Google Wallet Pact Is Blackhawk’s Latest Mobile Move (Sept. 4, 2014)
Blackhawk Network has integrated its gifting platform with Google Wallet, enabling wallet users to manage and spend gift cards on their mobile devices.
MCX Unveils Network Brand (Sept. 4, 2014)
Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the retailer-led mobile payments consortium formed in 2012, has unveiled the name of its new mobile payment network.
Isis Becomes Softcard (Sept. 3, 2014)
Isis Wallet is now Softcard. The NFC-based mobile payment initiative backed by AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile, was snakebit earlier this year when a jihadist militant group adopted the name Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and the acronym ISIS.
Innovators’ Spotlight: SimplyTapp
The startup behind three little letters that could be a very big deal in contactless payments.
iPhone 6 to Feature NFC Payments, Says Report (Sept. 2, 2014)
Apple Inc.’s next iPhone reportedly will include mobile wallet functionality—as has been rumored for some time.
Visa Adds Big Partners to Checkout Shopping Service (Sept. 2, 2014)
Visa Inc. has added top acquirers and e-commerce platform providers for its Visa Checkout service, expanding the service’s reach by nearly 4 million online merchants, according to the payments network.
Alliance Sends 20% of Monitise Workforce to IBM (Sept. 2, 2014)
U.K.-based Monitise and technology and consulting giant IBM have announced an alliance they say will improve IBM’s ability to deliver existing and future Monitise-based Mobile Money solutions to clients. The deal also will significantly increase Monitise’s ability to handle larger custom projects worldwide by combining the companies’ mobile banking, payments and e-commerce technology.
Ex-Deutsche Bank head trader launches investor app
A new app-based social network that uses gamification concepts to train traders and help them to hone their skills has been launched by a former Deutsche Bank trader.
Citi Wallet Debuts, Leverages MasterPass One-Click Checkout (Aug. 28, 2014)
Ready for the battle of the bank-branded digital wallets? New York-based Citi this week introduced Citi Wallet, to streamline online shopping for credit card customers.
Ingo Money: 85% of OK’d RDC Checks Available in Minutes (Aug. 28, 2014)
More than 85 percent of approved checks sent over the Ingo Money platform, accounting for more than 90 percent of the platform’s total check value, now are funded to customer accounts and available to spend within minutes, according to Ingo Inc., the Georgia-based electronic funding specialist that operates Ingo Money.
Western Union expands account-to-account transfer network in Europe
Western Union has expanded its account-to-account money transfer service to cover Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
PayPal, Braintree Rolling Out ‘One Touch’ Mobile Payment Service (Aug. 20, 2014)
PayPal and Braintree, which is part of PayPal’s business unit, are rolling out the One Touch mobile payment solution, which will enable consumers to make purchases on their mobile devices from PayPal merchants with one touch of the screen, rather than entering user IDs, passwords and payment card information.
Global Payout to Acquire M-Payments Provider Focused on Underserved (Aug. 19, 2014)
Global Payout Inc., an electronic payment and prepaid solutions provider, today announced plans to acquire Maxie Mobile LLC, a global mobile payments provider focused on the underserved.
SumUp Nets New Funding for mPOS Expansion (Aug. 19, 2014)
European mPOS provider SumUp has landed a new investment of more than $10 million to expand operations, including propelling adoption of its recently launched chip and PIN card reader.
QR Code Patent Latest Clue on Apple’s Mobile Wallet Plans
Details of Apple Inc.’s mobile wallet plans continue to trickle out, with the latest clue found in a patent filing that illustrates a QR code. Published late last month, the application describes a parental control system that would enable parents to control payment authorization on their children’s mobile devices.
