Five U.K. Banks to Offer Zapp’s Mobile Payments Service (Jan. 15, 2014)
Zapp has partnered with five banks in the U.K. that have approximately 18 million customers combined to provide the financial institutions with its mobile payments service.
Mobile
RBC, Bell Wallet Now Live in Canada (Jan. 13, 2014)
Royal Bank of Canada and telecom provider Bell Canada have gone live with a mobile payment system that enables RBC customers to make purchases online and in stores using NFC-compatible smartphones over Bell’s mobile network.
Breaking News – U.K.’s O2 Wallet Shuts Down after 18 Months (Jan. 9, 2014)
O2 Wallet, which made a splash when it launched in April 2012 as the U.K.’s first mobile wallet, is shutting down after just 18 months.
PayPal in Asia Launches ‘mo.bi.pay’ Website Checkout Feature for SMBs (Jan. 9, 2014)
PayPal is making it easier for small and midsize businesses to add mobile payment capabilities to existing Websites with mo.bi.pay, a new service announced this week.
More mobile please – but make it relevant
The likes and dislikes of mobile banking customers around the world suggest that there is an opportunity to expand mobile services globally – but providers need to be careful they are targeting the right information to the right people, according to a new survey by analytics firm FICO.
Spindle Closes Yowza!! Deal Combining M-Payments with Couponing (Jan. 6, 2014)
Mobile payments tech company Spindle Inc. today announced it’s closed a deal to buy Yowza!!, a Los Angeles-based mobile couponing platform, adding some scale to Spindle’s service.
PayPal Buys StackMob in Latest ‘Talent Buy’ (Dec. 19, 2013)
PayPal’s acquisition this week of StackMob, which provides a mobile payments development platform, is the latest in a series of deals bringing in top talent and new technology to enhance payment options PayPal offers to its diverse array of customers.
MasterCard takes controlling stake in mobile remittance service
MasterCard has teamed up with mobile payment solutions provider eServGlobal and Belgacom’s carrier services unit BICS to extend the capabilities of their international mobile remittance platform HomeSend. The three firms have set up a joint venture which uses the HomeSend platform, in which MasterCard will have a controlling share.
2014: a good year for the fraudsters
2014 looks to be a good year for fraudsters as government and law enforcement struggle to come to terms with the issues and the continuing spread of mobile continues to offer them poorly-protected targets.
Amazon Reportedly Buying Mobile Payment Startup GoPago (Dec. 17, 2013)
Amazon may have purchased San Francisco-based GoPago Inc., a mobile payment startup whose technology enables merchants to process card payments so consumers can order and pay ahead with a smartphone, skipping lines at the checkout, according reports from several media outlets.
La Caixa to Launch M-Payments Service in Spain (Dec. 17, 2013)
La Caixa, the Barcelona, Spain-based financial institution, has announced the launch of an NFC-based mobile payments service in partnership with Telefónica, Vodafone, Orange and Visa Europe.
Vodafone Begins German Rollout of Mobile Wallet (Dec. 16, 2013)
Vodafone Germany last Friday began its German launch of a mobile wallet with the integrated Vodafone SmartPass Visa payment application.
Wells Fargo Joins Isis Fold (Dec. 16, 2013)
One month after going live throughout the U.S., the Isis mobile wallet has added Wells Fargo to its roster of bank partners, enabling holders of the bank’s Visa consumer credit cards to load their cards onto the NFC-based wallet.
Cachet Financial, YellowPepper Provide RDC Service to Latin America (Dec. 12, 2013)
Cachet Financial Solutions, a Minneapolis-based provider of remote deposit capture (RDC) solutions, will be providing consumers in Latin America with RDC services for YEPEX, the mobile banking network of YellowPepper Mobile Financial Network.
PreCash’s Evolve Money Adds Card Funding Option; Gen Y Driving Mobile Bill Pay (Dec. 12, 2013)
PreCash is expanding its Evolve Money online and mobile bill pay app by enabling customers to pay bills using debit and prepaid cards, in addition to cash.
PayPal President Plans Consumer Marketing Push; Gives Nod to Bitcoin, Frowns on NFC (Dec. 10, 2013)
PayPal is bullish on Bitcoin, negative on NFC and ready to begin a major marketing push of the company’s buildup of mobile payment technology at the POS, according to David Marcus, PayPal president.
Payments Startup Clinkle Sheds Quarter of Staff (Dec. 10, 2013)
Clinkle Corp., the darling of investors and the media in recent months, appears to have hit some potholes on the road to launching a payment app that reportedly enables users to transfer funds between individuals and groups, and emphasizes social media.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
