Mastercard expands palm checkout, 'King's cash' gets slow rollout

Mastercard's palm-based biometric checkout goes live in Uruguay

Mastercard has launched its first biometric checkout pilot enabling consumers to pay with their palm, the card network said in a press release. Shoppers at Red Expres, a supermarket chain owned by Tienda Inglesa Group, may register their payment information, credentials and biometric information at the store and pay for their goods by placing their hand over a sensor at the payment terminal. Users may link any credit, prepaid or debit card to the setup, enabling them to seamlessly pay at any terminal supporting the process without carrying a wallet or other device. The move aims to speed up checkouts and reduce queues, according to Mastercard, which says the palm-payment approach is faster than card-based methods.

"Palm [checkout] is faster than chip-and-PIN and offers several tangible benefits, including unmatched security," said Arnaud Dubreuil, director of innovation at Ingenico, which developed Mastercard's biometric checkout program in conjunction with Fulcrum Biometrics. Other pilot partners include Fujitsu Frontech and Scanntech.

Mastercard launched its biometric checkout program in Brazil in 2022, where it tested various biometric checkout approaches including facial and fingerprint recognition to unlock payment devices by smiling into a camera or waving their hand over a reader to pay. —Kate Fitzgerald

'King's cash' will be slow to appear

The British monarchy is also attempting to manage the impact of cash. The Bank of England has introduced the first bank notes with King Charles III, which will go into circulation today, but will be relatively rare at first. All four banknotes, including £5, £10, £20 and £50, will feature the King's portrait, without other changes to the existing design. Notes featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II will continue to circulate.

As older notes become worn, the central bank will assess the level of demand for cash when issuing new notes, meaning the King Charles III notes will appear gradually. The strategy is in line with a government initiative to manage the cost and environmental impact of paper money. —John Adams

BIS launches cross-border payments project

Basel, Switzerland-based Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, has unveiled Project Rialto to explore ways to improve cross-border payments using a modular foreign exchange component combined with settlement via wholesale central bank digital currencies, according to a press release. One goal is to discover a streamlined, digital approach to executing FX services, which tend to be costly, slow and complex when handled through correspondent banks, the release said. Project Rialto, named for a bridge in Venice connecting two sides of the Grand Canal, aims to bring the BIS Innovation Hub together with Singapore Centres and several central banks to find new approaches to send funds across borders. —Kate Fitzgerald

FIS integrates with Monex for wire transfers

FIS, the Jacksonville, Florida-based core banking provider, has announced plans to integrate its Payments Exchange product with Monex USA to enable streamlined wire transfers, according to a press release. The move makes it possible for banks using Payments Exchange to initiate an international wire transfer with one-step wire entry for foreign exchange, streamlining the process. Monex USA, based in Washington, D.C., has offices across the U.S. and is a subsidiary of Japan-based Monex Group, which was established in 1985. The firm offers a variety of financial services in various locations outside the U.S. including in China (excluding Hong Kong) and Australia. —Kate Fitzgerald

U.K payments platform links with Discover Global Network

DNA Payments, a U.K.-based merchant acquirer that operates a payments gateway in London and other British cities, has added support for Discover Financial Services' Discover Global Network, extending online payment options for DNA's merchants, according to a press release. The connection will enable participating merchants to accept Discover cards issued in the U.S., Diners Club International cards issued in various global locations and more than 25 other affiliated card brands from around the world. The move aims to streamline bookings and payment management for the tourist industry, including hotels and related sectors. —Kate Fitzgerald

Boku adds instant-payments support in Poland

U.K.-based Boku has teamed with BLIK, Poland's domestic instant payments system, to enable merchants connected to Boku to accept payments via the Google Play store, the firms announced in a press release. The move, targeting mobile services users, marks Boku's first account-to-account connection with Google, extending an existing partnership supporting Boku's direct carrier-billing solution. BLIK's 16.3 million users may select their local payment method. Blik, backed by the National Bank of Poland, went live in 2015 and recently has seen its user base and growth accelerate. Boku, launched in London in 2008, has offices around the world including in the U.S., India, Brazil and Singapore. —Kate Fitzgerald

U.K. tests 'single ATMs' to battle banking deserts

A U.K. nonprofit called Cash Access U.K. is testing ATMs that enable people to make deposits and withdrawals for a large group of banks. The initial banks include Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank. The ATMs, which have been introduced in a handful of communities, access the country's Link ATM network with NCR Atleos and NoteMachine providing technology support. The initiative plans to add more towns and banks in the future, and is designed to provide access to financial services in areas where a high number of bank branches have closed. Managing cash access has become a major economic and political issue in the U.K., as the use of paper notes declines and digital banking increases. This has created pressure on banks to maintain access for cash-reliant consumers, while the banks try to manage the cost of maintaining a cash network. —John Adams