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Square sweetens the pot for Apple Pay: Square often deploys financial incentives to encourage adoption of its contactless reader, and it's upping the ante this week with an Apple Pay tie in. Square is offering merchants more than $12,000 in Apple Pay transactions for free to entice them to use contactless payment technology, and to boost sales of its own NFC/EMV reader. The three-year old Apple Pay wallet showed slow adoption for the first years, but that has picked up recently as the app saw a spike of more than 130% this past fall. Apple Pay has also demonstrated its value to marketing, as USA Technologies reported increased use of contactless payments at vending machines following an Apple Pay promotion. Many of Square's merchants are micro-merchants, or small proprietors, where adoption can lag larger merchants.
A sign for the launch of the Apple pay system, from Apple.Inc is seen displayed at the entrance to a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in London, U.K., on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. Apple Inc. is making the U.K. the first market outside the U.S. for its digital-wallet system as the company fights for a place in the electronic-payments industry. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
BNY marries blockchain to IoT: They're the "big two" of fintech innovation. Payment companies are interested in how connected devices, or the "Internet of Things," can extend transactions to everything from cars to refrigerators; while blockchain is expected to ease processing for international payments, among other transactions -- though both technology trends are early stage and experimental. Before adoption matures, Finextra reports BNY Mellon has joined an effort to build a blockchain-based Internet of Things protocol. The bank will work with technology companies such as Cisco, Bosch and Gemalto to improve the interoperability and security for IoT, including the security of the actual device that's linked to the Internet. The companies will also consider protocols for integration across chip types, communications, proprietary platforms, cloud providers and blockchain systems.
Internet groceries set for takeoff: The online grocery market is expected to expand 500% over the next eight years, reaching $100 million in the U.S. reports CNBC, citing research from the Food Marketing Institute. About a quarter of U.S. consumers buy at least some of their groceries online, and that's expected to reach 70% by 2015, CNBC reports, noting Kroger and Amazon are among the major brands that are expanding their online ordering, delivery and payment capabilities. The trend should be good news for Mastercard,which is investing in online grocery payments via internet-connected appliances, partnering with Samsung and online grocer FreshDirect.
Ingenico braces for India's digital wave: Online and other non-cash payments spiked quickly in India after the government's decision to dramatically change the country's currency, leading to the possibility of even broader long-term growth. To expand its footprint in the country, Ingenico plans to acquire TechProcess, a Mumbai-based online and mobile payments service provider. TechProcess has about 600 employees in 40 locations around India. Ingenico already has a 50% market share in India, and the company said this deal, which is expected to close in the next couple of months, should enhance that. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mobile wallet spend to increase by more than 30pc this year: report Mobile Commerce Daily • Rakin Azfar In keeping with the boom in mobile wallet adoption by both consumers and brands alike, a new report from Juniper Research claims that global spend through mobile wallets will increase to $1.35 trillion this year.
What restaurants can learn from Starbucks' mobile-ordering challenges FastCasual.com • Will Hernandez Starbucks said it faced operational challenges at some of its stores where mobile ordering is popular. How Starbucks responds to this challenge is something the industry will closely monitor as mobile ordering becomes a standard feature for many fast casual chains.
When Buying with Smartphones, US Consumers Like Apps and Mobile Web Just About Equally eMarketer Half of US consumers polled in a recent survey said they purchase online via their smartphones more often than on computers or tablets. But when asked whether they make most purchases through mobile apps or mobile websites, their preferences were almost equally.
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With EMV winding down, it's time to turn to other innovation While some smaller retailers are still fighting the uphill battle to become EMV compliant, the future of the retail and payments industry will no longer be obscured by the noise of the U.S. fraud liability shift.
How Alipay's global ambitions threaten traditional banks When Ant Financial announced a deal to acquire MoneyGram, it put the international e-commerce and payments market on notice. As large as China's retail market is, it's not enough.
Glasgow Subway plans virtual transit ticket pilot Scotland’s Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), will be the first transit operator to test Rambus Ecebs’ new virtual ticketing solution, enabling riders on the 121-year-old Glasgow Subway to download a virtual ticket and tap and pay with a smartphone.
Baton Rouge-based Business First Bancshares would pad its margin as Louisiana's largest state-chartered bank with an all-stock deal for Progressive Bancorp.
New research from the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and San Francisco says markets put the odds of zero interest rates lower today than in the recent past, but economic uncertainty raises the potential for drastic cuts in the "medium to long term."
The show business-themed restaurant, which benefited from a federal loan near the start of the pandemic, says it now owes millions thanks to the Miami-based bank's "fraud, negligence, and misrepresentations." A BankUnited spokesperson declined to comment.
