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Uber does debit: Uber's had a distinct impact on the payments industry, which sees the ride sharing app's smooth automatic fare collection as a corporate purse-loosening wakeup call, a misunderstood business influence, a payroll disruptor, and ultimately a marketing and branding partner. In Mexico, it's about to become a debit card as part of a deal with Mastercard and the Mexican online bank Bankaool. The target market is Latin American consumers who do not have a credit card, or have a debit card that doesn't support e-commerce. The companies are also touting a lifestyle use case as the Uber brand tries to embed itself in not only the journey, but the destination in the minds of its users. Using the debit card, consumers can order and book a car, pay for movie tickets, stores and restaurants, and also make ATM withdrawals, according to the partners.
A man holds a smartphone displaying Uber Technologies Inc.'s car-booking phone application in this arranged photo taken in Mexico City, Mexico, on Wednesday, May 20, 2015. Established taxi groups in several cities including London, Berlin and Mexico City have clashed with Uber and other ride-sharing services that they say bypass cities' safety, registration and tax laws. Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
France's mobile wallets make peace: Slowly but surely, payment companies are putting aside turf battles to make digital payments easier. More U.S. banks are collaborating on account-to-account transfers while the card networks and PayPal cooperate on data sharing. And on Thursday of this week, BNP Paribas and Credit Mutuel, two of France's largest banks, announced they will merge their mobile payment services. Starting early next year, Wa!, a mobile payment system powered by BNP and retail chain Carrefour, will work together with Fivory, a rival mobile pay system from Credit Mutuel, Mastercard and Auchan Retail. Their new app, which doesn't have a name yet, will power in-store and online payments with a single touch, execute P-to-P transfers, settle invoices and use loyalty points and coupons. The parties say they are working together to address consumer demands that mobile commerce systems be complimentary.
Mitsubishi's virtual currency: At Mitsubishi, digital currency is being used to motivate wellness. The Japanese company and financial services firm is testing virtual currency rewards for employees who reduce overtime work and practice a "healthy lifestyle." Kabu.com, a Mitsubishi subsidiary, is operating the trial, which uses mobile geolocation to monitor staff as they check in and out of work, and on their commutes. Zerobillbank, an Israeli technology company, will distribute "Ooiri," or virtual currency based on positive behaviors. The currency is pegged to the Yen and can be converted at stores that support Zerobillbank's Z-Wallet. The program also supports P-to-P transfers among employees. The Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ is also working on its own digital currency, which can be used for online shopping and P-to-P payments.
London transit payments' next destination: The U.K. has proven to be a hotbed for transportation innovation. London's subways and buses both have open loop mobile ticketing tied to the system's Oyster cards and open loop debit and credit cards. And now the technology is spreading outside of the city. Stagecoach will bring tap-and-go payments to all regional transport services in the country by the end of 2018. The initiative will allow payments via contactless credit or debit card, Apple Pay and Android Pay. The technology is already available on buses in Oxfordshire and the Oxford express services which run to and from London, with added deployments expected over the next two years. Stagecoach has also launched a smartphone app that enables journey planning, stop information and live bus tracking. The company is also working with other national bus carriers on a collaborative payment system.
Verifone has launched a mobile loyalty offering (PAY) Business Insider • B.I. Intelligence This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Payments Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. Verifone partnered with software firm Excentus to launch a mobile loyalty and rewards offering for merchant clients using the Verifone Commander Site Controller, one.
More from PaymentsSource Bluetooth beacons finally show their true potential for payments Bluetooth beacons — small transmitters that retailers can use to broadcast offers to shoppers' mobile phones — have always lived at the periphery of the payments world. But that may be changing very soon.
6 challenges for Visa's new CEO Alfred F. Kelly Jr. may be planning to run Visa his own way, but he will still face the same challenges his predecessor did.
Too many missteps undermine the EMV migration While banks and credit card companies took a step in the right direction by replacing the fraud-prone magnetic stripe cards of the past with chip-equipped cards, they made many missteps that complicated and weakened the EMV transition.
Carvana and Plaid, with the help of Cross River Bank, have launched Request for Payment, which combines billing with The Clearing House's RTP Network. The option has been slow to gain traction, but the companies are betting large-ticket purchases, such as for an automobile, will be popular.
Lenders have been working to shrink their rent-regulated real estate loan portfolios since a watershed state law passed in 2019, but those plans may be accelerated.
Consumer spending and exports fell slightly in the latest estimate, leading to a downward revision. Imports, which dragged down overall output during the first three months of the year, also came in smaller.
Banking has long been overseen by independent agencies, though that independence has been waning for years. With the Supreme Court poised to weigh in, experts are questioning where — and whether — to redraw the line between politics and policy.
The regulator and conservator of two influential loan buyers with government ties has directed them to look at digital currency's use in qualifying borrowers.
