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Welcome to the PaymentsSource Morning Briefing, delivered daily. The information you need to start your day, including top headlines from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
LG's payment app takes shape: LG Electronics has entered an agreement with U.S. technology company Dynamics to power LG Pay, an app that will use Dynamics' wireless magnetic communication technology, according to local news service Yonhap. That enables consumers to pay by tapping smartphones on most points of sale, a user experience that's similar to South Korean rival Samsung Pay. Samsung Pay, which is available in a number of global markets, has a head start over LG Pay in that regard, since LG Pay will initially be available only in South Korea when it launches in June, and the company has not announced plans for other markets. The latest LG smartphone, the LG G6, has the necessary hardware to support LG Pay and the company plans software updates later this year to enable the app on other smartphone models.
New York's flood of breaches: New York state saw a record number of data breaches in 2016, with the total breaches increasing 60% and the number of personal records exposed jumping by 300%. According to the office of New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, hacking accounted for more than 40% of the total incidents, and employee negligence such as mistakes and device loss accounted for 37%. New York did suffer fewer large, or mega breaches, with only two incidents resulting in widespread exposure. One large health care breach at Newkirk Product exposed more than 760,000 records. New York is considered a key state for breach prevention, given its concentration of financial companies.
Listing unlisted numbers: In the U.K., a more embarrassing breach story is unfolding. The Guardian reports Three, a U.K. mobile phone company, suffered a breach that caused users to see personal information of other users. The information included names, addresses, phone numbers and call histories of strangers, according to the British paper. A Three spokesperson told the paper it's investigating the problem and said no financial information was exposed. Others may also look into the incident. The U.K.'s Information Commissioner's Office is also looking into the incident. A spokesperson for the regulator told the Guardian that data protection law requires organizations to secure personal information.
Not just pizza: Emerging payment technology such as chat bots and voice assistants are often invoked for pizza ordering, and Amazon's Prime Now is expanding the menu. Engadget reports a new feature allows consumers in certain areas to use Amazon's Alexa voice assistant to order a variety of food, such as chips and dip. Consumers directly say, "Alexa, order xyz" and that order generally will be delivered within two hours. There are some limitations; Prime Now doesn't operate everywhere, and the are also restrictions in alcoholic beverages. It's the latest in a long line of moves by Amazon to use its scale and technology to infiltrate more traditional retail categories such as bookstores and supermarkets.
More from PaymentsSource
RBC steps up efforts to apply futuristic tech to present-day payments
Royal Bank of Canada has long been enthusiastic about payment technology that most other banks usually see as long-term projects.
Trusted 'co-sourcing' can help issuers manage complex e-security rules
New data and web security regulations in New York may be tough for issuers to follow, but there's space in the rules to get help from outside parties.
Ingenico ePayments, Air China connect to Discover Card
Ingenico ePayments, the online and mobile commerce division of France's Ingenico, has signed an agreement with Air China to accept Discover Card payments in North America, a key market for the Beijing-based airline, with plans to expand to other regions later this year.
Shopify adds Klarna in nine international markets
Shopify is making Klarna’s instant-financing offering available to merchants using Shopify’s e-commerce platform in nine international markets.
