The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the Web:
Big contracts down under
The New South Wales Government has added ANZ and Citigroup to WestPac as the banks that manage its transactions.
It's one of the largest government contracts of any kind in Australia, reports Australia's
The New South Wales government makes about 13 million direct debit payments and 1 million credit card payments each year, according to the Financial Review.
License to bank
London-based digital payment company
The European Central Bank has granted a banking license to Revolut, enabling the company to offer lending, overdraft protection, accounts, which it plans to debut in the U.K., France, Germany, Poland and other markets in 2019,
Consumers will also be able to deposit salaries directly into Revolut accounts with the European Deposit Insurance Scheme covering up to about $140,000.
Watching Samsung
Samsung Pay has debuted support for smartwatches in South Africa, though there are some limitations.
Payments can be made only at NFC terminals, which leaves out Gear S3 devices, according to
Consumers will use Samsung watches by registering cards with Samsung Pay via the Galaxy Wearable app on a Samsung smartphone, then holding the watch near a NFC terminal for a second, then tapping "pay."
Early adopter
Danske bank is the first large bank in Northern Ireland to adopt open banking, placing a feature in its mobile app that supports viewing account information from another bank.
Bitcoin bomb threat
Businesses and other facilities across the U.S. were evacuated after bomb threats that demanded bitcoin as ransom.
The threats appeared to have been hoaxes, reports
The FBI was in touch with local police, according to NBC, and the New York Police Department's counter terrorism unit reported multiple bomb threats but added none were considered credible.
From the Web
Nikkei Asian Review | Thu December 13, 2018 - Alibaba Group Holding's financial unit has developed a tablet for stores that lets shoppers pay with their face instead of their phone, the Chinese company said Thursday. Consumers whose faces are registered can check out without scanning a QR code displayed on their smartphone, a popular payment method in China.
ZDNet | Fri December 14, 2018 - The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) on Friday revealed through a tweet that it is in fact possible to launch Apple Pay and it will be doing so as soon as next month, ending the boycott that officially started in mid-2016. "Apple Pay is coming for CommBank personal customers January 2019," the bank wrote.
TechCrunch | Thu December 13, 2018 - Robinhood is undercutting the big banks by forgoing brick-and-mortar branches with its new zero-fee checking and savings account features. With no overdraft or monthly fees, a juicy 3 percent interest rate and a claim of more U.S. ATMs than the five biggest banks combined, Robinhood is using the scalability of software to pass impressive perks on to customers.
More from PaymentsSource
Mobile payments technology has fallen short of expectations in major markets, particularly the U.S., where less than 10 percent of consumers routinely use devices to pay in stores — despite more than four years of aggressive development from large technology companies and banks.
Amazon and Shopify will likely improve and expand the “last mile” for e-commerce orders, putting the heat on UPS and FedEx, according to Radu Spineanu, co-founder and CEO of Two Tap.
Cloud-based point of sale company ShopKeep is in a fierce fintech battle to woo tech hungry restaurants, and has closed a $65 million round of equity and debt financing to bulk up technology and broaden its geographic footprint.
Digital funds transfer provider Ingo Money is launching a new software integration with Visa Direct to allow customers to initiate push-to-card payments.
