Morning Brief 6.29.20: Indian regulators dispel rumors of Google Pay ban

The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:

Good to go

The National Payments Corporation of India has said Google Pay is authorized to operate in India, following news, mostly on social media, that the Indian central bank had banned Google's app.

That news followed reports of a petition filed with Indian courts that Google had violated UPI registration rules, though there's been no resolution or movement on that complaint.

The NPCI contends that it has authority to authorize participants in the United Payments Interface, the national rail that Google and other companies use to power digital payments in India. Google Pay has used UPI to add several features in India, including transportation payments, and processes most of UPI's volume.

Bloomberg News

New wardrobe

Belgian bank KBC is launching wearable payments for all clients, including rings, watches, bracelets and keyrings linked to a debit card.

The bank completed a pilot with 1,000 customers using technology from Digiseq, BancontactPayconiqCompany, Fidesmo, Thales and equensWorldline, according to Finextra.

The pilot found users embraced wearable payments but had different preferences for the type of wearable, leading the bank to expand devices. Rings were the most popular at 34% user preference, followed by 21% for smartwatches and 18% for keyrings.

Bit post

Australia Post and the Bitcoin.com.au exchange will support a billpay feature that allows consumers to buy cryptocurrency at more than 3,500 post office stores in Australia.

The stores will accept cash and card payments through the exchange, which is based in Cremorne, Victoria, reports CoinDesk.

Australia Post dates to 1809 and has operated a bill pay service for more than 20 years. As many as one million Australians own cryptocurrency, according to Australian tax records.

Hiding out

Hackers are embedding code in image files as part of a way to hide card theft in website payment portals.

The trick makes it harder to spot than skimmers on ATMs and card readers at gas stations, reports Engadget, adding it's a new use of malicious code that's placed inside web images. Engadget based its reporting on data from Malwarebytes.

The code is hidden in favicons, which are the icons that are in the corner of a browser tab. The code is loaded through the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress, which then nabs information such as credit card details.

From the Web

Casinos Consider Cashless Gambling to Fight Coronavirus
_{THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Sun June 28, 2020}
As the U.S. casino industry remains a bastion of cash in an increasingly cashless world, the coronavirus pandemic has generated concerns over bills circulating among hundreds of hands on the casino floor, and that is pushing casinos toward cashless technology after years of discussion.

Zimbabwe suspends stock exchange, mobile payments over 'economic sabotage'
_{REUTERS | Fri June 26, 2020}
The decision to suspend mobile payments will hit the economy hard as more than 80% of all transactions are conducted on phones due to a shortage of banknotes, according to central bank data.

Credit card industry reins in balance-transfer offers as banks from JPMorgan to Amex fear defaults
_{CNBC | Sat June 27, 2020}
Balance transfer offers, which typically entice borrowers to move their debt to a new lender in exchange for a temporary 0% interest rate, have been sharply reduced at banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Barclays and Capital One, according to people with knowledge of the matter at each firm.

More from PaymentsSource

How ISOs were forced to adapt during the early coronavirus pandemic
Even the independent sales organizations that heeded the warnings of colleagues and experts for the past decade about not letting advancing payments technology pass them by weren't fully prepared for what the coronavirus pandemic would throw at them.

Referendum on data privacy coming to California in November
Two years after a consumer protection law changed how banks and other companies handle customer information, a new proposal aims for more sweeping reforms.

As businesses try to recover, it's time for fintechs to get proactive
In order to keep up with the spike in demand, developing more innovative solutions for the digital payments market has moved up the list of priorities, saysConnectPay's Agne Selemonaite.

Can AI erase enough of its own bias to address racial and gender gaps?
VCs and lenders rely on business data such as transaction records to inform funding decisions for fintechs or small businesses, but bias and uneven representation in management still result in gender and racial disparity.

Global bank account fraud attempts rose beginning in mid-March
Details about the level of global fraudulent attacks on consumer bank accounts during the coronavirus pandemic are coming into focus with new data from TransUnion.

Mastercard promises to increase Black leadership by 50% by 2025
Mastercard Inc. vowed to improve the diversity of its leadership ranks, saying it plans to increase the number of Black leaders at the vice president level and above by 50% by 2025.

Visa, Mastercard weigh cutting Wirecard ties after scandal
Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are considering revoking Wirecard AG’s ability to process payments on their networks in a move that would cause further pain for the firm after it started insolvency proceedings.

Dashed hopes: Amazon's (mostly) failed plan for in-home payments
Amazon's Dash devices were an early, blunt take on the internet of things. Originally released as plastic buttons sold for $5 a pop, they allowed Amazon customers to order a predetermined product (whose brand was emblazoned on the button) without having to sit at a computer or open an app.

Bringing fans back to sports requires rethinking payment technology
COVID-19 has accelerated the move to cashless systems across the world and across industries, but it hit the events industry particularly hard.

As society changes, so does fraud
As businesses look to future proof their fraud operations, there are key steps they can take to protect themselves.