Morning Brief 9.10.19: Sainsbury's adds traditional checkout to its scan-and-go store

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Sainsbury's is adding more traditional payment methods to its experimental cash and card-free store in London, demonstrating the challenges that linger for checkout-free technology.

The store received negative feedback from shoppers, reports Finextra, so it added a staffed checkout lane and two self-service checkout lanes. Sainsbury's is testing a model in which consumers use a smartphone and mobile app to scan and pay for groceries as they take them off the shelves.

Amazon has also added the more traditional option of cash payments to its Amazon Go stores following general political pushback against cash-free retail.

Sainsbury's store and shoppers
Pedestrians pass a Sainsbury's store on Liverpool Road in the borough of Islington in London, U.K., Sunday, February, 26, 2005. Photographer: Adrian Brown/Bloomberg News
ADRIAN BROWN/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Blockchain air

Hong Kong-based fintech Zippie has debuted in Africa, enabling companies to load incentive marketing offers that use mobile airtime onto Zippie's blockchain wallet.

Zippie sells a white label app that allows businesses to reward users for online shopping, referrals and participating in web surveys, reports TechMoran.

The app's users send prepaid airtime rewards for the referrals, and the wallet is also used to share the rewards and other products.

Swift exec

Swift has hired David Watson to be strategic relationship director in North America, where he will push Swift's range of products and technology to institutions in the region.

Watson was previously managing director and head of cash management for the Americas for Deutsche Bank, and was also head of global digital cash products.

Watson will also be responsible for strengthening Swift's global payments innovation service, which is designed to support faster, more transparent transactions.

ID control

Catalonia will build a decentralized ID system that's designed to provide more control for citizens over how their data is used online.

Called IdentiCAT, it will use distributed ledger technology, and while the Catalan government will validate the network, it will not collect data, reports Coindesk.

Distributed ledgers such as blockchains are considered an option to support new forms of digital authentication that are more interoperable and user-driven than static forms such as passwords.

From the Web

Stripe expands into eight new European markets
THE IRISH TIMES | Tue September 10, 2019
Payments technology company Stripe is set to expand its services into eight new countries, with the growth driven from its Dublin office. The company, which was founded by Limerick brothers Patrick and John Collison, is expanding into Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece and Portugal.
UK's Sage Group considers sale of its payment processing unit

UK's Sage Group considers sale of its payment processing unit
REUTERS | Tue September 10, 2019
British software company Sage Group Plc said it is evaluating a possible sale of Sage Pay, the company’s payment processing unit. The company said it is looking into potential options for its payments arm, adding there was no certainty that a deal would be reached.

Paytm’s annual loss doubles to $549M
TECHCRUNCH | Mon September 9, 2019
Paytm, One of India’s largest payment companies reported a net loss of Rs 3959 crore ($549 million) for the financial year that ended in March, up 165% over Rs 1490 crore ($206 million) in the same period last year. Undeterred from losses, Paytm said it would invest $3 billion in its business in next two years.

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