6.12.19 Your morning briefing

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

Coffee to 'go'
Amazon Go's new store in New York includes a self-serve Starbucks, adding a mobile-friendly quick serve brand and a customer base that has demonstrated it will adopt new transaction capabilities faster than others.

The store, located at 300 Park Ave. in midtown, is Amazon Go's second location in New York, joining an earlier outlet at Brookfield Place near the World Trade Center, reports Fox Business. Amazon and Starbucks are both Seattle companies, though the midtown location will also include New York-centric brands such as Ess-A-Bagel and Magnolia Bakery.

Amazon's initial New York location added cash as a payment option when it opened, responding to growing political pressure against cashless merchants.

David Ryder/Bloomberg

Lighter AML
Paytm is asking the Reserve Bank of India for lighter Know Your Customer rules ahead of an August 31 deadline for payment companies for greater vetting.

The extra requirements, which RBI calls "full KYC," will cost up to $4 to vet each customer, Paytm claims, according to Economic Times. Full KYC includes physical verification and cross-checks for each client. Paytm is pushing for what's referred to as minimal KYC, an existing classification which permits the use of government-issued ID for vetting for existing clients.

Paytm was involved in an earlier spat with RBI over AML protections, serving a six-month onboarding suspension after an RBI investigation.

Alipay cab
Alipay has launched a limited ride-sharing app in about three dozen cities in 10 nations, including the U.K., Australia and U.S.

The app is designed to complement its payment services for travelers from China, a major part of Alipay's business model. The program is accessible through Alipay's app and integrates with similar apps such as Grab, reports Technode.

Users will be able to use maps and text drivers in Chinese, contact local police and pay in Chinese yuan. The service will expand to more than 20 other nations and 100 cities later this year.

Voice meter
PayByPhone has made its service available through Amazon Echo Auto, allowing drivers to pay for parking.

Users link the service to Echo and say "Alexa, ask PayByPhone to start parking." This starts a session that includes the time duration and transaction. The Alexa skill can also extend time and tell drivers how much time is left in a parking session.

PayByPhone's collaborators include Apple Pay. PayByPhone is a subsidiary of Volkswagen, which has made it part of is connected car program.

From the Web

Card readers at electric vehicle charging stations will weaken security, researchers say
TechCrunch | Tue June 11, 2019 - Electric vehicle charging stations could become one of the next big targets for fraudsters — thanks to proposals in several state that researchers say would weaken their security. Arizona, California, Nevada, Vermont, and several states across New England are said to be considering installing credit card readers at publicly funded EV charging stations.

Revolut adds Apple Pay support in 16 markets
TechCrunch | Tue June 11, 2019 - Fintech startup Revolut has expanded its support for Apple Pay, confirming that from today the payment option is available for users in 16 European markets. The list of supported markets is: UK, France, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland.

World's top 10 countries in mobile payment
China Daily | Tue June 11, 2019 - More than half a billion people in China will be paying with their phones in brick-and-mortar shops, cafes and restaurants this year, according to the Statista Digital Market Outlook. That equals a penetration rate of more than 35 percent, the highest in the world. India ranked second with a penetration rate of 29.5 percent, followed by Indonesia (15.9 percent) and Israel (14.5 percent).

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