Payments Spectrum

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January 21, 2018

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Payments Spectrum™
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NEWS FROM THE WEB

Amazon Go cashierless convenience store opens to the public in Seattle.
Amazon Go is a go for the masses.The retailer’s cashierless convenience store will open its doors to the public Monday, a debut that follows a nearly 14-month trial run open only to the Seattle company’s employees.The store requires customers to scan their smartphone on the way in, tracks them with cameras and other sensors as they browse, and, when they take an item off the shelf, adds it to a virtual cart. Groceries are charged to the customer’s Amazon account when they leave with their goods. Amazon Go is among the boldest efforts by the online retailer to reshape brick-and-mortar shopping. For a pocket-size, 1,800-square-foot convenience store that hasn’t technically opened to the public, the concept has had an outsized influence on the retail industry since its surprise unveiling in December 2016.

Matt Day
The Seattle Times
January 21, 2018

Why India’s Big Fix Is a Big Flub.
NEW DELHI — Aadhaar, India’s grand program to provide a unique 12-digit identification number to each of its 1.3 billion residents, appears to be collapsing under its own ambitions. When it was set up by the Congress Party-led government in 2009, it was touted as a voluntary biometric ID system that would ensure the smooth delivery of public services — notably welfare benefits and subsidized food for the poor — while limiting the risk of fraud. The Bharatiya Janata Party, then the main opposition party, was among the project’s fiercest critics at first, calling it too costly and a “political gimmick.” But after it came to power, in May 2014, the B.J.P. went further than Congress had ever dreamed of: Since then, it has made Aadhaar mandatory for accessing numerous public services, as well as for some private transactions.

By REETIKA KHERA
The New York Times
JAN. 21, 2018

Visa CEO Al Kelly is planning for the day washing machines can make purchases.
Kelly said the company is thinking ahead to an eventual move beyond physical payment methods and traditional points of sale.
The payments processor has traditionally dealt in credit and debit cards but has moved into mobile payments. Kelly does draw a line for new-age payment methods, though.
Visa CEO Al Kelly is planning for the so-called internet of things and the day when, he says, washing machines will make purchases.
“As the internet of things emerges and we see many more connected homes, connected cars and connected offices, you may end up with four, five, six, eight places in your home where you could actually buy from,” Kelly told CNBC for Fortt Knox.

Sara Salinas | Jon Fortt
CNBC
Published 1:00 PM ET Sat, 20 Jan 2018

Biggest boost for digital payments: Soon, you can make payments using WhatsApp.
BENGALURU: WhatsApp could go live with its much-awaited payments feature as early as next month, according to people aware of the developments, providing the biggest boost yet for digital payments in the country. The most widely used messaging app in India is at various stages of integrating its Unified Payments Interface (UPI)- based payments platform with State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank, these people said. “The platform is already in beta stage (testing) with one of its partner banks. We expect the product to go live for consumers by the end of February, depending on how the trials work out,” one of them said.

Pratik Bhakta
The Economic Times
Jan 18, 2018, 07.59 AM IST

Goldman predicts rise in payments M&A in 2018.
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs (GS.N) expects more M&A deals in digital payments this year and on Thursday identified Wirecard (WDIG.DE) and Ingenico (INGC.PA) as potential targets.“We expect the payments industry to continue to benefit from a number of secular technology drivers: the shift to electronic payments from cash and an even faster shift to online payments,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note.Recent deals have included Vantiv’s VNTV.N takeover of Worldpay WPG.L and Hellman & Friedman’s Nets (NETS.CO) bid.
Last month, Morgan Stanley analysts said the tax reform in the U.S. could make more funds available for payments companies such as Paypal Holdings (PYPL.O). Morgan Stanley said new European rules on online payments, the Payments Services Directive 2 (PSD2), could also be another catalyst that triggers mergers and acquisitions in the sector.

Reuters Staff
Reuters
JANUARY 18, 2018 / 3:37 PM

Visa partners with DragonPass to bring enhanced and exclusive airport experiences for cardholders.
London, UK – 18 January 2018 – Visa (NYSE:V) in partnership with DragonPass today launched a new programme for its European clients. The new ‘Airport Companion Programme’ is now available to financial institutions throughout Europe, enabling them to provide their customers with an array of exclusive services to enhance the airport travel experience for their Visa cardholders. When financial institutions sign up to Airport Companion, their cardholders will have access to more than 1,000 airport lounges worldwide as well as exclusive airport restaurant discounts. Financial institutions also have the option to add other premium features such as transportation, spa, fast track and digital coupons for free meals or beverages. The Programme enables cardholders to manage their membership through their banking app allowing them to make payments, receive smart recommendations and more. “We are constantly looking for new ways to add value for Visa cardholders, whilst simultaneously supporting the commercial interests of our clients,” said Mike Lemberger, senior vice president, products and solutions, Visa in Europe. “Our new partnership with DragonPass is an excellent example of delivering a valued service globally to differentiate our offering and utilizing mutual assets in doing so. We know Visa cardholders regularly travel through airports and this new partnership will provide consumers in Europe with a one-stop shop of exclusive benefits to enhance their travel experience worldwide”.

Emma Vince
Visa Press Office, London
18 January 2018

Looking Ahead To The Year In Tech: Payments, Cars, And Live Sports.
FinTech in Focus: The monopoly enjoyed by the major credit card companies will begin to erode. Visa, MasterCard and American Express make goods and services more expensive, thanks to their monopoly over the country’s payment systems, which results in businesses having to pay a 3% fee for every credit or debit card transaction. To cope, retailers build this cost into their pricing models, meaning consumers bear the burden. With virtual currencies having a market cap of $750 billion, we could be at a tipping point that finally upends this absurd arrangement. Indeed, an ever-growing list of companies will be incentivized to take cryptos as payment. Admittedly, prices will have to stabilize. Once that occurs, though, it’s easy to imagine retailers like Amazon or payment companies such as PayPal and Venmo building a virtual currency payment option into their platforms and charging a 1% conversion fee, leaving the credit companies out of the mix.

Ross Gerber
Forbes
JAN 17, 2018 @ 11:25 AM

The Mobile Payments Race: Why China Is Leading the Pack — for Now.
The legions of Chinese travelers visiting Tokyo’s famed Ginza shopping district on any given day are just as likely to whip out their mobile phones when it comes time to pay for their fancy cosmetics and brand-name fashions as they are to dig into their wallets for Japanese yen or their UnionPay cards. Use of mobile phone payment systems like Alipay and WeChat Pay is expanding, even in the cash-dominated Japanese retail world. Cashless settlements already are the norm for many Chinese. Now, Ant Financial Services Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay are looking to expand to overseas markets, initially by offering such options to Chinese overseas residents and tourists. The two Chinese fintech giants may make significant inroads in developing countries in Asia and elsewhere where consumers have relatively less access to traditional credit cards and other banking services, but experts say the going likely will be harder in more affluent markets like Japan and the U.S.

INNOVATION
KnowledgeAtWharton
Jan 17, 2018

Starbucks tests no-cash policy at downtown Seattle store.
Starbucks is experimenting with refusing cash at a posh location in downtown Seattle. Since Tuesday, your money is no good at the cafe inside the Russell Investments Center unless it’s in the form of plastic. There is no sign announcing the policy, but a barista on Wednesday declined to take a $20 bill in payment for a short latte and a piece of lemon cake, explaining that the store is not accepting cash. A Starbucks spokeswoman said the store at Second Avenue and University is the only one to test accepting “only cashless forms of payment.” The company isn’t saying how long the experiment will last or whether it will be expanded to other locations.

Rami Grunbaum
The Seattle Times
January 17, 2018

Shanghai Metro to Accept Mobile-App Payments.
Beginning Saturday, Shanghai’s subway passengers will be able to use a mobile app to pay their fares. QR code-readers are being installed in all 389 metro stations in the city, which will allow passengers to use an app developed by metro operator Shanghai Shentong Metro Group. The app – dubbed “Metro daduhui” – will connect to the payments systems of Alipay and China UnionPay, the operator said in a statement (link in Chinese). Each station will have at least four turnstiles — two entering and two exiting — that support the new payment methods. All turnstiles on the city’s Line 17 and the east extension of Line 9 will support QR-code payments, according to the operator. The Shanghai Metro will offer discounts to riders from Saturday through February to encourage passengers to try the new payment method. The system will also support offline payments, allowing passengers without an internet connection to travel first and pay later, said Jin Tao, general manager of the operator’s information management center.

By Mo Yelin
Caixin Global
Jan 17, 2018 03:45 PM

Vantiv and Worldpay Complete Combination to Form Worldpay, Inc.
CINCINNATI and LONDON, Jan. 16, 2018 – Vantiv, Inc., a leading provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions for merchants and financial institutions in the U.S., announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Worldpay Group plc, a leader in technology-led payment solutions. The combined company, named Worldpay, Inc. (NYSE: WP; LSE: WPY), creates a leading payments provider uniquely equipped to power global integrated omni-commerce, processing more than 40 billion transactions annually through more than 300 payment types across 146 countries and 126 currencies. The proposed combination of the two companies was announced on August 9, 2017. Worldpay, Inc.’s class A common stock will begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WP” and on the London Stock Exchange via a secondary standard listing under the symbol “WPY.”
Executives of the new Worldpay – which today becomes the #1 Global Merchant Acquirer1 able to accept payments from geographies covering 99 percent of global GDP – will ring the Closing Bell of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the first day of trading as the newly combined company.

Worldpay, Inc.
January 16, 2018

Finance Minister signs EU regulations designed to protect consumer payments.
The Minister for Finance has today signed EU regulations designed to further protect consumer payments. Minister Paschal Donohoe said the vast majority of the provisions of the revised Payment Services Directive or “PSD2” will come into place tomorrow. It will allow third-party payment providers access to bank account details with a customers permission.The introduction of open banking is designed to break the monopoly banks have on personal account data.
“PSD2 will ensure that consumers have stronger rights and greater choice when using payment services,” said Minister Donohoe.
“The main changes introduced by PSD2 are the addition of two new categories of payment services providers to be regulated, greater protection for consumers, and the introduction of new rules on strong customer authentication and secure communication which are intended to make payments safer,” he added.

breakingnews.ie
12/01/2018 – 12:04:27

Just how will PSD2 unleash an open banking revolution in Europe?
Banks’ monopoly over customer account information is about to cease – and it could be great news for consumers and entrepreneurs. Tomorrow (13 January), the second Payment Services Directive (PSD2) becomes law across Europe, unleashing a new world of open banking.This will completely overhaul banking as we know it. According to research from PwC, nine out of 10 European banks intend to use PSD2 to change their strategy, and the majority of European banking executives say PSD2 will impact all of their core banking operations. Under PSD2, banks need not only offer services to be consumed by third parties, but will also need to think about how to use third-party services for their own offerings. As part of recent PwC research – Waiting until the Eleventh Hour – to assess PSD2 readiness, PwC interviewed 39 senior bank executives in 18 European countries including Ireland, covering most of the world’s leading banks.

John Kennedy
siliconrepublic
12 JAN 2018

Why We’re Helping More Customers Scan and Go.
Our customers have made it clear: They want more ways to save time and money.For many, Scan & Go is doing just that, and now we’re helping even more customers across the country save time with this fast, simple and easy way to check out. That’s right. We’re expanding a test of our popular Mobile Express Scan & Go app to an additional 100 Walmart stores across the U.S. The app allows customers to scan and bag items, including produce, while they shop and pay directly with their phones. There’s no waiting in line at the register.

Justin Rushing
Walmart Communications
January 09, 2018

Mastercard and HERE Power Ride Towards a More Connected World.
Combining payments and mapping technologies to benefit enterprises, cities and people on the move.
LAS VEGAS – January 9, 2018 – Mastercard and HERE Technologies today announced an agreement to jointly create more connected experiences for people on the move. This partnership comes as people look to take advantage of new technologies to make purchases from the convenience of their car’s dashboard and interact with destinations in real-time. HERE under the agreement, the two companies will build on their respective digital payment and mapping technologies to take friction out of an increasingly mobile world and shape the next generation of connected vehicle services. The programs and ideas will build on global standards and open APIs to enable a superior user journey at scale – from personalized discovery and choice through to secure check-out, and relevant loyalty rewards.

mastercard
January 9, 2018

Visa and Dynamics Unveil the World’s First Wallet Card.
Internet of Things (IoT) device holds multiple payment cards and includes a digital display allowing for greater security, instant issuance and on-card alerts or coupons.
LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Visa and Dynamics today unveiled the Dynamics Wallet Card™, a connected payment card, at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The Visa-branded version of the Wallet Card is the same size and shape as a normal Visa credit or debit card, yet it incorporates multiple features and technologies not previously found in a single payment card. Features of the Wallet Card range from the capacity to access multiple cards – whether EMV-, contactless- or magnetic stripe-based – to a programmable on-card display that enables account information, such as alerts or coupons, to be sent to the cardholder via an embedded antenna. “Innovation in the payments category is not limited to wearables, cars, security or mobile technology – there is still much that can be done to update the card-based experience, which continues to be the primary form factor used globally to complete digital payments transactions,” said Mark Nelsen, senior vice president of risk and authentication products, Visa. “Having collaborated with Dynamics since they launched their first product several years ago, we’re excited about the many unique benefits that the Visa Wallet Card can offer to both financial institutions and cardholders, alike.”