“The company told sellers on Thursday that it will no longer operate its third-party online marketplace or provide seller services on its Chinese website, Amazon.cn, beginning July 18. As a result, domestic companies will no longer be able to sell products to Chinese consumers on its e-commerce platform.”

“Higher card-member spending and borrowing helped boost revenue at American Express, despite higher expenses from its rewards program and loans. Higher operating expenses helped drive profit lower in the first quarter.”

“French startup Bankin’ is raising a new $22.6 million funding round (€20 million). The company has managed to attract 2.9 million users in France and wants to become the only app you need to manage your money. Overall, Bankin’ has raised over $32 million (€28.4 million). Investors include Omnes Capital, Commerz Ventures, Génération New Tech, Didier Kuhn, Simon Dawlat and Franck Lheurre.”

“As banks, merchants, and even tech companies offer consumers new and different ways to pay for stuff, credit card companies are trying to protect their role as the pre-eminent platform for everyday purchases by offering more buy-now-pay-later options. That’s why MasterCard paid an undisclosed amount this week for the point-of-sale loan platform Vyze, which lets consumers take small, short-term loans for everyday purchases without racking up credit card debt.”

“US financial services group First Data has joined forces with AIB in its bid for Dublin-based payments company Payzone , which is worth more than €100 million, according to sources. It is understood that the talks, which have been ongoing for months, may come to a conclusion in the coming weeks. AIB is scheduled to unveil full-year results to the market on March.”

“French startup Bankin’ is raising a new $22.6 million funding round (€20 million). The company has managed to attract 2.9 million users in France and wants to become the only app you need to manage your money. Overall, Bankin’ has raised over $32 million (€28.4 million). Investors include Omnes Cap…”

“Contactless card transactions in the UK were nearly a third of all volume in January 2019 according to new data from UK Finance. Over the month, there were 642 million contactless card transactions in the UK. This is a 19.5% increase from the same time in 2018, a total of 537 million. Furthermore, the value of these contactless transactions totalled £5.9bn ($7.7bn), an increase of 18.1% from January 2018. UK Finance also stated that there are 99 million debit cards in the UK currently, 83 million of which are contactless. Credit cards issued totalled 60 million and 41 million of them are contactless.”

“In an announcement Tuesday, the bank said the system enabled its customers to make payments, via an app, using Apple’s Face ID or Touch ID. Once a customer registers a device, they set up and give approval for a payment using biometric authentication. They then enter a six-digit code to complete the transaction.”

“Governments across Southeast Asia are pushing ahead with efforts to create cashless economies, with less developed countries such as Vietnam and Thailand leapfrogging richer ones like Singapore and Malaysia in electronic payments. Vietnam and Thailand are experiencing a boom in mobile payments as more people use e-wallets to pay for goods and services without going through an intermediary like a bank.”

“Coffee, doughnut, and breakfast sandwich aficionados can now pay with credit and debit cards and even cash and still earn points in Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc.’s DD Perks loyalty program at more than 1,000 test stores, Dunkin’ announced this week. DD Perks is one of the nation’s largest rewards programs, with more than 10 million members. Previously, customers could earn DD Perks points only if they paid with an enrolled Dunkin’ gift card or Dunkin’s mobile app, which uses QR codes for payments, linked to an enrolled gift card. Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’, which recently dropped “Donuts” from its corporate name, said Tuesday that it tested multi-tender loyalty purchases at some stores in California and Pennsylvania earlier this year. Now it’s adding another 1,000.”

“It’s a no-fee, interest-earning, mobile-first checking account that anyone can open and manage right from their smartphone. With T-Mobile MONEY, eligible Un-carrier customers can earn an industry-leading 4.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY)* on balances up to $3,000 – 50 times higher than the average U.S. checking account1 – and 1.00 APY% on every dollar over that! Plus avoid all those big bank fees and overdrafts.”

“The eighth annual survey of approximately 1,200 Americans with a credit and debit card found the portion of respondents using a P2P payment service popped from 29% to 44% over the last year. Additionally, for day-to-day management of accounts, consumers are more comfortable transacting business digitally. Text messages as a preferred method for receiving alerts about potential unauthorized use doubled from 20% to 40% between 2015 and 2018. Even more people — 61% — have an interest in receiving alerts on their mobile phone each time a purchase is made with their card.”

“Visa (NYSE:V), and Wave , the financial platform for millions of small business owners, today announced a new, limited release payments solution that aims to transform the way small businesses manage their cash flow and provide merchants quicker access to funds. Utilizing Worldpay’s acquiring platform, Wave’s new Instant Payouts feature integrates Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time1 push payments solution, into Wave’s comprehensive small business financial platform, enabling faster access to money earned.”

“In what appears to be a server-side update, Google is rolling out a new setting for Pay users. In Google Pay for Android, this setting enables users to have relevant data from Gmail automatically show up in the Google Pay app such as loyalty cards, movie tickets, airline boarding passes, and more.”

“Vietnam has recorded the highest growth in mobile payments in the past year, according to research by PwC. Singapore also saw strong growth, climbing 12 percentage points from 34% in 2018 to 46% in 2019. PwC says this highlights how efforts by mobile payments companies and its government – which began paving the way for digital payments in late 2017 – are paying off. PwC’s Global Consumer Insights Survey 2019 found that the percentage of consumers paying by mobile in Vietnam has increased to 61%, up from 37% in 2018. The 24 percentage point increase was also the largest of the six South East Asian countries that took part in the global survey.”

“Apple Pay has been a payment option in Uber’s app since fall 2014 , but the payment option hadn’t made its way over to Uber’s food delivery app, Uber Eats. Now, that’s changing. Uber today announced that users who want to use Apple Pay can finally do so using FaceID or TouchID in the Uber Eats app, instead of filling out their billing information.”

“ndian information technology (IT) outsourcing and consulting giant Wipro Ltd. [ NYSE:WIT ] is investigating reports that its own IT systems have been hacked and are being used to launch attacks against some of the company’s customers, multiple sources tell KrebsOnSecurity. Wipro has refused to respond to questions about the alleged incident. Earlier this month, KrebsOnSecurity heard independently from two trusted sources that Wipro — India’s third-largest IT outsourcing company — was dealing with a multi-month intrusion from an assumed state-sponsored attacker.”

“Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Nordstrom Inc. will let online shoppers at other brands and retailers pick up or return orders at some stores, a sign of how retailers are partnering in new ways to draw customers as more shopping shifts online.”

“Returnly , the post-purchase payments company that gives brands and retailers a competitive advantage, today announced that it raised a $19 million Series B investment. The round was led by Craft Ventures , the venture capital fund co-founded by serial entrepreneur David Sacks, with participation from Max Levchin’s Affirm, and existing investors. The company will use this new financing to give thousands of retailers a leg up against Amazon.”

“The Web Payment Security Interest Group charter defines a scope of activities that includes formulation of a vision for web payment security, development of use cases, gap analysis, liaisons with other organizations, and identification of standardization opportunities for each organization. The Interest Group does not publish specifications. Technical work is carried out in other groups within each organization, such as the FIDO2 Technology Working Group, the W3C Web Payments Working Group, or one of EMVCo’s working groups.”

“The Center for Payments™ was formed with the common belief that dynamic changes in the payments industry requires improved insights to aid payment systems participants and help inform decisions to evolve and grow payments capabilities. By developing and gathering market intelligence, the Center for Payments will generate actionable data for decision-making that can be used by all members of the participating associations, especially small and mid-sized financial institutions that may not have access to this type of market intelligence.”

“Great digital customer journeys start early, even before individuals sign up as clients. US banks and credit unions are giving attention to remote account opening, and Entersekt found it could be an early deal breaker. Over three in four regular banking app users (77%) say they would be more likely to choose a bank offering mobile account opening than one that does not. Interestingly, those on the cusp of Generations X and Y (those aged 35–44) value remote enrollment more so than their younger and older counterparts do (86% against 78% aged 18–34 and 73% aged 45+).”

“Contact chip payments are now firmly ingrained in the U.S. market, with payments volume coming from chip-enabled merchants approaching 70% [i] . To improve customer experience and provide more payment choice in-stores, the payments industry is now turning its attention to contactless chip technology for fast and secure payments with a tap of a card or mobile device. Momentum is growing: tens of millions of contactless cards are expected to be issued this year and 78 of the top 100 merchants accept contactless payments today.”

“Just Eat — the marketplace for online food delivery which IPO’d but which is now under increasing pressure from several avenues, not least Uber and Deliveroo — has decided to add to its ‘quiver of arrows’ by acquiring Practi , a software service that provides independent restaurants and small chains with tablet-based Point of Sale (PoS) and restaurant management systems.”

“The company, which provides a corporate credit card designed specifically for startups, has previously raised $215 million in equity funding at a $1.1 billion valuation in the less than two years since it graduated from the Y Combinator startup accelerator. Debt, Brex chief executive officer Henrique Dubugras tells TechCrunch, will power the company’s next phase of growth, which includes the launch of a credit card for large enterprises.”

“Facebook is pulling away from its ambitions to provide peer-to-peer money transfers via Messenger in Europe. Today, the company announced that it would be discontinuing the service — which let individuals send money to each other — in the two countries in the region where it had rolled it out, the UK and France on June 15 of this year. It appears that for now, the service will remain active in the US, where Facebook holds a number of money transmitter licenses .”

“We consider security keys based on FIDO standards, like our Titan Security Key , to be the strongest, most phishing-resistant method of 2SV on the market today. These physical security keys protect your account from phishers by requiring you to tap your key during suspicious or unrecognized sign-in attempts. Now, you have one more option—and it’s already in your pocket. Starting today in beta, your phone can be your security key—it’s built into devices running Android 7.0+. This makes it easier and more convenient for you to unlock this powerful protection, without having to carry around additional security keys.”

“Coinbase Card is currently only available in the UK, but we plan to support other European countries in the coming months. To find out more about the Coinbase Card, there’s more information on the website . This card is issued by Paysafe Financial Services Limited. Paysafe Financial Services Limited is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011(FRN: 900015) for the issuing of electronic money and payment instruments.”

“Customers in most Finnish banks can now use their bank cards to make contactless payments up to €50. The previous limit was €25. Banks that are introducing the new upper payment limit include OP, Nordea, Danske, S-Bank, Oma Säästöpankki, POP Bank, Handelsbanken and Savings Banks. Aktia and the Bank of Åland will introduce the new €50 limit later in the spring.”

“On Tuesday, Alibaba announced at the annual Shanghai Auto Show that it’s developing apps for connected cars that will let drivers find restaurants, queue up and make reservations at restaurants, order food and eventually complete a plethora of other tasks using voice, motion or touch control. Third-party developers are invited to make their in-car apps, which will run on Alibaba’s operating system AliOS.”

“Almost every adult in the UK could receive a payout of up to £300 from Mastercard after a court ruling paved the way for a £14bn class action lawsuit. The legal action taken by former financial ombudsman Walter Merricks claims that 46 million UK consumers paid higher prices in shops over a 16-year period because of allegedly excessive transaction fees charged by Mastercard…”

“Metro Line 1 in Jinan City, Shandong Province has become the first in China to adopt 3D facial recognition technology. After uploading their facial information via an app for the metro line, passengers can simply face a device at the entrance and pass the turnstile within two seconds.  The error rate is said to be only one in 1 million, while the technology can also detect fraudulent use of photos, videos or masks.  The 3D facial recognition technology-empowered gate can allow entry of 30 to 40 passengers per minute, a great boost to efficiency, said a staff member.”

“Strong retail numbers last year from department stores Macy’s Inc. and Nordstrom Inc.raised hopes that the beleaguered mall industry would finally rebound. But recent developments this year are pointing to more trouble ahead. A number of struggling retailers are closing stores and being more selective about where to open ones, dimming prospects for many mall owners and investors.”

“Barclays US Consumer Bank, one of the nation’s fastest-growing credit card issuers and online banks, today announced new digital features that will let cardmembers actively manage a variety of card-related activities within the Barclays mobile app. These new features give cardmembers an enhanced level of control over how, when and where their Barclays-issued credit cards are used. With just a few clicks on a mobile device, the new level of control goes beyond the basic on/off fraud prevention capabilities that exist in the marketplace today.”

“Publicis Groupe SA made its boldest move yet into digital marketing with the French advertising group’s $4.4 billion purchase of Alliance Data Systems Corp. ’s Epsilon unit. The shares rose the most intraday in six months.    The owner of agencies Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett Worldwide is betting Epsilon’s trove of consumer data from loyalty programs and email campaigns will help it shift away from traditional TV commercials and billboards, where sales are falling as consumer giants spend more online.”

“The initial public offering of payment-service company Nexi SpA raised 2.01 billion euros ($2.3 billion), making it the biggest listing in Europe so far this year and the third major IPO of a payment-processing institution in the region in less than a year.”

“To use DBS MAX, customers scan the merchant’s FPS QR code and pay in real-time via their own mobile banking apps.DBS says the system not only makes payment reconciliation easier, it also eliminates the need for physical payment terminals an reduces the costs and risks associated with handling cash.The app has been trailed at 10 firms, across a range of sectors, including retail and food and beverage.”

“Features include the ability to add a short message, track which cards were sent and for how much, and schedule special events, such as a recipient’s birthday. Values allowed range from $5 to $100, and the recipient can spend the cash immediately upon receipt. The bank is not charging a fee for the service, but the sender must use the recipient’s email address. “No other bank has something quite like this.” says a Chase spokesperson by email.”

“Financial technologies such as digital currencies are “shaking” the banking system and must be monitored to maintain stability, according to the head of the International Monetary Fund. Speaking to CNBC on Wednesday, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde pointed to the changing business models of commercial banks as evidence that innovations like cryptocurrencies are having a clear impact on financial sector incumbents.”

“The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) – a bank consortium-owned umbrella organization for retail payments and settlements – is planning to use blockchain technology to boost digital transactions. According to a report in Business Today on Sunday, the NPCI has said it plans to develop a “resilient, real time and highly scalable” blockchain solution using open-source technology. The organization has already issued an Expression of Interest (EoI), calling for entities to bid to develop a blockchain solution for the payments space.”

“U.S. online lenders such as LendingClub Corp, Kabbage Inc and Avant LLC are scrutinizing loan quality, securing long-term financing and cutting costs, as executives prepare for what they fear could be the sector’s first economic downturn.”

“azon Business purchases, helps businesses better track expenses, expedite financial reconciliation and streamline the filing and auditing of expense reports. This product is currently available in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States for Mastercard commercial cards issued by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Bank PLC, Citi, J.P. Morgan, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and The Royal Bank of Scotland.”

“The statement says 87% of Uber’s $49.8 billion in gross bookings last year were on credit or debit cards. That translates into $43.5 billion in card volume. Uber defines gross bookings as the total dollar value, including taxes, tolls and fees, of its ride-sharing, dockless bike and scooter rentals, Uber Eats restaurant deliveries, and freight services. Gross bookings rose 45% last year from 2017’s $34.4 billion, which in turn were 79% higher than 2016’s $19.2 billion. Uber customers usually book their services through Uber’s mobile app. San Francisco-based Uber says it paid $749 million in credit card processing fees in 2017, up 62% from $461 million in 2016.”

“t’s not often you see a CEO so sanguine about an ass whooping. “Something strange and remarkable has happened over the last 20 years,” Amazon’s Jeff Bezos said in his annual letter to shareholders . “Third-party sales have grown from 3% of the total to 58%. To put it bluntly: Third-party sellers are kicking our first-party butt.” Bezos has reason to be happy about the numbers, of course. They still mean more money for Amazon, whether Amazon is making the sales itself or just collecting the fees from sales by independent sellers on its marketplace.”

“PayU, the Naspers-owned payments company that competes with the likes of PayPal but focuses mainly on emerging markets, has made an acquisition to expand its business in India. It has acquired Wibmo, a startup based out of the U.S. (Cupertino, to be exact) that mostly operates in India. PayU is paying $70 million for the startup, bringing the total its invested in building its business to $500 million in the last two years.”

“More than 55% of all payments in the London transit system are made via contactless instead of the legacy Oyster card, according to TfL figures for early April provided to PaymentsSource. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, as the rapid uptake of contactless payments on London’s transit system and overall contactless usage show little signs of slowing. More than 21.6 million journeys per week are made on London public transit using contactless payments. More than 53,000 new contactless cards or new mobile contactless payments enter the TfL each day, and one in eight contactless journeys come via Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, or other mobile wallet apps.”