“Ant Financial’s Alipay, the operator of one of China’s top two mobile payment apps, said hackers have taken an unknown amount of money from accounts using stolen Apple Inc IDs and the issue remains unresolved despite reaching out to the U.S. giant.”

“The challenger bank founded by Ricky Knox has launched its second credit card today, this time targeting people in the U.K. who have yet to build up a credit history at all. Credit cards are already one of the most effective ways of improving your credit score (presuming you are approved for one and always repay on time, of course) and it seems that Tandem  wants a piece of that action.”

“The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank, is working to ensure cryptocurrency startups receive domestic banking services as part of the country’s efforts to boost fintech development. In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, Ravi Menon, the institution’s managing director, said the central bank is trying to “bring the banks and cryptocurrency fintech startups together to see if there’s some understanding they can reach.””

“Facebook Inc. said intimate information, including search results, recent locations and hometowns, were stolen from 14 million users by attackers in a major hack of the social network disclosed two weeks ago.”

“Google has extended the NFC capabilities of its Pixel smartphones with the addition of support for ‘NFC-F’ FeliCa NFC mobile payments in Japanese versions of its new Pixel 3 smartphones. This is the first time that Google has made a Pixel smartphone available in Japan but Android users in the country have been able to make Google Pay NFC payments with compatible smartphones since December 2016. “

“For owners of some General Motors vehicles, a taste of this future is already here. Since December, G.M. has equipped about three million cars with an in-dash system it calls Marketplace. The free-to-use system communicates directly with merchants, enabling a driver or passengers to order and pay for a variety of products and services without a cellphone.”

“The new service, indeed, is seen as just the start of a range of faster-payments services Mastercard feels it can rely on Vocalink to build. “With Vocalink, we are in a unique position as the only network that has the technology capabilities and know-how to build faster payments applications at the pace the market requires,” said Colleen Taylor, executive vice president for new payment flows at Mastercard, in a statement.”

“The RBI in April said all payments data should within six months be stored only in the country for “unfettered supervisory access”. The deadline for the companies to adhere is 15th October. The directive is part of a wider push by India to ask companies to store more of their data locally at a time when governments globally are enforcing more stringent rules to protect user data.”

“Payment company Square‘s chief financial officer Sarah Friar will step down and take a job as CEO of Nextdoor, the company announced Wednesday. Shares of the fintech company, run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, dropped as much as 8 percent in after-hour trading.”

“There’s always been a gap between how much money Apple’s App Store makes when compared with Google Play. But in the third quarter of 2018, that gap widened considerably – possibly to the widest point yet. According to a new report from Sensor Tower, the App Store earned nearly 93% more than Google Play in the quarter, the largest gap since at least 2014 – or, when Sensor Tower began tracking Google Play data.”

“American Express (NYSE:AXP) is announcing the initial launch of Early Pay, a supply chain finance and dynamic discounting solution, as the newest addition to its suite of business financing options. Eligible large U.S. companies who buy goods and services from U.S.-based suppliers can leverage the solution as a way to increase cash flow, generate working capital, and make their supplier payment process more efficient. In turn, suppliers can access the easy-to-use digital platform to have their eligible invoices paid earlier than their original payment due date at a competitively-priced early payment discount.”

“Discover Cashback Debit customers are now able to add their Cashback Debit card to Apple Pay^® and earn 1% cashback on eligible transactions. Apple Pay is an easy, secure and private way to make payments in participating stores, apps and websites.”

“As part of this collaboration, the two companies will begin rolling out PayPal cash in and cash out money services at Walmart for an exclusive fee of $3 per service. This is the first time PayPal mobile app users will be able to take cash out of their PayPal account in a brick-and-mortar environment, in addition to being able to load cash into their PayPal balance at Walmart stores. Additionally, like PayPal mobile app users, PayPal Cash Mastercard customers can now access their cash balance using Walmart Service Desks, ATMs and cash registers for the same low, transparent fee.”

“In the second quarter, location spoofing became the fastest growing attack vector in the space, increasing 257% year-on-year. This is due to the availability of more sophisticated location spoofing tools, which fraudsters use to attempt to disguise their true location to launder money. From collusive play and self-excluders, to malicious account takeovers (ATOs), operators must always be able to differentiate trusted users from fraudsters.”

“Having Tencent onboard is a welcome boost to Nubank’s new ambitions. The former, unsurprisingly, is usually up to something when it comes to investments. Last week, Telco PLDT, investment firm KKR and Tencent were part of a $175 million investment in Philippine digital tech company Voyager Innovations.”

“The Western Union Company, a leader in global cross-border, cross-currency money movement, today announced its foray into the multibillion-dollar bank account-to-account money transfer sector for consumers, by launching high-value digital transfers from the United Kingdom to around the world.”

“As per the Diar report, the rewards and fees for BTC miners have already reached $4.7 billion in the first three quarters of 2018, around $1.4 billion more than the profits in all of 2017. Miners still gain 54,000 Bitcoin monthly, the outlet continues. However, mining is gradually becoming profitable only for “big guns” as electricityprices are constantly increasing. Diar assessments show that the miners paying retail electricity prices have shifted towards unprofitability for the first time this September.”

“If payments are so easy that they become invisible, so could Visa’s brand. “

“Payment Logic has developed a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) solution that, when coupled with WEX virtual payments, enables the automation and payment of the car registration renewal process for fleets of vehicles. This solution takes a file of car registrations and, in an automated fashion, inserts a virtual card payment and enters the registration renewal without any manual input by the fleet owner, manager or administrator.”

“Fiserv, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISV), a leading global provider of financial services technology solutions, today announced that a growing number of financial institutions are enhancing their person-to-person (P2P) payment capabilities by joining the Zelle Network^® via Fiserv. Bank of the West, Comerica Bank, Dollar Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, and Zions Bancorporation, N.A. are among the most recent to go live on Turnkey Service for Zelle^® from Fiserv to facilitate an efficient connection to the network. In total, more than 100 banks and credit unions have selected Fiserv to enable Zelle and are currently live or will be going live in the future.”

“Adyen’s payment technology will be rolled out in over 150 stores across four countries – UK, France, Italy and Ireland – and will enable Gap Inc. to provide a consistent experience across different markets. The online business for both Gap and Banana Republic will also use the payments platform, offering a unified experience across online and in-store.”

“IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity, today announces its partnership with JCB, the only international payment brand based in Japan, to launch Google Pay in Japan. Users will be able to make contactless mobile payments in store using their JCB branded credit, debit, and prepaid cards enrolled in their Google Pay, at places such as convenience stores, supermarkets, drug stores and other shops where QUICPay is accepted.”

“As tours and activities become more in demand around the world, some credit cards are looking to be more than just the payment method you use to book a tour — card companies want to offer or lead the tours themselves.”

“”The market appears to be overlooking any risks to the company’s business model, and credit risk in particular,” Palmer said in a note to clients Monday. “Our bearish thesis on Square (SQ) is predicated in part on our view that the company’s increasing dependence on the extension of credit to its customers to spur its growth has made its business model increasingly vulnerable to volatility in the credit markets.””

“Goldman Sachs is cutting a key target for its consumer lending platform Marcus, reflecting the firm’s growing concerns about the consumer debt market, according to a new report. Goldman has scaled back loan originations for 2019 for Marcus, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday which cited anonymous sources.”

“Like Hong Kong with its Octopus card, Singapore was an early adopter of e-payment systems, starting with the introduction of the General Interbank Recurring Order (GIRO) in 1985, which allowed people to make monthly payments to a billing organisation directly from their bank accounts. But since those early days both cities have found themselves leapfrogged in the race to the cashless society by mainland China’s burgeoning mobile payment scene.”

“Rising interest rates mean credit-card companies will instantly earn more on their floating-rate loans. At the same time, the booming economy and tight labor market are keeping defaults low. This was underscored by Friday’s jobs report, which showed the unemployment rate at its lowest level since 1969.”

“Now biometric cards are being added to the payment mix. With these cards, you can use your thumbprint as an alternative to a PIN or signature at the same in-store chip or contactless terminals you use every day. Mastercard developed the biometric card, combining chip technology with fingerprints to conveniently and safely verify cardholder identity for in-store purchases. Introduced in 2017, the Mastercard biometric card has been piloted in Africa, Europe and the Middle East with additional countries being added this year.”

“CardFlight, the leading mobile POS and SaaS payment technology company, announced today the release of SwipeSimple Customers, a new feature set of SwipeSimple, the best-in-class payment acceptance solution for small businesses. SwipeSimple Customers is available to SwipeSimple users directly from their mobile app and web dashboard.”

“Passport today announced it has acquired NuPark, a leading parking management technology company. NuPark’s advanced LPR-based enterprise management solution for enforcement and permitting will help complement Passport’s strong base of mobile payment solutions to create a comprehensive mobility platform. Approximately 1 in 3 vehicles in the United States are processed through the combined system network, making Passport and NuPark leading players in the transportation industry.”

“A recent article from The Information detailing Amazon’s current retail profits calls into question an assertion occasionally made about Amazon’s retail operations. It is sometimes argued that Amazon (as well as other large tech firms) operates some parts of their business at a loss, particularly during growth phases. The article outlines that Amazon’s U.S. retail operations do not, in fact, operate at a loss and are growing.”

“Apple has announced within an update to its website on Friday that Apple Pay is ‘Coming Soon’ in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Payments Network (MADA), a major payment system in Saudi Arabia, has also confirmed that it will soon introduce support for Apple Pay. When this completes, Saudi Arabia would be about the 30th region where Apple Pay is officially available. This news comes after Tim Cook confirms that Apple Pay will be coming to Germany later this year.”

“Fashion chain H&M is acquiring a stake in Swedish fintech company Klarna, the Financial Times reported. The world’s second-largest clothes retailer is paying SEK 185 million (£15.6 million) for a stake of less than 1 percent in Klarna, which is issuing new shares to H&M, people involved in the transaction told FT.”

“But like a roller coaster in an adventure park, the WeChat trajectory turned direction and began to nosedive fast. The number of uninstalls increased. There was no stickiness to the app. Soon, there were news reports that suggested that the app could be banned by the government. That was the beginning of the end for WeChat in India.”

“Breaking the 50% barrier marks a significant milestone in contactless card migration, where market momentum is expected to continue due to next-generation migration opportunities, most notably in the US, India, South East Asia, and Latin America. These opportunities are helping to push contactless card issuance volumes toward 2.3 billion annually by 2022.”

“It was early 2017, and Mr. Dubugras and his co-founder, Pedro Franceschi, decided to pivot to a sector they knew well: payments. Their company, Brex Inc., now issues corporate credit cards to other emerging tech companies, embracing a sliver of finance the banks avoid because they believe it to be too risky.”

“Google is about to have its Cambridge Analytica moment. A security bug allowed third-party developers to access Google+ user profile data since 2015 until Google discovered and patched it in March, but decided not to inform the world.”

“As long as the data involves human activity, regardless of the type of data or the demographics of the users, similar behavioral dynamics apply. These patterns can be used to detect emerging behavioral trends before they can be observed by other data analytics techniques. And among those trends in which social physics may prove useful: cyber criminal activities.”

“Popular overseas destinations for Chinese consumers saw mobile payments surge during the week-long Chinese public holiday between October 1 and 7, according to Alibaba’s mobile payment arm Alipay.”

“Although the tap-and-go function is heavily utilised in Australia, less than 1 percent of contactless payments are conducted via mobile or wearable means. But that hasn’t stopped Australian financial institutions trying to make wearable payment options a “thing”. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) allows payments via Garmin smartwatches and its New Zealand subsidiary ASB Bank offers payments using the Fitbit Ionic. Similarly, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) also offers the Fitbit payments solution, while the National Australia Bank (NAB) offers both Fitbit and Garmin pay.”

“The Austrian government has enlisted Oesterreichische Kontrollbank (OeKB) to notarize the auction of a EUR1.15 billion government bond using the ethereum blockchain. Local bank OeKB will deploy the notarization service to authenticate transaction data and then store it on the blockchain. Blockchain-based data notarization involves using an encryption method for documents to derive a unique electronic fingerprint, known as the hash. This hash is unambiguously assignable to the original document, but conversely does not allow conclusions to specific data content.”

“Growth of revolving consumer credit balances slowed to 6.1% in 2017 from 6.8% in 2016, according to Federal Reserve data. It slowed further in the first half of this year, contracting slightly in the first quarter and rising at a 2.9% annual rate in the second. But lending recently reaccelerated to a 5.6% annual rate in August, the data show, suggesting the period of retrenchment could be ending.”

“The China Tourism Academy estimates that there will be 7 million outbound tourists during the Chinese National Day Holiday this year, hitting a record high. This holiday has become a global Golden Week, which is attracting the attention of foreign media and merchants. The Forbes website recently reported that Chinese tourists’ preference for experience, consumption and accommodation will reshape the global tourism industry.”

“Brex, the first corporate card for startups, announced today the close of a $125 million Series C funding round led by Greenoaks Capital, DST Global and IVP. Building off the momentum from its innovative underwriting and onboarding experience tailored to startups, Brex is further investing in enhancing its features, including its rewards launch later this fall. Starting today, Brex customers that sign up will start accruing points on their Brex corporate card transactions as part of its rewards beta.”

“Today the company announced the acquisition of BOLTS Technologies, Inc., the Pennsylvania-based developer of boltsOPEN, a next-generation digital account opening solution.”

“For merchants equipped with Verifone’s Commander Site Controller, customers simply enroll in EZ-Receipt at the gas pump or on the in-store PIN pad. After entering a 10-digit mobile phone number, the customer receives a text message confirming program enrollment. At the next pay at the pump or in-store purchase visit, a customer uses the same payment card on the PIN pad or pump dispenser card reader and automatically receives a digital receipt via text or email.”

“Part of Financial Information Service Co.’s “Standardized QR Code Solutions,” the new EMV solution will be among the first large-scale deployments of standardized QR Code payments in Taiwan, initially covering more than TCB’s 8,000 acceptance points. Soon consumers can link their TCB Visa debit or credit cards with the Taiwan Mobile Payment mobile app to experience the security and convenience of mobile payment.”

“CIMB Bank Berhad (“CIMB Bank”) has introduced Quick Response (QR) Payment Acceptance at CIMB terminals, a first- in-the market QR payment acceptance to accept Six major mobile wallets on one terminal. The six mobile wallet partners to be accepted on CIMB terminal are Alipay, Touch & Go Digital, Boost, KiplePay, Mcash, and Vcash. These six mobile wallets have a combined estimated customer base of about 4.5 million in Malaysia and 520 million registered mainland Chinese users.”