A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
Search Payments News
June 1, 2023
On the wires
Alipay Now Supports Users to Link Alipay to Their Apple ID in a One-stop Way Within Its App
Business Wire
May 25, 2023
On the web
Apple May Create the First US Super App and Other Predictions About Mobile Wallet Use
Insider Intelligence
May 22, 2023
On the web
Apple Pay on a Roll, and the Banks are Rattled to Their Cores (Australia)
Australian Financial Review
May 17, 2023
On the web
Apple Launches Tap to Pay in Australia
Power Retail
May 16, 2023
On the web
Social Media Just Keeps Talking About Apple Pay Later
Apple Must
May 11, 2023
On the web
EU Regulators Ramp Up Probe into NFC Tech at Core of Apple Pay
AppleInsider Forums
April 26, 2023
On the web
Apple’s Innovative Tap to Pay Service is Now Live in Taiwan
Apple Must
April 25, 2023
On the web
Why Apple's Expansion Into India Is a Great Move
Nasdaq
Apple Wins Appeals Court Ruling Against Epic Games
Engadget
April 24, 2023
On the wires
US Appeals Court Upholds Order Forcing Apple to Allow Third-Party App Store Payments
Reuters
April 17, 2023
On the web
Apple Launches Apple Card’s Savings Accounts with 4.15% Interest Rate
TechCrunch
April 4, 2023
On the web
After Google, Apple Adds UPI Autopay For Subscription-Based Payments In India
BQ Prime
PayPal Adds Apple Pay Support for Small Merchants Using Advanced Checkout
TechCrunch
March 31, 2023
On the web
Apple Pay Later Can Give Affirm and Klarna a Run for Their Money
Quartz
Apple is finally ready to hand out loans to its users, nine months since first teasing the service. Apple Pay Later, which Apple introduced in a limited release in the US yesterday (Mar. 28), lets users split purchases into four payments, spread over six weeks, for no additional fees or interest. The so-called Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service allows users to “easily track, manage, and repay their Apple Pay Later loans in one convenient location in Apple Wallet,” the Cupertino company said in its announcement. The only requirement is that users put a debit card on file for the loan repayment method.
March 28, 2023
On the web
Apple Introduces Apple Pay Later to Allow Consumers to Pay for Purchases Over Time
Businesswire
January 17, 2023
On the web
From Credit Cards, Savings Accounts To Lending: How Apple Is Quietly Becoming More And More Like A Bank
India Times
January 16, 2023
On the web
Apple Card Has Caused Losses of Over $1 Billion for Goldman Sachs
Techstory
December 19, 2022
On the web
Apple’s iPhone Needs a Shake-Up. A New Law Might Help.
Washington Post
“Apple Inc.’s walled garden around its technology is as synonymous with the iPhone maker as the iPhone itself. It is how Apple lures consumers into buying expensive earphones, watches and speakers that work seamlessly with that rectangular slab in their pockets, and ultimately what locks people in to Apple products. That has been great for Apple’s business, but not always so great for consumers. Now, a European law is forcing the company to loosen its iron grip on its products. That ultimately could lead to a more dynamic experience on the iPhone as developers create more and feature-rich apps for the platform that capitalize on more of Apple’s technology.”
December 14, 2022
On the wires
Apple Plans to Let Rival App Stores on iPhones in EU-Bloomberg
“Apple Inc. is preparing to allow alternative app stores on its iPhones and iPads in the European Union as soon as late next year to comply with a new European competition law it had fought, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Opening up to outside app stores could present a major threat to Apple’s fast-growing services business, but rivals would first have to surmount the hurdle of convincing consumers to leave the security and simplicity of using Apple’s own store.”
December 13, 2022
On the web
Is Apple About to Eat PayPal’s Lunch?
The Motley Fool
“The next time you’re out shopping, don’t be surprised if you see the person checking out in front of you using their iPhone to pay instead of a credit card. Apple’s (AAPL 1.64%) payment service, Apple Pay, saw a 52% year-over-year increase in adoption during November, according to data from Salesforce cited by Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Keane. That was across both in-store proximity payments and online payments made through Apple devices. That’s bad news for PayPal Holdings (PYPL 0.31%) and other, more established, digital wallet services. Apple is rapidly taking market share, and its fintech aspirations could stymie the growth of its rivals. While the number of Apple Pay users was soaring, usage of PayPal and regular credit cards declined in November. While both of those methods have much larger user bases than Apple Pay for online and in-store transactions, respectively, this result signals that users are dropping older payment methods in favor of Apple Pay. That said, PayPal is still the one to beat in online payments. Consumers used it for 16% of all e-commerce purchases. Apple Pay is far behind, used for just 5% of purchases.”
December 6, 2022
On the web
Walmart Checking and Apple Savings: Different Motivations, Similar Outcomes?
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
“Walmart and Apple have announced plans to offer traditional financial accounts. Walmart’s consumer checking account may advance financial inclusion by increasing account access to unbanked and underbanked consumers. Apple’s consumer savings account may change how credit card issuers offer rewards to their customers. Both offerings are likely to increase competition in the financial services industry, though whether they ultimately benefit consumers remains to be seen. This Payments System Research Briefing examines the two companies’ new offerings, their motivations and target markets, the likely outcomes for their respective customers, and potential implications for the financial services industry.”
December 1, 2022
On the web
Apple’s New Coinbase Shakedown Would Literally Ban Ethereum Trades And Transfers On iOS
Forbes
“Coinbase tweeted this morning that Apple blocked the release of its latest crypto wallet app, asking for a cut of gas fees when people transfer NFTs to each other. Coinbase had to disable its NFT transfer feature before Apple would let the company update its popular self-custodial wallet. “Apple’s claim is that the gas fees required to send NFTs need to be paid through their In-App Purchase system, so that they can collect 30% of the gas fee,” Coinbase said via it’s Coinbase Wallet Twitter account. “This is akin to Apple trying to take a cut of fees for every email that gets sent over open Internet protocols.” For once, that’s not PR hyperbole. It’s actually that serious.”
November 10, 2022
On the web
PayPal and Apple to Accept Each Other’s Payment Products
Finextra Research
“PayPal and Apple have struck a deal to start accepting each other’s payments products within their separate ecosystems. The pair have agreed to let US merchants accept contactless payments on their iPhones – using Apple’s new Tap to Pay technology – through the PayPal and Venmo iOS apps.Meanwhile, Apple Pay will be added as an option in PayPal’s unbranded checkout flows on merchant platforms.”
November 4, 2022
On the web
After Stripe and Square, Venmo and PayPal are Set to Support Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhones
TechCrunch
“PayPal announced Thursday that it will soon support Apple’s Tap to Pay on iPhones. The company said in its Q3 2022 earnings report that both PayPal and Venmo will soon support this tech as a part of its offering. Merchants will be able to accept contactless card payments as well as payments via Apple Pay and other digital wallets (Google Pay). Apple first announced Tap to Pay on iPhone in February to let merchants accept payments without any additional hardware. The company had Stripe as a launch partner with Jack Dorsey-led Square coming on board later in September. Now, with Venmo and PayPal joining the fray, merchants will have varied options of apps and services to choose from to accept payments.”
October 26, 2022
On the web
Apple Unveils Stricter App Store Rules for Crypto and NFTs — Critic Says Firm Wants to Keep Money in Its Ecosystem
Bitcoin News
“In its updated guidelines for apps in the Apple App Store unveiled on October 24, Apple Inc. said crypto exchange apps “may facilitate transactions or transmissions of cryptocurrency on an approved exchange.” In addition, such transactions can only be offered “in countries or regions where the app has appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange.” The technology company also clarified that crypto wallet apps “may facilitate virtual currency storage, provided they are offered by developers enrolled as an organization.” However, according to the new guidelines, apps are prohibited from mining crypto and offering “currency for completing tasks, such as downloading other apps.” The only exception to the crypto-mining prohibition is when “the processing is performed off [the] device.” Besides limiting the use of the crypto-transferring apps, the latest guidelines state that developer apps “may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrency wallets.” Similarly affected by this requirement are digital gift cards, certificates, vouchers, and coupons which are redeemable for digital goods or services. Apps utilizing the App Store’s in-app purchase function are subject to Apple’s 30% fee, which has been criticized by app creators in the past.”
September 27, 2022
On the web
Apple Pay Later is Reportedly Facing ‘Technical and Engineering’ Issues
The Verge
“Apple Pay Later is facing some “significant” setbacks that could delay its launch until next year, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The feature is Apple’s version of a buy now, pay later (BNPL) service, letting you make a payment through Apple Pay and then pay it back in four installments without interest. Apple said its Pay Later feature would arrive with iOS 16 when it first announced the program at WWDC in June. But now that iOS 16 is out, Apple Pay Later hasn’t made an appearance, and the fine print on Apple’s iOS 16 page vaguely says it’s “coming in a future update.” As Gurman points out, Apple Pay Later is the only unreleased iOS 16 feature on the page that doesn’t include a timeframe for when we might expect its rollout. Other features, like key sharing and no-setup Siri shortcuts, are listed as “coming later this year.””
August 25, 2022
On the web
iOS 16.1 to Let Users Delete Wallet Amid Antitrust Concerns Over Apple Pay
9 to 5Mac
“Apple on Tuesday surprised developers with the release of both iOS 16.0 beta 7 and iPadOS 16.1 beta 1. And while neither update comes with significant changes, it seems that Apple will soon let users delete the Wallet app from their devices with iOS 16.1. To make things clearer, iPadOS 16.1 beta is only available for iPad at this point as Apple has confirmed that the release of iPadOS 16 has been delayed to a later date. As such, iOS 16.0 is expected to be released for iPhone users in the coming weeks, while iPadOS 16 will arrive as version 16.1 later this fall.”
August 18, 2022
On the web
Wait, When Did Everyone Start Using Apple Pay?
Wall Street Journal
“Patience isn’t the most popular virtue in Silicon Valley, where companies aspire to move fast and break things, the motto that defined the age of tech excess. Nothing broke on the day in 2014 when Apple presented a new service called Apple Pay. If the quality of destruction was measured by the speed at which it happened, the flashy innovation from an industry titan would have been considered a disappointment. The idea that it would make the wallet obsolete sounded ridiculous when the pace of Apple Pay adoption underperformed expectations. Wall Street analysts and iPhone users alike were skeptical for the next few years. The experience of using a credit card didn’t seem like a problem that required a solution from Apple. It’s a bet that now appears to be paying off in a very strange way for our hit-driven economy: slowly.” (Subscription required)
August 11, 2022
On the web
Soft POS User Base Set to Surge
IT-Online
“A new study from Juniper Research has found the total number of merchants deploying soft POS solutions will surpass 34,5-million globally by 2027; rising from 6-million in 2022. This growth will be driven by Apple’s entrance into the soft POS space; enabling iOS users to access an affordable mobile POS solution. Soft POS enables NFC enabled smartphones or tablets to accept contactless payments, without additional hardware. The research forecasts that Apple’s decision to enable third parties to develop soft POS solutions leveraging iOS NFC capabilities will result in an influx of iOS-specific services; leading to innovative solutions for merchants. Furthermore, the research predicts Apple’s entry will provide 1,2-billion iOS users with soft POS capabilities; unlocking a previously untapped market.”
August 4, 2022
On the web
Goldman Sachs, Bank Behind the Apple Card, Says Regulators are Investigating its Credit Card Practices
CNBC
“Goldman Sachs said that its credit-card business is being investigated by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over a range of billing and payments practices. The bank disclosed the probe in a quarterly filing on Thursday, saying that regulators were examining its “account management practices, including with respect to the application of refunds, crediting of nonconforming payments, billing error resolution, advertisements, and reporting to credit bureaus.” While New York-based Goldman made no mention of its partnership with tech giant Apple in the filing, most of the bank’s $11.84 billion in card loans through the second quarter were from the Apple Card.”
Payments News
Give us your email address or link to our RSS feed and we’ll push the daily Payments News headlines to you.
Top Stories from Payments News
Glenbrook Payments Boot camp®
Register for the next Glenbrook Payments Boot Camp®
An intensive and comprehensive overview of the payments industry.
Train your Team
Customized, private Payments Boot Camps tailored to meet your team’s unique needs.
OnDemand Modules
Recorded, one-hour videos covering a broad array of payments concepts.
Glenbrook Press
Comprehensive books that detail the systems and innovations shaping the payments industry.