“Mezu , the mobile payments app that enables users to pay and collect money from anyone without sharing any personal information, today announces the launch of its unique digital debit card that can be used both domestically and internationally.”

“Citi Hong Kong announced last week the launch of Citi PayAll, a payment solution that enables Citibank credit cardholders to settle one-off or recurring payments on the Citi Mobile App using their credit card while earning Points at the same time. According to Citi Hong Kong, the types of payment Citi PayAll covers include monthly rental, monthly carpark fees, residential property management fees, and tuition fees. It was noted that clients no longer need to settle these transactions using cash, checks or autopay, giving them more autonomy and flexibility in payment options.”

“Sionic Mobile is proud to announce it is making mobile payments at gas pumps possible without requiring a mobile app. Sionic Mobile, a leading provider of cloud-based connected commerce services, is integrating its secure, zero-friction ULink™ service with Gilbarco Veeder-Root’s Passport® Point-of-Sale solution at fuel dispensers. The integration of ULink into Passport enables fast and convenient payment at all Point-of-Sale manufactured by Gilbarco Veeder-Root , a highly-regarded supplier of fuel dispensers, PoS systems, payment systems, forecourt merchandising, and support services to fuel retailers. ULink, a universal linking service connecting mobile consumers and brick-and-mortar merchants, uses digital wallets and cutting-edge payment card security and payment processing through CyberSource®, a Visa company, to submit card payment authorizations to fuel retailers.”

“Anthem Inc. is launching a new app that will help consumers—including people who don’t have its insurance—to schedule and pay for medical visits through their smartphones, as well as learn potential diagnoses and text with doctors. The rollout will begin this month in one state but eventually reach the big insurer’s full geographic territory, in the latest sign of the industry’s ambition to bring the seamless experience of an Uber ride to the fragmented health-care business . Companies including UnitedHealth Group Inc., CVS Health Corp. and Cigna Corp. are all working on apps and other tools aimed at boosting convenience, shaping users’ care and reducing costs.”

“The deal will see Line Pay become compatible with Visa’s 54 million merchant partner locations worldwide, boosting the service outside of its native Japan, where it has been pitched heaviest so far and where Line claims 80 million users. The tie-up will allow Line users to use the app’s payment system even where Line Pay isn’t accepted. That’s through a ‘virtual’ visa card that’ll show up in the chat app. Beyond that, the two sides said they will explore “ways for merchants to interact with the Line Pay service” and its digital wallet. That’s pretty lukewarm, and it’s hard to imagine that it’ll make much of a dent outside of Japan. Line’s three other major markets, in terms of users, are in Asia: Thailand (44 million), Taiwan (21 million) and Indonesia (19 million.)”

“According to a poll conducted by local market tracker DMC Media on Tuesday, 79.1 percent of the 282 respondents said they used mobile payment service such as Samsung Pay and Kakao Pay at least once over the last six months. Of all female respondents, 87.3 percent had the experience, 14.9 percentage points more than 72.4 percent of male users. The mobile simple payment service was in the highest use by those who are in their 30s as 85.7 percent of the 30-something respondents said they used the service, followed by those in their 20s with 82.4 percent and 40s with 68.5 percent.”

“Department-store chain J.C. Penney Co. Inc. confirmed over the weekend that it no longer accepts Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay mobile-payment service. The confirmation came in a tweet on the Ask JCPenney Twitter feed, where a consumer inquired after his wife tried to pay for a purchase with Apple Pay but was told the service no longer was accepted. When asked by Digital Transactions News about reasons for the decision and the status of other mobile-payment services at JCPenney, a spokesperson said the company would have a statement later today.”

“CellPoint Mobile, a leading provider of digital commerce and payment solutions for airlines and travel companies will enable the roll-out of multiple digital and mobile payment methods for Viva Air, starting with Apple Pay, Google Pay, MasterPass and Visa Checkout. CellPoint Mobile is fast-tracking the deployment of these payment methods along with Viva Air’s current payment provider Ingenico.  Viva Air is a rising star in the Latin America aviation sector, with an expanding network of 16 destinations across Colombia, Peru and the Unites States, and plans to serve over 60 million passengers by 2022. The launch of these new payment methods will make the Colombian carrier the first in Latin America to offer Apple Pay and Google Pay”

“Alipay, a mobile payment platform from Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group, is now available at Capital One Arena. The platform, which serves one billion users worldwide, is available across the arena’s ticketing, concessions and team store — making Capital One Arena the first stadium of its kind globally to have the leading Chinese payment app available for visitors.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“More than 1.8bn Apple Pay transactions were conducted last quarter, CEO Tim Cook has revealed during the company’s Q1 2019 earnings call. That number is “well over twice the volume of the year-ago quarter,” he revealed. The rollout of Apple Pay in Germany “has been a huge success”, Cook added, “with Deutsche Bank reporting more activations for Apple Pay in one week then for Android in an entire year.””

“When Lydia introduced its premium offering back in March 2018, the company completely rethought the way Lydia accounts worked. Users had a single Lydia account and were basically limited to sending, receiving and withdrawing money — it was all about peer-to-peer payments. Now, you can create as many Lydia accounts as you want, move money around, set money aside and top up each account separately.”

“It’ll soon be getting much easier to pay with your smartphone at Target. The retailer, which had been a major holdout, announced in a blog post Tuesday that it will soon accept Apple Pay, Google Play, Samsung Pay as well as “contactless cards” from Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover in all of its stores. Apple separately announced that in addition to 1,850 Target stores in the U.S., Apple Pay will be accepted at more than 7,000 Taco Bell stores, at more than 245 Hy-Vee supermarkets in the Midwest, at around 3,000 Speedway convenience stores, and more than 2,200 Jack in the Box locations. “

“In a new partnership with Uber for Business, PayActiv is proud to announce an innovative method to access Uber service. Rides are now available to the many who were unable to access Uber service due to lack of liquidity and or banking status. PayActiv users can access their already earned wages and directly pay for Uber rides from within the PayActiv platform.”

“The companies, who announced the deal at a CES event, said the connected payment service will allow drivers to pay for everything from coffee to highway and bridge tolls, as well as to locate and pay for parking, according to the release. The service will use biometric authentication of Visa account holders through voice and touchscreen commands in order to avoid distractions that could endanger drivers or others.”

“Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is collaborating with Honda Developer Studio to develop in-vehicle fuel payment integration that allows Honda vehicle owners to reserve a pump and pay for fuel at Phillips 66^®, 76^® and Conoco^® branded locations through their in-dash infotainment system. This new in-vehicle feature will allow drivers to find the nearest Phillips 66, 76 or Conoco station and pay at the pump from the comfort of their driver seat.”

“Wirecard, the global innovation leader in digital financial technology, has deepened its partnership with Singtel’s Dash to support the Dash mobile wallet’s Visa Virtual Account on Apple Pay. From now on, Dash’s customers can make payments using Apple Pay at millions of participating on- and offline merchants worldwide.”

“Using a unique data set from one of the largest banks in China – which contained the transaction data from personal computer, offline and mobile payment channels – Xu and co-authors found that, on average, the total transaction amount increased by 2.4 percent after the adoption of the mobile payment channel, and that the total transaction frequency increased by more than 23 percent.”