Tag: Banking

IBM Builds Blockchain Technology for Seven European Banks

Posted by on in Banking, Cryptocurrency, eCommerce

IBM has announced a blockchain technology that will be used by seven European banks, to facilitate international trade for small and medium-size enterprises.

Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale and Unicredit are part of the consortium.

IBM is building this new blockchain, Digital Trade Chain, to help parties track, manage and transact internationally. The tech solution will be built on Hyperledger Fabric, an open source blockchain framework, and will go live by the end of the year.

Wiebe Draijer, chairman of the executive board at Rabobank, explains that when a merchant sells goods to another party and those goods arrive, the blockchain triggers a payment to take place. The aim is to move the payment into that blockchain solution, when the payment in blockchain is ready to be robust for large-scale application.

Apple Pay Expands Widely in Russia

Posted by on in Banking, eCommerce

Apple Pay launched in Russia last month in partnership with Sberbank for MasterCard cardholders, and today the mobile payments service has expanded to nine additional financial institutions in the country.

Today’s additions include Tinkoff Bank, Bank Saint Petersburg, Raiffeisenbank, Yandex.Money, Alfa-Bank, MTS Bank, VTB 24, Rocketbank, and MDM Bank. Russian Standard Bank is listed as coming soon. The banks, just added to the regional Apple Pay website in Russia, support Apple Pay as of November 1.

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Eligible cards can be added to Apple Pay by tapping “Add Credit or Debit Card” in the Wallet app on iPhone 5 and later running at least iOS 8.1.

Participating retailers include ATAK, Magnit, Media Markt, Auchan, Azbuka Vkusa, bp, M.Video, TsUM, authorized Apple reseller re:Store, and elsewhere contactless payments are accepted. Burger King is also listed as a future partner once it implements contactless payments infrastructure in the country.

Apple Pay is currently available in the United States, Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey has said Apple is “working rapidly” to expand the service to additional countries in Asia and Europe.

 

Source: MacRumours

Apple bans Westpac Mobile Application Payment Features

Posted by on in Banking, eCommerce

Apple has banned Westpac bank’s mobile payments feature, which allowed customers to make payments through messaging apps including Snapchat, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.

While it’s confirmed that Apple has ordered Westpac to remove the mobile payments feature, it is yet to be confirmed what the exact reasoning is for this decision.

Westpac has confirmed with its customers that the recently-launched Keyboard feature would be removed from July, despite it already being installed by tens of thousands of customers. More than that, Westpac had previously addressed security concerns with Apple, regarding the payment feature, prior to its launch in March.

Additionally, the decision comes only months after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) denied an application by NAB, CBA and Westpac to collectively negotiate with Apple over access to Apple Pay and the NFC contactless payments features on iPhones. This means that the banks cannot offer their own digital wallets on the iPhone and so far ANZ is the only one of the four major banks to strike a deal with Apple to offer Apple Pay to customers.

The bank will still be offering its Keyboard feature to Android users in the coming months.

Money20/20 Europe: Square is Ready For World Without Payment Cards

Posted by on in Banking, Conferences, eCommerce, Square

Money20/20 Europe kicked-off this morning in Copenhagen with keynotes from major names in global FinTech discussion how the industry is dealing with unprecedented innovation in connectivity, mobility, and commerce. Among the tech celebrities to take the stage was Jack Dorsey, CEO and founder of Square (who also happens to be the CEO of social media platform Twitter).

Read the full article here.