Australia Launches Payment Card Network
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The EDS Regional Cards Utility provides a shared infrastructure for digital payments on the fly.
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(InfoWorld) - Citibank Singapore is offering a new way for credit-card holders to make payments -- using their fingerprints instead of credit cards. Citibank this month began rolling out biometric payment systems in Singapore that allow Citibank Clear Platinum credit card holders to pay using their fingerprints. "It's an investment for our future," said Anand Cavale, vice president and business director of credit payment products at Citibank Singapore, noting this is the first time the bank has used a biometric payment system anywhere in the world. Before putting the biometric system into operation, Citibank officials took a long hard look at whether the system was secure -- and came away satisfied that it was, Cavale said. "We see this as the next step, which will enhance our already good fraud prevention systems," he said. With an affluent, tech-savvy population of 4.5 million, Singapore is among the most competitive for credit-card issuers, with many Singaporeans carrying three or four cards in their wallets. To encourage card holders to spend, banks regularly team up with partners to offer special discounts -- say, 10 percent off dinner at a trendy restaurant -- if customers use a certain credit card. So much competition leaves banks looking for any edge they can find. For its part, Citibank hopes the biometric technology makes payment more convenient for its card holders, eliminating the need for them to always carry credit cards while still allowing them to buy things. But don't expect to see biometrics replace Citibank cards any time soon. "The technology will be used in conjunction with a credit card," Cavale said. Cavale believes biometric payments systems will shine in applications where a quick payment method is needed. "If you're running to catch a train, and buying a cup of coffee and a newspaper, your time has more value," he said. So far, Citibank's biometric payment systems are only in place at a handful of outlets in Singapore, including local coffee shops and the popular Zouk night club. But the bank has plans to quickly expand the number of such systems and the number of Citibank card holders able to use them. "Our intention is to roll it out very quickly to other cards," Cavale said. Citibank chose to start the rollout of the biometric payment system with the Clear Platinum card because it is targeted at younger Singaporeans, ranging in age from 25 to 34. "We launched with this segment because the uptake is going to be very strong," he said. Getting signed up to use the biometric payment system, provided by Pay By Touch, of San Francisco, is relatively easy. Citibank has installed kiosks at several Singapore branches where card holders can register their fingerprints. To sign up, Citibank customers need to provide valid photo identification and a seven-digit numeric passcode used with the fingerprint to authenticate payment. This is the first time that Citibank has tested a biometric payment system, and the bank's operations in other countries, especially in Asia, are watching what happens in Singapore with interest, Cavale said. "Our plans include taking this technology around the region," he said.
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A new contactless credit card, combined with a London transport Oyster card, is to be launched by Barclays.
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Starting in October, the company will begin selling higher-speed cards that transfer data at rates of up to 80mbps.
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By PULLAR-STRECKER Tom  RISING demand for broadband in Australia and New Zealand has helped the consortium that owns the Southern Cross Cable sell a further US$310 million (NZ$443 million) of capacity on the communications artery during the past six months.
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NetSuite has unveiled the availability of multicurrency credit card processing for its e-commerce customers. The new feature was made possible by integration, announced this week, between NetSuite and WorldPay, which is part of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. NetSuite's e-commerce capability enables companies to transact business on the Web while automatically linking into internal customer relationship management, financial, and warehouse systems. With the new multicurrency credit card processing feature, NetSuite e-commerce customers can now accept credit card payments in 120 currencies and receive settlement in 14 currencies. More information about NetSuite e-commerce is available at www.netsuite.com/netcommerce1.
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Australian telecoms giant Telstra hopes to woo customers with a super-fast mobile phone and broadband network.
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(InfoWorld) - Mobile payments and banking are now moving into the United States through some big names, but the speedy checkout system is slow to put in place. VisaÂ and Wells FargoÂ have finished the first phase of a trial of in-person mobile coupons, payment by phone, and over-the-air account management, the companies said Wednesday. They ran that test inside Wells Fargo's Customer Experience Research Lab, and the next step, starting in the next few months, will involve 30 to 50 Wells Fargo employees in the real world. Only after that second phase will the partners sign up actual consumers for a test. That third phase, involving 300 to 500 holders of Wells Fargo Visa cards, is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. Some U.S. consumers, including Wells Fargo customers, are already using their mobile phones for banking tasks such as checking account information and transferring funds. In-person payments by mobile phone, already popular in Japan and strongly backed by Finland's Nokia, have taken longer to reach the United States. The payments require a specially equipped phone and a payment device located in a store, restaurant, stadium, or transit turnstile. Wells Fargo and Visa, like Nokia, plan to use NFC (near field communications), though a different system is used by pioneer NTT DoCoMoÂ in Japan. NFC is based on RFID and can communicate over a few centimeters, or users can just tap the phone against the payment device. At the heart of the system is downloadable client software developed by Visa, which is already in use in South Korea, according to Peter Ho, a vice president and product manager at Wells Fargo. The trials by Visa and Wells Fargo go beyond just tap payments. In the second phase of testing, the Wells Fargo employees will be able to receive, store, and redeem mobile coupons; monitor their credit or debit account activity; and manage their funds on the phone. They will make NFC payments at merchants equipped for Visa's payWave system, which today lets consumers wave their Visa cards in front of a secure reader. It's the first system in the United States to combine mobile banking and payments, Ho said. "The customer is going to expect to be able to do both," Ho said. The consumer experience only needs to be fine-tuned, and Wells Fargo and Visa are enthusiastic about the technology, according to Ho. It's the business model that needs to be worked out, he said. For one thing, no mobile operator yet offers an NFC handset to its subscribers, the typical way U.S. consumers get their phones, he said. The two partners are talking with carriers and with providers of mobile payment infrastructure to set up a system that's attractive to all, he said. Ho would not speculate when all those pieces will come together in a commercial service. Competing technologies are holding back phone payments, according to In-Stat analyst David Chamberlain. Everyone involved wants to know they won't be stranded with a system others aren't using. In addition to NFC, some companies are advocating the use of text messages or barcodes generated on the phone, Chamberlain said. The best thing Visa could do would be to convince one of its own competitors to also use NFC, he said.
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THE Commonwealth Bank is set to become the first Australian financial institution to enter mainland China&#39;s commercial and retail banking sector.
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Teams up with Visa and Barclaycard Transport for London has launched a version of its smart card that can be used to pay for items other than travel.â¦
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Metcash Trading Ltd., Australia&#39;s biggest grocery wholesaler, offered to buy Foodland Associated Ltd.&#39;s Australian business for A$846 million ($660 million), completing a nationwide distribution
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AOL co-founder Steve Case is starting an online credit card company called Revolution Money that combines a PayPal-like money transfer service with a credit card that can also be linked to a bank account.
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Variety - SYDNEY -- Foxtel, Australia's dominant paybox, is embarking on the second phase of its expansion plan after switching to digital last March.
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Singapore Telecommunications Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc have agreed to build a high-speed wireless phone network in Australia through their local
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In a first, Chinese visitors will be able to use their bank debit cards in Singapore, thanks to an agreement signed Tuesday between Singapore electronic payment company NETS and China's China Union Pay.
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(InfoWorld) - Taiwan Mobile Co. Ltd. and MasterCard International Inc. have already started testing a mobile phone payment system in Taiwan, but competition to lure users will catch fire when the mobile phone operator's larger rival opens its trials with Visa. Testing by Taiwan Mobile and MasterCard is already underway, with 100 users carrying Nokia Corp.'s 3220 model handsets armed with the MasterCard PayPass wireless payment system on board, the operator said Thursday. The goal is to arm mobile phone users on the island with the ability to use their handsets for payments on small items. The Nokia mobile phones use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for transactions, MasterCard said in a statement. The companies are also testing E-Coupons sent to mobile phone users, which can be used when making purchases. The companies have teamed up with Taipei Fubon Bank, and hope to expand the service later this year. Taiwan's largest mobile phone service provider, Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd, also plans to start testing a separate mobile phone payment system soon. The company has already signed on with the Visa International Service Association and Cathay Financial Holding Company on a system designed for small payments. The companies will offer users a choice of the CHT9000 or CHT9001 business handsets made by High Tech Computer Corp. for wireless payments, and limit the amount of transactions to NT$3,000 (US$90.88). On Thursday, Visa International Service Association and SK Telecom Inc. announced plans to introduce a mobile payment system using universal Subscriber Identification Module (USIM) cards for 3G (third-generation) mobile phones users in South Korea. Â
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Wave of future rolls up on Oz shores House of Cards Australian gaming behemoth Tabcorp achieved a milestone of sorts last week with its announcement that it had for the first time surpassed Aus $1bn in annual internet revenues, Casinocitytimes.com has reported. The figure constituted a 23% increase over the previous fiscal year.â¦