PayPal and Samsung Galaxy S5 Support Fingerprint Authentication for Payments

PayPal and Samsung have announced a collaboration that will make Samsung Galaxy S5 users the first to be able to login and shop at any merchant that accepts PayPal on mobile and in-stores with only their fingerprint. The new secure, biometric feature means Galaxy S5 users will no longer need to remember passwords or login

Why Retailers Aren’t Making a Killing on Mobile Payments

Why are retailers (or for that matter banks and telecoms service providers) not making an absolute killing in the mobile payment space? Most importantly, why are retailers missing out on potential new revenue streams? Even in an emerging market like South Africa, where mobile penetration is estimated to be around 128%, only nine percent of

Peggy Vaughan Joins MoneyGram Board of Directors

MoneyGram International, a global money transfer and payment services company, has announced that Peggy Vaughan has been appointed to the MoneyGram Board of Directors. This brings the total number of directors to nine, five of whom are independent. Vaughan will serve on the Board’s Audit Committee. “MoneyGram is fortunate to have a proven leader like

Tigo Launches Cross-Border Mobile Money Transfer System

Tigo, a subsidiary of Millicom, has announced the launch of a cross-border mobile money remittance service between Tanzania and Rwanda, allowing its subscribers to send money from one country to another via their Tigo mobile money accounts. The system integrates currency conversion, whereby money is sent in either Tanzanian shillings or Rwandan francs and delivered

Global Mobile Payments Study Released

MasterCard and PRIME Research have released the second annual global MasterCard Mobile Payments Study, which tracked more than 13 million social media comments across Twitter, Facebook, online blogs and forums around the world. The study shows improved sentiment toward mobile payments and rapid growth in consumer use and merchant acceptance. Merchants carry an 88 percent

Naspers Closing SA e-Commerce Sites

Naspers has confirmed its investment arm MIH is shutting down a number of its South African e-commerce sites. Last week e-commerce sites SACamera, 5rooms, Kinderelo and Style36 were taken down, showing maintenance messages, but Naspers has now confirmed the shutdowns are part of a wider policy to refocus resources on larger properties such as Kalahari.

MasterCard to Acquire Mobile Technology Provider C-SAM

MasterCard has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire C-SAM, Inc. (“C-SAM”) a provider of mobile wallet and on-device software and services. In acquiring C-SAM, MasterCard will speed the development and deployment of mobile wallets and payment solutions globally, including the rollout of its MasterPass™ digital service. Today’s announcement builds upon a global

MasterCard Launches MasterPass In-App Payments

MasterCard has announced MasterPass in-app payments, enabling consumers to make secure purchases within a mobile app. MasterPass in-app payments eliminate the need to store payment card credentials across numerous mobile apps, providing consumers with a fast and simple payment experience. Forbes Digital Commerce, Fat Zebra, MLB Advanced Media, NoQ, Starbucks Australia and Shaw Theatres Singapore

ROAM Extends End-to-End mPOS Platform with EMV Chip & PIN

ROAM, an Ingenico company and mobile commerce platform provider, has expanded its mPOS solutions to include chip & PIN acceptance with the RP750x mobile card reader. This new cloud-based solution is fully compatible with ROAM’s mobile commerce platform, making ROAM the leading mPOS solution provider supporting new mPOS players with all mobile card acceptance types:

MTN Ghana And Ecobank Expand Cardless ATM Services

Ghana’s leading telecommunications provider, Mobile Telecommunications Network (MTN) and Ecobank, The Pan African Bank, have partnered to extend cardless ATM services to Ecobank ATMs across Ghana. With this partnership, the more than two million MTN Mobile Money subscribers can now enjoy the convenience and ease of withdrawing money instantly from Ecobank ATMs anytime and from