Only 3% of US Retail Sales Completed Via Mobile Wallet
Expert Market has mapped out mobile wallet usage in 36 countries around the world. In the US, only 3% of retail sales were completed through a mobile wallet. The global penetration rate of this technology is still very low topping at 6%, except for one country. The one outlier in this report is China, which has a staggering 36% of the population using mobile wallet. [Small Business Trends]
9 Ways Apple's Credit Card Could Disrupt Everything
Apple is expected to introduce a credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs. This is a natural next move in Apple's strategy to transform the smartphone into a wallet, but with razor-thin margins and economic instability to contend with, how can Apple and its partner craft success within this ultra-competitive market? [ComputerWorld]
70% of Americans with Credit Card Debt Admit They Can't Pay It Off This Year
A new survey by Clever found that 47% of Americans carry a monthly balance on their credit cards. Of them, over 70% say that balance is more than $1,000 on average. Over half of those surveyed, 56%, say they've had credit card debt for at least a year. And most will continue to carry it for years to come. Almost 20% estimate it will take them more than three years to pay off their debt, while roughly 8% say they don't know when they'll be able to pay it down. [CNBC]
Instagram Tests In-App Shopping
Shopping on Instagram is about to change forever. The social platform announced it was launching a beta shopping program with over 20 beauty and fashion brands, including direct-to-consumer players, in which it would test the ability to shop, check out and manage orders within the app. Prior to this, users could only swipe up on a product or image through Instagram Stories and be brought to a brand's website in order to fulfill a purchase. [Glossy]
Chase Replacing Prepaid Liquid Card With a Bank Account
JPMorgan Chase is discontinuing its Chase Liquid general-purpose reloadable prepaid card and replacing it with a checking account called Chase Secure Banking, which has many of the same features but requires the customer to open a Chase bank account. Chase Secure Banking has the same $4.95 monthly fee as Chase Liquid. The new account includes a Visa debit card for payments and access to 17,500 Chase-branded ATMs, access to Chase's mobile app and online banking, direct deposit, and other banking services. It does not provide paper checks. [Digital Transactions]
Bill Payment Service Doxo Now Works with Apple Pay for 45,000 Billers
Checking out in stores with your iPhone is easier than ever today, but paying bills with Apple Pay is still a challenge. Doxo is a bill payment service with a large database of billers, and they're trying to tackle that problem with their latest iOS app. Doxo now works with Apple Pay on iOS for paying bills with over 45,000 billers supported so you can use the service and pay monthly bills without storing debit or credit card credentials online. [9 to 5 Mac]
Credit Card Fraud Is Down, But Account Fraud That Directly Hurts Consumers Remains High
Credit card fraud has dropped and fraudsters have shifted their focus to account takeover and new account fraud---using accounts in someone else's name to buy goods, take out loans or even take out a mortgage. Unlike card fraud, the account fraud can hit consumers directly with financial losses and/or months or years of recovering identities and correcting credit records. Fraud has also moved to new areas such as merchant debit cards and prepaid cards, reward programs and takeover of mobile phone accounts---businesses which generally do not have the level of account security that banks have implemented. [Forbes]
Capital One is Offering a 100% Bonus When You Transfer Miles to Emirates' Frequent-Flyer Program
The most valuable kind of credit card rewards are points that can be transferred to hotel and airline partners. Credit card reward programs generally have set transfer ratios for how many proprietary points are worth a set number of partner miles. Occasionally, programs will offer transfer bonuses. Today, Monday, March 18, Capital One announced its first-ever transfer bonus. From today until March 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET, Capital One Venture cardholders will receive a 100% bonus on miles transferred to the Emirates Skywards frequent-flyer program. [Business Insider]
Chase Freedom Unlimited Offers 3% Cash Back for In-Person Applicants
Chase recently revealed a new rewards structure for their Freedom Unlimited card, making the card's already-generous cash back deal even sweeter. Beginning March 18, new Chase Freedom Unlimited cardholders can earn 3% cash back on all purchases during their first year of membership on up to $20,000 in spending. After reaching $20,000, the rewards rate reverts to the card's standard unlimited 1.5% cash back. In order to receive the 3% offer, new cardholders must apply in-branch at a Chase location. [Bankrate]
Synchrony: Creating a Super Private Label Credit Card
Synchrony is partnering with Discover Global Network to provide greater acceptance within the automotive category. With Discover's reach in acceptance, Synchrony will not only enable top auto transmission repair shops, but they will also reach many of the 11,000 smaller locations normally outside the scope of private label credit cards. The same goes for automotive subsectors such as painting, shock absorbers, and automotive technology. Instead of the business model linking iconic retailers, or top retail stores, Synchrony's new approach with Discover enables fragmented vertical markets into one master private label credit card function rather than individual, dedicated card programs. [Payments Journal]
Western Union Enables Mobile Wallet Transfers Via Thunes Partnership
Western Union announced it has teamed up with cross-border payments network Thunes to enable customers to send funds directly into mobile wallets around the world. In addition, users of Western Union's network of agents can also send funds directly into a recipient's mobile wallet. Thunes (previously TransferTo) provides a cross-border network that delivers payment solutions for emerging economies. [PYMNTS]
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