China saw fast expansion in the number of mobile payment users last year, reaching 527 million at the end of 2017, according to an internet industry report.

Total online payment users reached 531 million by the end of last year, up 11.9 percent from a year earlier, the report showed.

Online shopping saw a transaction volume of 7.2 trillion yuan (about 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2017, up 32.2 percent from 2016.

The growth came against the backdrop of an expanding group of internet users, especially those accessing the internet through mobile phones.

There were 772 million internet users in China at the end of 2017, and 97.5 percent of them were mobile internet users, according to the report.

The growth of China’s mobile payment sector is driven by improved internet infrastructure and innovation.

China has the world’s largest 4G network and continues to strive for further expansion, with the goal of adding 450,000 new 4G base stations this year to improve signal coverage in buildings, elevators, and other indoor spaces, as well as on railroads and expressways.

Apart from online shopping, mobile payments have expanded into stores and restaurants and are now used to pay for just about everything, making China the world’s largest mobile payment market.

– Xinhua.com –

The European Association for Secure Transactions has published its second European Fraud Update for 2018. The report is based on in-country crime statistics provided by representatives of 18 nations in the Single Euro Payments Area, and three non-SEPA nations, an EAST press release said.

Payment fraud

– Fifteen countries reported payment fraud issues.
– Seven countries reported card-not-present as a key fraud driver.
– Two countries reported attempted “forced post” fraud, which can occur on some POS terminals with force sale functionality.
– One country reported a new form of malware on android mobile phones, distributed through a fake application uploaded from third-party Android stores.
– One country reported cases of SIM swap fraud, in which fraudsters authorize a bank transfer by switching the customer’s mobile phone number over to a new SIM and intercepting the authorization message.

ATM malware and logical attacks

– Nine countries reported these types of attacks.
– Five of the nine countries reported ATM related malware. In addition to Cutlet Maker, representatives reported a new variant called WinPot, which is used to determine the number of bank notes in an ATM.
– Six countries reported the use of black box devices to enable unauthorized cash dispensing.

Card skimming at ATMs

– Fourteen countries reported card skimming at ATMs.
– Five countries reported skimming on terminals other than ATMs; in four of the five these attacks involved unattended fuel terminals.
– Six countries reported M3 card reader internal skimming devices.
– One country reported the use of M2 throat inlay skimming devices.
– One country reported the arrest of a Chinese national — a first — in connection with skimming attacks.

Physical attacks on ATMs

– Eight countries reported ram raids and ATM burglaries.
– Six countries reported explosive gas attacks.
– One country reported the first case of an explosive attack on an assisted teller service machine.
– One country reported its first incidences of explosive gas attacks.
– Five countries reported solid explosive attacks.

– atmmarketplace.com –

Aeon Financial Services is teaming up with Fujitsu to trial a biometric system that lets Japanese shoppers pay for their groceries with their hands.

Aeon’s credit card unit is tapping Fujitsu’s palm vein biometric authentication technology for the pilot, which will involve Aeon staffers and begin in September at a number of Ministop convenience stores.

Customers who register for the service will add their palm vein pattern to their Aeon card information. Then, at the checkout they will enter their birthdate before holding their palm over a special reader.

Aeon says that it picked Fujitsu’s technology for its biometric test because palm vein authentication is both very accurate and, because it is contactless, sanitary.

The technology has been used at bank ATMs in Japan for more than a decade and has also been tapped for corporate PC access and room entry management.

– finextra.com –

The Smart Payment Association (SPA), the trade body of the smart payments industry revealed top level findings from its 2017 annual review of the smart payments market.

The number of people using mobile contactless payment such as Apple Pay or Google Pay will continue to grow to more than 760 million by 2020, with Apple’s digital wallet leading the way, according to new research.

The number of people using mobile contactless payment such as Apple Pay or Google Pay will continue to grow to more than 760 million by 2020, with Apple’s digital wallet leading the way, according to new research.

An estimated 440 million people will use contactless mobile services in 2018, Juniper Research said. Apple Pay will almost double its number of digital wallets by 2020, rising to 227 million. Samsung Pay and Google Pay will each account for 100 million, followed by newer wallets such as Garmin and Fitbit Pay.

The combined market share of Apple, Samsung and Google will reach 60% of global mobile contactless payment users by 2023.

Transactions on mobile contactless payment services will exceed $1 trillion this year, but that increase in value does not mean that pay services will reap all the rewards. The figure includes payment cards, mobile and wearable devices.

Juniper’s research found that contactless cards remain popular with consumers in established markets, and are more likely to have increased future usage.

– paymentscardsandmobile.com –