Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes Comviva’s plans to accelerate contactless payment growth in India. Scotiabank has rolled out its Scotiabank eHOME digital mortgage experience for Canadians, Google India has teamed up with Pine Labs for digital payments and consumers will be able to make contactless payments for rides on Metrolink trams in the U.K.
Mobile solution company Comviva plans to accelerate the growth of contactless payments via its mobiquity® Wallet Tap and Pay offering, according to reports. Through the solution, the company said, providers of digital wallets that are third parties along with issuing banks will be able to easily roll out contactless payment with a proprietary software development kit (SDK). Comviva Mobile Financial Solutions Chief Operating Officer Srinivas Nidugondi said, according to the report, “With the growing NFC POS infrastructure in India and mobile phones becoming de facto wallets for consumers, we expect ‘wave and pay’ or ‘tap and pay’ to become the future of contactless payments in India.”
In Canada, Scotiabank has rolled out its Scotiabank eHOME digital mortgage experience in an effort to change how Canadians receive their mortgages, according to reports. Through the offering, users can apply for their mortgages on the web and finish a closing without an in-person visit to a financial advisor or mortgage specialist. The company also noted that a secure vault is used for the uploading of documents. Scotiabank Group Head of Canadian Banking James O’Sullivan said, per the report, “This is a huge milestone in driving forward Scotiabank’s digital transformation strategy.” O’Sullivan continued, “We are committed to investing in technology that delivers thoughtful solutions for our customers.”
On another note, Google India has teamed up with Pine Labs for digital payments in the offline market, according to reports. With the tie-up, retailers will be able to process Google Pay transactions within their shops with the help of point-of-sale (POS) terminals from Pine Labs. Payments can be started with the cell phone number of a user of Google Pay. That user, in turn, taps into the payment app to allow processing of the transaction. Pine Labs CEO Vicky Bindra said, according to the report, “We are excited to collaborate with Google and bring the convenience of UPI at point of sale for Google Pay users through our platform in India.”
In the U.K., consumers will be able to make payments through smartphones, smartwatches and contactless cards in the network of Metrolink trams, The Manchester Evening News reported. Through the system, riders will “touch in and out” on platforms through yellow card readers. And, as there are no barriers on the platform, fare checks will be conducted on passengers “as they currently are for all commuters” per the paper. At the time of a ticket inspection, consumers will present a mobile phone, a watch or a card. Ahead of a rollout, a marketing campaign will reportedly educate passengers about the system.
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