Morning Brief 6.29.20: Indian regulators dispel rumors of Google Pay ban

The information you need to start your day, from PaymentsSource and around the web:

Good to go

The National Payments Corporation of India has said Google Pay is authorized to operate in India, following news, mostly on social media, that the Indian central bank had banned Google's app.

That news followed reports of a petition filed with Indian courts that Google had violated UPI registration rules, though there's been no resolution or movement on that complaint.

The NPCI contends that it has authority to authorize participants in the United Payments Interface, the national rail that Google and other companies use to power digital payments in India. Google Pay has used UPI to add several features in India, including transportation payments, and processes most of UPI's volume.

Bloomberg News

New wardrobe

Belgian bank KBC is launching wearable payments for all clients, including rings, watches, bracelets and keyrings linked to a debit card.

The bank completed a pilot with 1,000 customers using technology from Digiseq, BancontactPayconiqCompany, Fidesmo, Thales and equensWorldline, according to Finextra.

The pilot found users embraced wearable payments but had different preferences for the type of wearable, leading the bank to expand devices. Rings were the most popular at 34% user preference, followed by 21% for smartwatches and 18% for keyrings.

Bit post

Australia Post and the Bitcoin.com.au exchange will support a billpay feature that allows consumers to buy cryptocurrency at more than 3,500 post office stores in Australia.

The stores will accept cash and card payments through the exchange, which is based in Cremorne, Victoria, reports CoinDesk.

Australia Post dates to 1809 and has operated a bill pay service for more than 20 years. As many as one million Australians own cryptocurrency, according to Australian tax records.

Hiding out

Hackers are embedding code in image files as part of a way to hide card theft in website payment portals.

The trick makes it harder to spot than skimmers on ATMs and card readers at gas stations, reports Engadget, adding it's a new use of malicious code that's placed inside web images. Engadget based its reporting on data from Malwarebytes.

The code is hidden in favicons, which are the icons that are in the corner of a browser tab. The code is loaded through the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress, which then nabs information such as credit card details.

From the Web

Casinos Consider Cashless Gambling to Fight Coronavirus
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | Sun June 28, 2020
As the U.S. casino industry remains a bastion of cash in an increasingly cashless world, the coronavirus pandemic has generated concerns over bills circulating among hundreds of hands on the casino floor, and that is pushing casinos toward cashless technology after years of discussion.

Zimbabwe suspends stock exchange, mobile payments over 'economic sabotage'
REUTERS | Fri June 26, 2020
The decision to suspend mobile payments will hit the economy hard as more than 80% of all transactions are conducted on phones due to a shortage of banknotes, according to central bank data.

Credit card industry reins in balance-transfer offers as banks from JPMorgan to Amex fear defaults
CNBC | Sat June 27, 2020
Balance transfer offers, which typically entice borrowers to move their debt to a new lender in exchange for a temporary 0% interest rate, have been sharply reduced at banks including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Barclays and Capital One, according to people with knowledge of the matter at each firm.

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