Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes the U.A.E.’s ENOC’s launch of a mobile option for fuel and non-fuel items. Public transportation passengers in Australia will be able to tap their Samsung smartphones at Opal terminals to make payments, merchant demand for digital payments in India has jumped following the demonstration and rollout of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the World Bank has found the Philippines was the fourth-largest remittance recipient last year.
ENOC has launched a payment offering called ENOCPay that lets customers make payments without leaving their vehicles, PetrolPlaza reported. Customers can begin using the feature by visiting Google Play or the Apple Store and downloading the ENOCPay app. The platform, which allows customers to enter debit and credit card details, is for both fuel and non-fuel items at the gas stations of EPPCO and ENOC. Saif Humaid Al Falasi, ENOC’s group chief executive officer, said per the outlet, “Our aim is to support the government’s vision to provide seamless services to visitors and residents and we are proud to support this vision through our service station network.”
In Australia, commuters will be able to pay for their rides on the train by tapping their Samsung smartphones at the Opal terminal via Samsung Pay, news.com.au reported. The function will be available on light rail, ferries, trains and intercity rail where Opal takes credit or debit cards. Trips will be priced at “the standard, or peak, adult fare rate” per the outlet. Mark Hodgson, head of Samsung Pay in Australia, said per the outlet, “We worked with Transport for NSW to build a solution that is designed to offer a seamless experience for people choosing to use Samsung Pay when commuting across the NSW Opal network.”
And in India, demand for digital payments from merchants surged by 70 percent year on year following the rollout and demonstration of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) per Razorpay, Business Standard reported. At the same time, the company’s “Era of Rising FinTech” report found it is probable that non-cash transitions will overtake cash transactions by 2023. Razorpay CEO and Co-Founder Harshil Mathur also noted per the report, “We saw that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Tier 1 and 2 cities are driving a solid growth of 75 per cent in non-cash transactions.”
On another note, the World Bank has found that the fourth-largest recipient of remittances from migrant workers last year was the Philippines, the Inquirer reported. According to the report, $33.8 billion in remittances flowed to the country. The World Bank, however, noted in the report that “growth was lower due to the significant drop of 15 percent in private transfers from the Middle East in 2018.” At the same time, the organization reported that fees for remittances were among the lowest in the East Asia and Pacific area.
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