What happened this week in payments

The new polymer £10 note has been revealed 

The new plastic £10 note was revealed yesterday, which will be issued on the 14th September. The new plastic note was unveiled by the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney.

The £10 note has several enhanced security features, including a hologram with the word ‘ten’ which changes to ‘pounds’ when tilted, Winchester Cathedral shown in gold foil on the front of the note and silver on the back, and a quill at the side of the window which changes from purple to orange.

Digital-bank Monzo rolls out current accounts 

Monzo has announced the initial launch of its current accounts, which are available to limited number of customers as they continue to test current accounts internally. Users can register their interests and sign up to test the current accounts, but will not have access to the full features that are available with the prepaid accounts.

“We’ve been using the Monzo current account internally and today we’re ready to invite some of our customers to join us and help put it through its paces. This is the very beginning, and we will be taking things slowly. Our aim is to offer a current account to all existing customers by the end of the year,” it was stated on the Monzo blog.

“Over the next three months we’d like to rollout between 10,000 and 20,000 current accounts to existing customers. Once we’re happy they’re working as expected, we’ll offer accounts to everyone else as quickly as possible in the months after that.”

PayPal and Visa form partnership for European markets

Visa and PayPal have announced an extension of their ongoing partnership to target markets in Europe. PayPal will use its banking license in Europe to join the Visa network and offer Visa accounts in Europe to use wherever Visa is accepted around the world.

“Visa and PayPal have a shared goal of giving consumers a safe, convenient way to pay using their preferred device. Expanding our partnership into Europe provides greater consumer choice and benefits merchants,” said Bill Sheedy, CEO, Europe Region, Visa.

“By having the option to issue Visa accounts in Europe, PayPal will now have the ability to offer customers new and innovative ways to manage and move their money regardless of platform or device.”

Starling Bank introduces Apple Pay

UK challenger bank Starling Bank has announced that it is partnering with Apple Pay to let its customers pay with the service. Users will be able to load their Starling Bank card into their digital wallet before the actual physical debit card arrives in the post.

“Introducing Apple Pay is a great step for Starling as a digital only bank. Apple Pay has led to transformation in how customers can pay online and offline, so it’s a natural step for us given our focus on delivering great customer experience and fast, easy, secure ways to pay,” says Julian Sawyer, Chief Operating Officer at Starling Bank.

“Many of our customers have been eagerly awaiting this announcement so we are pleased to bring Apple Pay to them.”

PayPal teams up with Samsung Pay

It’s been a busy week for PayPal. The company has also announced a partnership with Samsung Pay that will enable Samsung Pay users to check out and pay with their PayPal accounts. The move to integrate PayPal accounts with the Samsung wallet will open up PayPal to millions of stores. The linked accounts will initially be available in the US.

“Last year alone, PayPal processed $102 billion in mobile payment volume and two billion mobile payment transactions. This partnership will give our customers the ability to pay with mobile almost anywhere consumers can swipe or tap a credit card, as Samsung Pay works in almost any in-store POS location in the US,” PayPal’s COO Bill Ready said in a statement.

“We will continue forging new collaborations with leaders across the tech and financial worlds to expand the reach of our products, explore new contexts, increase conversions for our merchants, create better mobile experiences and give our consumers the flexibility, security and speed that digital payments can offer.”

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Read last week’s payments round-up here

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