More than nine in ten public transport users worldwide expect transit services to offer contactless fare payment options (91%) and just under half prefer to make contactless payments for their transit fares (45%), according to Visa’s 2022 Future of Urban mobility survey... More
Italy
Atac pilots contactless fare payments on buses in Rome
Rome’s public transport operator Atac is testing the Tap & Go contactless fare payment system already in use on the Italian capital’s subway network on one of the city’s main bus routes prior to implementing it across its entire bus fleet... More
Samsung combines payments, digital keys, boarding passes and IDs in single mobile wallet app
Samsung Galaxy users in the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK can now store their digital payment, loyalty and membership cards as well as digital keys, boarding passes and Covid-19 vaccination certificates on their smartphone using the Samsung Wallet app... More
Two in three Europeans intend to use the EU’s Digital Identity Wallet
Two in three Europeans (66%) would use the European Digital Identity Wallet (EDIW) that the European Union plans to start piloting in 2023, a survey has found... More
Global survey finds more than half of consumers continue to prefer using a physical payment card for in-person purchases
More than one in two consumers worldwide prefer using a physical payment card to using cash or a digital wallet when making in-person purchases (53%), a survey has revealed... More
Soldo lets customers in the UK and Italy add corporate payment cards to Google Pay
Holders of corporate payment cards issued by spending management platform Soldo in the UK and Italy can now add them to Google Pay and use them to make contactless payments with their Android smartphone, smartwatch or tablet... More
Genoa trials open loop contactless fare payments with group ticketing and fare capping
Passengers travelling on public transport services in the Italian city of Genoa can now use their physical debit or credit card or a digital version stored in an NFC wallet to make contactless fare payments for bus journeys on its urban network and on Volabus and Airlink airport bus services... More
BIS finds consumers worldwide are switching to digital and contactless payments at ‘unprecedented rate’
Consumers in key markets around the world have switched from physical cash to digital and contactless payment methods at “a rate unprecedented” since the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) launched its Red Book of payment and settlement statistics in 2004, BIS says... More
Majority of Europeans would be happy with contactless transaction limits of up to €150
The majority of European consumers would feel comfortable with contactless transaction limits of up to €150 (US$169), three times the current European Union limit of €50 (US$56), according to Payments Europe research... More
NFC digital car keys go live for Android users
Android users with a Samsung Galaxy 21 or Google Pixel 6 series smartphone can now lock, unlock and start compatible vehicles using an NFC digital car key stored on their mobile device... More
Market Pay acquires Dejamobile
PARTNER NEWS: Dejamobile has been acquired by Market Pay, the France-based international payments platform founded by supermarket giant Carrefour... More
Survey: ‘Growing number’ of Europeans support creation of national digital currencies independently of EU
A “growing number” of Europeans would support the creation of national digital currencies with the specific aim of asserting “some monetary independence” from the European Union, according to a survey commissioned by Euronews... More
Bergamo rolls out account-based contactless ticketing across public transport network
Passengers on buses, trams and funicular railway services in the northern Italian city of Bergamo can now make contactless payments for their fares using their credit or debit card or from a digital wallet on their NFC-enabled mobile device... More
Estonia’s central bank tests blockchain-powered digital euro solution
Eesti Pank, the central bank of Estonia, has tested a blockchain-powered technical solution for the use of a digital euro central bank digital currency (CBDC) that it says is capable of handling more than 300,000 simultaneous payments a second and enables payees to receive a payment in less than two seconds... More
Brescia rolls out account based contactless ticketing across entire public transport network
Passengers travelling on Brescia Mobilità buses in the northern Italian city and 14 surrounding municipalities can now make contactless fare payments with their credit or debit card or from a digital wallet on their NFC phone or smart watch... More
European banks invest €30m in EU rival to Visa and Mastercard
The banks and other institutions backing the development of a unified payment systems for merchants and consumers across Europe have so far invested €30m in the European Payments Initiative, EPI chair Joachim Schmalzl has revealed... More
Aion Bank onboards personal and business customers via NFC
Consumers, retailers and other business customers can now remotely verify their identity when opening an account or applying for a loan with Belgium-based Aion Bank by scanning the contactless chip embedded in an ID document with their NFC smartphone or other mobile device and validating the information via a facial recognition check... More
Retail CBDC projects ‘particularly strong’ in emerging economies, PwC index shows
Projects to develop a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by consumers and businesses are “more advanced” and “particularly strong” in emerging economies, according to analysis by global consultancy firm PwC... More
Amex to offer Prada payments bracelet to Centurion members
Holders of an American Express Centurion card will soon be able to make purchases by linking their card to a wearable contactless payments chip embedded in a leather bracelet created by Italian fashion house Prada... More
Seed potato supplier pilots NFC smart bags
Netherlands-based seed potato supplier HZPC is piloting smart delivery bags that use an integrated NFC chip to enable customers to download information about the potatoes a bag contains with a tap of their smartphone... More