UK challenger bank Monzo has rolled out a service allowing customers to collect digital receipts and loyalty rewards within its app... More
United Kingdom
Yorkshire town lets drivers park, pay and drive away with their mobile phone
Harrogate first town in UK to introduce new age of smart parking — North Yorkshire County Council — “Parking in Harrogate town centre has become easier this month thanks to the launch of AppyParking — a smart parking system that is the first of its kind in the UK… Users who download the app will see real-time availability of spaces across Harrogate town centre thanks to more than 2,000 sensors in the ground, be able to navigate to the space and pay for a parking session with a single click. The sensor technology means parking sessions automatically end when the vehicle is driven away.”
First Direct lets customers make payments in social media apps
First Direct leading the way with social media payments — First Direct — “First Direct customers are now able to make secure peer-to-peer payments seamlessly while using social media apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger… Customers can now use the in-app PayKey technology to simply tap a payment icon on the phone’s keyboard within a conversation and manage a payment within seconds without having to open the banking app… On pressing the fd button, customers are securely authenticated via the app and are able to make a payment.”
Researchers build NFC antennas into smart fabrics
Smart fabrics made possible by new metal deposition technique — Imperial College London — “Imperial researchers have devised a way to deposit metals onto fabrics and used it to insert sensors and batteries into these materials… The technique could be used to incorporate batteries, wireless technologies and sensors into fabrics like paper and cotton textiles… For example, they created silver coil antennas on paper, which can be used for data and power transmission in wireless devices such as Oyster cards and contactless payment systems.”
Apple to expand the iPhone’s NFC functionality?
Apple could be set to expand the iPhone’s NFC chip reading capabilities to allow it to be used to read data stored in security chips like those used in passports, comments made by the UK government suggest... More
Church of England doubles donations with contactless collection plates
Church of England: Contactless collection payments trialled — BBC News — “Churches have reported a 97% increase in donations made at services trialling a digital collection box… Churchgoers picked a sum from four options decided by the Church, before using a card or smartphone to pay… Developers state the technology can support 500 transactions without the need for recharging, though a fixed table-top version of the system is also available — allowing congregations to donate before, during or after the service.”
UK police report increase in contactless card fraud
Surge in contactless card fraud — stealing £1.8m in 10 months — Evening Standard — “Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, said that in 10 months last year there were 2,739 reports of contactless fraud, totalling almost £1.8m (US$2.3m) — up from 1,440 cases worth £711,000 (US$909,000) in the same period in 2017… Average losses investigated by detectives were between £90 (US$115) and £652 (US$833) but the largest single contactless case reached £400,000 (US$511,000), stemming from multiple purchases.”
Rambus to provide multimodal NFC ticketing solution to South Yorkshire’s bus, tram and train operators
South Yorkshire TravelMaster selects Rambus to deliver innovative e-commerce ticketing system — Rambus — PARTNER NEWS — “The solution will allow customers to purchase a range of flexible multi-operator tickets, valid on any bus, tram or train throughout South Yorkshire, online and in-advance through a retail portal on the TravelMaster website. These tickets can then be loaded onto a smart card via on-vehicle ticketing machines or through NFC-enabled and compatible smart phones.”
Barclays lets customers use their mobile banking app to restrict the type of stores their card can be used in
Barclays bank account holders in the UK can now use a new feature in their mobile banking app to stop their card from being used to make purchases in one or more of five categories of retailer — grocery stores and supermarkets; restaurants, takeaways, pubs and bars; petrol stations; gambling sites and betting shops; premium rate websites and phone lines... More
Guess unveils fashion watches with contactless payment bands
Fashion brand Guess has launched a new collection of six watches that include a Barclaycard bPay contactless payment chip embedded in the watch strap... More
Tesco to roll out high value contactless transactions
Tesco set to get rid of £30 limit on Apple Pay transactions — MoneySavingExpert — “The supermarket giant has said on social media: ‘We are currently in the process of trialling high value contactless payment with Apple Pay in a few of our stores and will be looking to extend this offer to the rest of our stores estate over the coming year.”
EU citizens report bugs in UK government NFC passport reading app
People taking part in the pilot test of an NFC app developed by the UK government to make it easy for EU citizens to apply for settled status following Brexit have reported a number of bugs, including multiple issues related to NFC passport scanning... More
Tesco lets shoppers self-checkout with their mobile phone at new Jack’s discount chain
Tesco spin-off Jack’s opens its doors with free mobile ‘Smart Shop’ app — Internet Retailing — “With the app, shoppers can scan the item’s barcode or shelf-front price code and then pay by simply tapping their phone on a self-service checkout terminal before leaving. The app also helps the shopper log what they have bought and how much they have paid.”
Costa lets customers make payments with their coffee cups
The UK’s largest coffee shop chain has teamed up with Barclaycard to put a contactless payment chip in a reusable drinks cup, allowing customers to pay up to £30 anywhere contactless cards are accepted with just a tap of their cup.... More
Contactless donation points go live across London
Mayor doubles street outreach team to help rough sleepers — Mayor of London — “The Tap London points are small, secure payment points that enable Londoners to make £3 (US$3.82) donations by card. 35 donation points will launch today with more than 90 appearing across the capital this winter. Today the Mayor launched the scheme at City Hall, where one of the building’s windows now has a donation point. The other donation points are located in busy areas around the capital.”
Mobile payments now account for 6% of all UK card transactions
The percentage of payments made with a mobile phone in UK stores has jumped from 1.3% in Q3 2016 to 5.6% in Q3 2018, an analysis of 190m card transactions has shown... More
Monzo launches instant Google Pay provisioning
Start spending immediately after signup with Google Pay — Monzo — “If you sign up to Monzo today on a compatible Android phone, you’ll be able to add your Monzo card to Google Pay immediately, without waiting for the physical card to arrive in the post… We’re also bringing ‘in-app provisioning’ to Google Pay, which means you can add your Monzo card to Google Pay from the Account tab with just a couple of taps. No need to go to the Google Pay app to initially add your card.”
Network West Midlands integrates its transit card with Google Pay
UK regional transportation operator Network West Midlands is piloting a new service that lets its Swift transit card holders store their cards in Google Pay, enabling Android NFC phone owners to tap on to West Midlands Metro trams without needing to first open an app or select their Swift card... More
Veterans charity uses contactless cards to collect donations via NFC
The Royal British Legion is distributing contactless cards at charity events in the UK which participants can scan with an NFC phone to be automatically directed to a website where they can make a donation using either Paypal or a bank card... More
Eight in ten UK consumers would make a biometric card their preferred payment card
More than half of UK consumers (54%) would use a biometric payment card if their bank made one available today, a new survey has found, and 82% say it would become their preferred payment card... More