“With the availability of new NFC-enabled devices from Samsung, and many more from our other handset partners to come in 2011, we are moving closer to a world in which we believe mobile contactless services will soon become the norm,” says Orange’s EVP of mobile services. More
Cityzi
French operators commit to deploying 1m NFC phones in 2011
France’s mobile network operators have formally committed to deploying one million NFC phones in 2011, under the Cityzi brand name... More
Most French consumers not in favour of mobile payments
Despite plans for a major expansion of the high profile pre-commercial NFC trial in Nice and Orange’s ambitions to sell 500,000 NFC phones this year, a survey of French consumer attitudes has found that the majority are not in favour of using a phone to make payments. More
French government funds nine NFC cities
The cities of Paris, Bordeaux, Caen, Lille, Marseille, Rennes, Strasbourg and Toulouse are to join Nice in the next stage of French plans to deploy a national NFC infrastructure... More
Orange to roll out NFC services across Europe in 2011
Orange will begin introducing NFC services “in the majority of countries in which it has a presence” in 2011, the mobile network operator has told mobile phone manufacturers at a meeting in Paris on 15 December... More
Mastercard and AEPM publish interoperable NFC specifications
The aim is to ensure that users of the French Cityzi NFC service can use their mobile phone to make payments anywhere in the world that MasterCard PayPass is accepted, ahead of a planned national expansion of the Cityzi service. More
Thirteen French cities apply for NFC test zone funding
A total of thirteen cities have responded to the French government’s call for proposals for three to five more cities to receive funding to run large scale NFC field trials similar to the Cityzi project running in Nice, according to Le Journal du Net... More
NFC news in brief • 25 Oct 2010
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: Caen bids for NFC • Sprint adds mobile wallet • Vivotech’s Dubai deal • Microsoft tags retailers • Mobile payments boost banks • Paying cash keeps you slim • NCR buys into mobile barcodes More
Twinlinx to begin shipping MyMax NFC stickers in September
The first 10,000 MyMax stickers, which enable full NFC functionality to be added to any Bluetooth mobile phone, are now in production and field trials are expected to take place before the end of this year. More
French retailers begin the move to NFC loyalty programmes
Three retailers in Nice are using Fidbook, an NFC loyalty application that works with a simple reader costing under €100 and avoids the need to upgrade to a contactless payments terminal. More
Up to five more French cities to launch NFC services within a year
Following the successful launch of the Cityzi NFC service in Nice, a further “three to five” cities are to receive funding from the French government as the country gears up for the introduction of a nationwide commercial NFC service. More
NFC city pilot to go live in Nice on 21 May under ‘Cityzi’ banner
France’s mobile network operators and banks, along with Visa and MasterCard, the local transport operator, the city council and others will take part in Europe’s first pre-commercial NFC pilot — which will be identified by the new Cityzi brand. More