More than nine in 10 consumers in Nigeria (91%) and six in 10 consumers in Indonesia (60%) would be likely to use a central bank digital currency (CBDC) compared with less than 24% in the US and 14% in Germany, according to a report by Giesecke+Devrient and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF)... More
Contactless
JCB demos offline machine-to-machine payments using NFC
Japanese payments network JCB has demonstrated a machine-to-machine payments infrastructure that enables merchants to conditionally accept NFC payments even when both purchaser and merchant are offline... More
Israeli supermarket chain to roll out scan-free self-checkout ‘smart carts’
Customers at Machsanei Hashuk supermarkets across Israel will soon be able to select and place items they want to buy in a self-checkout “smart cart”, receive personalised recommendations, product information and promotions via an on-cart screen, and pay for their purchases without needing to scan them or use a checkout... More
New York Mets to roll out contactless facial ticketing and access control at Citi Field ballpark
Fans of the New York Mets baseball team in the US will soon be able to gain entry to the team’s Citi Field stadium in Flushing Meadows, New York City, by verifying their identity with their face and without needing to show a paper ticket or their smartphone... More
Apple digital room keys go live at Hyatt hotels
Apple users staying at six Hyatt hotels in the US can now use a digital key stored in Wallet to unlock their room and gain access to lifts, gyms, pools and other secured areas with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch and without needing to open an app or handle a plastic key card... More
Apple files patent applications for sharing passes, accounts and credentials between devices
Apple has filed a series of patent applications relating to the sharing and use of secure credentials such as tickets, passes, accounts and payments card information that includes proposed methods and systems for provisioning such credentials to second user devices... More
More than half of Asia Pacific consumers make digital payments at least once a week
Nine in 10 consumers in the Asia Pacific region have used mobile payment apps at least once during the past 12 months, while more than half have used digital payment methods at least once a week and a sixth have made a digital payment for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (15%), according to research published by Kaspersky... 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
Santander lets UK customers set own contactless transaction limit
Customers of Santander bank in the UK can now set their own contactless transaction limit lower than the maximum of £100 (US$132) introduced by the UK government in October... More
Singapore rewards transit users for open loop contactless fare payments
Passengers travelling on public transport services in Singapore can now participate in a game to earn reward points for making open loop contactless fare payments by tapping their bank card or mobile wallet on an onboard reader or station gate... More
JFK International Airport gets contactless grab-and-go convenience store
Passengers using Terminal 4 at New York’s JFK International Airport in New York can now purchase food and beverages from a contactless grab-and-go convenience store without needing to scan their purchases or use a checkout... More
Google Pay goes live in Israel
Google Pay has launched in Israel with support for cards issued by the country’s major banks and payments card issuers... More
Eurostar begins biometric ticketing pilot
Passengers travelling on Eurostar rail services from London’s St Pancras International station to continental Europe will be able to complete pre-departure ticket and passport checks before they arrive at the terminus via biometric face recognition technology, enabling them to board the train using face verification alone... More
Sydney to trial multimodal Mobility-as-a-Service app with subscription options
Transport for NSW is to pilot a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app in Sydney, Australia, that will enable passengers to plan, book and pay for journeys across both private and public transport services and opt to purchase a prepaid multimodal mobility plan... 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
More than 67m contactless POS terminals shipped in 2020
Annual shipments of NFC-ready POS terminals reached 67.2m units globally in 2020, bringing the total number to 140.5m or 68% of all POS terminals worldwide, according to Berg Insight... More
Mobile contactless payments now account for one in three card transactions in Russia
Mobile contactless payments now account for just over a third of all card transactions (34%) and just under a third of total card transaction value (31%) in Russia compared with 25% of transactions and 23% of transaction value in 2019-2020, according to MTS Bank research... More
Sainsbury’s lets customers ‘just walk out’ of contactless store in London
Customers using a Sainsbury’s contactless convenience store in London can now take the products they want to purchase from the shelves and charge their purchases to their credit or debit card without needing to scan them with their smartphone or visit a checkout by using a new feature on the UK retailer’s SmartShop app... More
New South Wales to roll out ‘whole-of-government’ digital identity wallet in 2022
The state government of New South Wales in Australia is to expand its digital ID system and enable citizens to store, display and renew a wider range of identity documents and other personal credentials including digital versions of their birth certificate, educational qualifications, seniors card and vocational licences in a digital wallet on their mobile device... More
Carrefour opens its first contactless store in Paris
France-based supermarket chain Carrefour has opened its first contactless convenience store in Paris that allows customers to walk in, select the items they wish to purchase and pay for them without needing to register or check in at the entrance, download an app or scan their purchases with their mobile device or at a checkout... More