Customers of Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) can now open a prepaid card account that enables their children to make contactless in-store payments with an NFC-enabled wristband and allows parents to digitally issue allowances and monitor transactions... More
Contactless
Dutch regulator calls for extra EU rules to ensure payment app access to smartphone NFC technology
The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is calling for amendments to current European Union legislation in order to ensure companies such as Apple provide payment apps with access to a smartphone’s NFC chip to give users a choice of in-store payment methods on their device... More
Forecast: Contactless to account for more than half the total value of all POS transactions by 2026
Contactless payments will account for more than half (57%) of the total global value of transactions made at the point of sale (POS) by 2026, compared with just under 25% in 2021, Juniper Research predicts... More
Translink to roll out interoperable fare-capped contactless ticketing across Northern Ireland
Public transport users in Northern Ireland will soon be able to make tap-on-tap-off contactless fare payments on all bus and rail services across the whole province using their debit or credit card or a single transit smartcard... More
SEPTA reveals plans to expand mobile payments for transit ticketing in Philadelphia
South East Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in the US is planning to upgrade or replace its SEPTA Key transit card system in order to offer passengers on its bus, trolley and rail networks in the Greater Philadelphia region a wider range of transit ticketing options... More
UK to raise contactless transaction limit to £100 on 5 August?
The planned increase in the UK’s contactless transaction limit from £45 to £100 announced by the UK Treasury in March could come into effect on 5 August, according to a Reddit user... More
Vipps, MobilePay and Pivo to merge and launch single digital wallet across Scandinavia
Bank-owned Nordic mobile payment providers Vipps in Norway, MobilePay in Denmark and Pivo in Finland are to merge and will create a single digital wallet that consumers can use in all three countries, as well as for cross-border payments... More
Digital payments now exceed cash for purchases at US vending machines
The average number of digital payments made for purchases from vending machines in the US grew steadily during 2019, finally exceeded those made with cash in April 2020 and continued to increase over the course of 2020, a new study shows... More
US credit union to let customers authenticate banking transactions with mobile driving licence
Utah Community Credit Union (UCCU) is to become the first financial institution in the US state to let its customers use Utah’s mobile driving licence (mDL) as a legal form of identification for all banking transactions... More
Russian fast food chain rolls out biometric payments so customers can ‘pay with a glance’
Customers at Kio Kukhnya fast food outlets in the Russian city of St Petersburg can now pay for their food and beverages at payment terminals equipped with biometric pay-with-a-glance technology... More
Hong Kong virtual bank launches ‘all-in-one’ numberless debit and credit card
Customers of Hong Kong-based virtual bank Mox can now apply for an “all-in-one” numberless payments card that they can choose to use as either a debit or a credit card whenever they make a transaction... More
Stockholm to add EMV white label card for closed loop transit ticketing
Passengers travelling on metro, rail, bus, tram and boat services in the Swedish capital of Stockholm will soon be able to use an EMV white label card issued by the city’s Storstockholm Lokaltrafik (SL) transit authority to make EMV contactless payments for their fares... More
Thai and Malaysian central banks roll out real-time cross-border QR payments
Consumers from Thailand can now make instant cross-border QR code-based payments for goods and services to merchants in Malaysia from their mobile payments app using a service being launched by the Bank of Thailand and Bank Negara Malaysia... More
Resorts World brings mobile payments to Las Vegas gaming tables
Gamblers at Resorts World Las Vegas in Nevada in the US will soon be able to purchase gambling chips for table games including blackjack, baccarat and roulette, as well as place contactless cashless bets at slot machines, directly from a digital wallet on their mobile phone... More
Virgin Hotels lets guests check in with mobile ID
Guests staying at Virgin Hotels in four US cities can now securely verify their identity, check in and receive a mobile room key via an app on their iOS or Android device before arriving at their hotel... More
Visa brings Tap to Phone payments to the US
Retailers and other small business owners in six US cities will soon be able to accept contactless payments on an Android NFC smartphone using Visa’s software-only Tap to Phone solution... More
China Construction Bank pilots biometric cards for digital currency payments
China Construction Bank (CCB) is piloting a biometric ‘hard wallet’ smart card that lets customers store digital yuan and authenticate payments made using the central bank digital currency (CBDC) with their fingerprint... More
BBVA launches biometric credit card in Mexico
Customers of BBVA Mexico can now apply for a ‘blank’ biometric credit card that enables them to authenticate payments with their fingerprint... More
Coca-Cola gives away mobile wallet credits for ‘free Cokes’ in US restaurants
Consumers in the US can now receive a US$2.50 credit to their mobile wallet that they can use to buy a Coca-Cola beverage at any restaurant that accepts card payments... More
UK government to explore biometric contactless corridors for border checks
The UK government is to explore the implementation of walk-through “contactless corridors” at airports and other entry points to the country that will enable passengers to verify their identity using biometrics rather than their passport... More