The next edition of Android will include support for mobile driving licences and will also provide enhanced biometric verification features, Google has revealed... More
Android 11 to add support for mobile driving licences
Identity
South Dakota State University rolls out iPhone NFC IDs
South Dakota State University students, faculty and staff are now able to add their MyJacks ID cards to their iPhone or Apple Watch and then use their mobile phone or wearable to make on-campus payments and gain access to residence halls and other facilities... More
Mercer University reports on iPhone NFC ID adoption
Mobile student ID coming soon to Android devices — The Cluster — “Eight months after the launch of a mobile Bear Card for Apple devices, associate vice president for auxiliary services Ken Boyer said the digital credential will become available for Android devices in the second quarter of 2020… Boyer said 3,198 students, faculty and staff have enabled the digital ID since. The Office of Auxiliary Services anticipates that 2,500 more users will sign up once the Android option is available.”
UK consumers warming to face biometrics
A survey has found that while half of Brits are happy to unlock their phones with their faces, only a third trust the technology to authorise a payment... More
Piedmont vineyard picks NFC screw caps to fight fakes
A family-run vineyard in Italy has become the first in Europe to use NFC-equipped screw caps on its bottles to protect buyers from counterfeit wines... More
NatWest pilots biometric payments fob
UK bank NatWest is following its biometric payment card trials with a pilot of a biometric payment fob that lets customers make contactless payments for transactions valued at up to £100 (US$130)... More
NatWest begins biometric credit card pilot
The UK’s NatWest bank has begun a three-month pilot of a biometric credit card that enables customers to make contactless transactions of up to £100 (US$123) instead of the usual maximum value of £30 (US$37)... More
New York Mets pilot biometric payments kiosk
New York Mets fans attending games at the team’s Citi Field home field can now purchase snacks and beverages at a self-checkout kiosk that uses a biometrics-based identity verification system to process payments — and check that buyers of alcoholic drinks are of legal drinking age... More
Mobile phones to become ‘primary source of identity’ for over 3bn people
By 2024, nearly 40% of the global population will have been issued with a mobile digital identity document, Juniper Research forecasts — a total of more than three billion people... More
Apple expands NFC student IDs to 12 more universities
Students at an additional 12 US universities will be able to use their iPhone or Apple Watch “to get into dorms, buy lunch and more” in the coming school year, Apple has announced... More
US Army to issue soldiers with wearable contactless IDs
The US Army is looking to replace its current smartcard-based Common Access Card (CAC) with “wireless, lightweight, flexible and rugged” wearable contactless identity tokens that can be inserted into a soldier’s pocket, attached to a sleeve or integrated into a wristband... More
UK government begins testing iPhone NFC passport reading
Home Office begins testing settled status app on Apple devices — PublicTechnology — “The Home Secretary has already confirmed that the EU Exit ID Document Check app will be available on Apple devices this year,” the spokesperson said. “We are now testing the app on Apple devices with the new functionality.”
Japanese government to adopt iPhone NFC chip reading for citizen ID
iOS 13 NFC for Japanese Individual Number Cards — Ata Distance — “Individual Number Cards are supported by card readers that require a personal computer and additional software. NFC tag reading with a smartphone is much easier because it can work out of the box and an app. Android phones are supported but limited to select Aquos, Galaxy and Xperia smartphone models. iPhone NFC tag support in iOS 13 will considerably widen the user footprint.”
Confirmed: iOS 13 to include support for NFC passport reading
Apple’s update to its Core NFC framework for iOS 13 will include support for reading passports and ID documents, chip checker app maker Innovalor has confirmed to NFC World... More
Singapore to introduce mobile citizen ID platform
More citizens and businesses satisfied with government digital services — Government Technology Agency of Singapore — “By the third quarter of FY19, the Government will launch ‘SG-Verify’, a facility for businesses to perform secure identity verification and data transfer through QR scanning. This will provide businesses an alternative for visitor registration and access, customer acquisition at roadshows, or any other use cases that require identification.”
Edenred pilots biometric cards for state benefit payments
Mastercard and Edenred Bank announce first biometric card trial in Mexico — Mastercard — “Mastercard and Edenred today announced the first regional test of biometric card technology in Mexico. The effort, focused on state benefits programmes, features an embedded fingerprint sensor that provides an additional layer of security to conveniently verify the cardholder’s identity for in-store purchases.”
Marshall University lets students add campus cards to iPhone and Apple Watch
Marshall ID cards now available on iPhone and Apple Watch — Marshall University — “By simply placing their iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader where physical student IDs are accepted, users can enter residence halls and libraries, access dining plans, purchase food, buy items in the university bookstore or in vending machines, print documents and more.”
Vending machine firms to use blockchain ID platform to automate sale of age-restricted items
Twelve vending machine providers with an installed base of more than one million vending machines have signed up for Civic Pay, a blockchain-based platform that combines identity and age verification, QR code mobile payments, loyalty and rewards... More
Apple to unlock iPhone NFC to read secure data from passports
Apple will expand the iPhone’s NFC chip reading capabilities before the end of 2019 so that it can be used to read data stored in security chips like those used in passports, according to comments made by the UK government... More
Johns Hopkins University rolls out support for iOS and Android campus cards
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has become the fifth university in the US to enable its students to load their campus card onto their iPhone or Apple Watch... More