PARTNER NEWS: Children visiting Santa’s Grotto in Blarney Woollen Mills, Ireland, are being given NFC wristbands that are pre-encoded with information provided by their parents. As the child approaches the grotto, the wristband gets scanned by an elf and Santa’s “naughty or nice” book is automatically updated with the information so that he can talk to the children on a personal level. More
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Australia, allowing American Express cardholders to make NFC mobile payments using iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and Apple Watch devices. More
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Canada, allowing American Express cardholders to pay in-store with compatible Apple devices at Amex contactless merchants as well as make purchases within participating mobile apps... More
Average transaction amounts on iOS devices (US$124.47) were almost double those made on Android ($65.22) in 2014, research from Kount reveals... More
HSBC and First Direct customers in the UK can now add their debit and credit cards to Apple Pay, allowing them to use their iPhone, Apple Watch or iPad to pay at more than 250,000 locations... More
US restaurants using Revel Systems’ iPad point-of-sale service will be able to activate mobile payments platform Zapper as an additional payment option for customers... More
Apple has added a further 30 US banks and credit unions to the list of financial institutions that support Apple Pay... More
Apple is rumoured to be working on a larger iPad which will include NFC, potentially turning the tablet into an Apple Pay POS terminal... More
JetBlue Airways is to become the first major US domestic carrier to accept Apple Pay for onboard purchases such as food and drink... More
Two Dutch schoolboys have developed KeyTouch, an app that uses Apple’s Touch ID technology to protect access to Mac computers... More
Toshiba has unveiled an add-on adapter for iOS devices that will enable users to transfer large data files such as movies and images from one device to the other using TransferJet, a high-speed short range contactless communications technology... More
Barclays is to run a three month Bluetooth beacon technology trial at its Pinstone Street branch in Sheffield, UK, to alert bank staff to the presence of customers with disabilities... More
Payments startup Drop has launched a mobile payments and loyalty solution that uses Bluetooth beacons to let shoppers order and pay from up to 200 feet away before picking up their purchase and leaving without having to wait in line at the point of sale... More
United Airlines is to install more than 6,000 iPads across Terminal C of Newark Liberty International Airport to enable members of the airline’s MileagePlus reward scheme to use their award miles to pay for food, beverages and other airport amenities... More
Apple has included an NFC chip in its new iPad Mini 3, a teardown by iFixit has revealed... More
A teardown of the iPad Air 2 by iFixit has found that Apple has included an NXP 65V10 NFC module in the new tablet... More
Apple customers in the US will be able to use their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus to make Apple Pay mobile payments from Monday 20 October, CEO Tim Cook has announced, and 500 banks have now signed up to offer the service to their customers... More
A text string in the beta release of iOS 8.1 spotted by a MacRumours reader appears to confirm reports that Apple will add a Touch ID fingerprint sensor to its next iPad, which may ship as soon as next month, and make it possible for owners to use Apple Pay to make online purchases... More
Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley and now a major tourist attraction, is offering every visitor the use of an iPad that works in conjunction with Bluetooth beacons placed around the Memphis mansion to help guests navigate the attraction and “trigger additional content including videos, trivia and more.”... More
UK sports fashion chain JD has installed Bluetooth beacons at its new concept store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre, letting customers who have downloaded the JD app “access exclusive store content and shop from the app before paying in-store.” The store also features eight multi-channel kiosks and a social media wall, and staff have been equipped with iPads “to assist with customers’ enquiries.”... More