Singapore’s POSB bank has provided 6,000 primary school children with smartwatches equipped with fitness tracking and mobile payments capabilities in a bid to “teach students how to save and spend wisely by helping them track their savings and spending habits digitally.”... More
NFC
Green Dot CEO sets out how Apple Pay Cash will work
Prepaid card provider Green Dot “will perform several roles” for Apple when the iPhone maker launches its P2P payments and Apple Pay Cash services in the US in September, Green Dot CEO Steven Streit has revealed during the company’s Q2 2017 earnings call... More
ST offers technical guidance on deploying NFC readers
An in-depth presentation on STMicroelectronics’ ST25R NFC reader family that sets out the technical requirements for integrating NFC services in a wide variety of markets including payments, access control, connected homes and automotive applications is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
How Australians pay: Evidence from the 2016 Consumer Payments survey
How Australians pay: Evidence from the 2016 Consumer Payments survey — Reserve Bank of Australia — “Cards were the most frequently used means of payment in the 2016 survey, overtaking cash for the first time. Contactless ‘tap and go’ cards are an increasingly popular way of making payments, displacing cash for many lower-value transactions… Consumers are increasingly using their mobile phones to make online and person-to-person payments.”
Tesla Model 3 has no key, so don’t forget your phone
Tesla Model 3 has no key, so don’t forget your phone — Road/Show — “For the Model 3, Tesla engineered the car to accept a digital key transmitted through Bluetooth from an owner’s phone… As a back-up, or for valet access, each Model 3 will come with a couple of NFC cards, which can also unlock and start up the car. The cards will unlock the door with a tap on the B-pillar, and start up the car with another tap between the front seats.”
Spanish winemaker uses NFC in major promotional campaign
Spanish luxury winemaker Barbadillo has added promotional neck collars equipped with NFC tags to 126,000 bottles of its best-selling Castillo de San Diego white wine for a nationwide campaign that gives customers the chance to win a €1,000 (US$1,172) prize... More
Bank of America and PayPal partner to enable in-store payments and account linking
Bank of America and PayPal partner to enable in-store payments and account linking — Bank of America — “Bank of America will partner with PayPal to tokenize Bank of America cards for customers wishing to use PayPal for in-store purchases, across MasterCard and Visa portfolios in the US. This will support PayPal’s forthcoming NFC mobile wallet experience to enable in-store tap-to-pay purchases and reflects Bank of America’s open wallet strategy.”
BBVA brings Android Pay to Spain
BBVA brings Android Pay to Spain — BBVA – “BBVA and Google today announced the launch of Android Pay in Spain. This payment system will allow BBVA customers to use their Visa and Mastercard cards in order to pay with their mobile phones. Android Pay will be operational in the more than one million businesses in Spain with contactless technology.”
JCPenney adds credit cards and loyalty rewards to Apple Pay
Customers of US department store chain JCPenney can now add the retailer’s credit card to Apple Pay and make contactless payments at any of the company’s stores nationwide... More
Tech company workers agree to have microchips implanted in their hands
Tech company workers agree to have microchips implanted in their hands — ABC News – “Some workers at a company in Wisconsin will soon be getting microchips in order to enter the office, log into computers and even buy a snack or two with just a swipe of a hand… Three Square Market is footing the bill for the microchips, which cost US$300 each, and licensed piercers will be handling the implantations on August 1.”
Tap-and-go kills the cash cow
Tap-and-go kills the cash cow — Sydney Morning Herald – “Australia has become a nation of tappers, with official figures showing that the card has finally overtaken cash as our most-frequently-used payment method… The Reserve Bank attributes that to several factors, including the widespread rollout of tap-and-go Eftpos functionality. Around one-third of all point-of-sale payments are now made using tap-and-go.”
PayPal to let Citibank and Chase customers pay with loyalty points
Citibank and JPMorgan Chase customers across the US will soon be able to make online purchases using loyalty points as currency at “millions of merchants” that accept PayPal... More
Dubai’s Nol cards can now be used for payment at 1,000 retail units
Dubai’s Nol cards can now be used for payment at 1,000 retail units — Gulf Business — “Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced that Nol cards can now be used to make payments at more than 1,000 selected retail outlets… Nol cards are used to pay for public transport systems such as the Metro, Tram, buses and water taxis… The network of retailers accepting Nol cards is projected to exceed 5,000 by the end of this year.”
Swatch partners with eleven Chinese banks for second-generation payments watch
Four new NFC smart watches that make use of China UnionPay’s cloud-based payments service have been unveiled in Shanghai by Swatch Group CEO Nick Hayek... More
Abu Dhabi launches app to track pupils on journey to school
Abu Dhabi launches app to track pupils on journey to school — Arabian Business — “Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) and Emirates Transport have launched Hafilaty, an app that enables parents to track their children to and from school… As part of the initiative, Emirates Transport has installed advanced systems, including GPS tracking systems to locate the bus and NFC technology on students’ cards.”
US pop band adds NFC tags to merchandise range
Fans of US pop group Airspoken can now access music, videos and other digital content by tapping their NFC mobile devices against NFC tags embedded in the band’s merchandise, from t-shirts, stickers and hats to bracelets and more... More
Citi Pay launches in the US
Citi Pay launches in the US — Citi — “Online and in-app purchases will be enabled through Citi’s integration of Masterpass… For Android users, the digital wallet also enables Citi cardholders to make in-store purchases by tapping their Android mobile devices at any NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminal… In 2016, Citi Pay launched in Singapore, Australia and Mexico with tap and pay capabilities.”
More than 30m journeys made using NFC mobile phones across London in the last 12 months
More than 31m journeys have been made using NFC mobile phones across Transport for London’s (TfL) network in the last 12 months, the transport operator has revealed... More
Galeries Lafayette opens NFC digital showrooms for handbags
French department store chain Galeries Lafayette has added a digital showroom for leather goods at its La Rochelle and Cannes stores, allowing shoppers to place handbags that interest them on a dedicated table where NFC tags attached to the products are used to bring up information, options and checkout details... More