Apple may soon enable merchants to accept contactless payments on their iPhone without needing to connect their device to a separate payment terminal or other additional hardware, according to reports... More
Retail
FBI warns of cybercrime risks as businesses use QR codes ‘more frequently’ during pandemic
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US has released a public service announcement (PSA) warning that “cybercriminals are tampering with QR codes” in order to steal data and funds and is advising consumers to “practice caution” when using them... More
Apple Pay goes live in Armenia
Apple Pay has launched in Armenia with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by Acba Bank, Ardshinbank, Ameriabank, Converse Bank, Inecobank and Unibank... More
UK grocery stores let consumers receive personalised digital vouchers on their smartphone
Customers shopping at Nisa grocery stores across the UK will soon be able to scan selected products with their smartphone in order to receive digital vouchers that entitle them to a discount on those products when they present their ‘voucher wallet’ at the checkout... More
Aldi lets customers authorise age-restricted purchases with their face in London contactless store pilot
Customers wishing to purchase alcohol and other age-restricted products in Aldi’s first contactless store on Greenwich High Street in London can authorise their purchase using facial age estimation technology... More
China to let visiting athletes and spectators use digital yuan at Beijing Winter Olympics
Overseas athletes and spectators visiting the Beijing Winter Olympics will be among the first foreign nationals to be able to trial China’s digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC) at event venues, nearby merchants and inside the Olympic Village... More
Apple reports on mobile payments and ticketing adoption
Apple Pay is now available in 60 countries and regions worldwide, with support from nearly 9,000 partner banks, following the service’s expansion to nine new markets — including Colombia, Israel and Mexico — during 2021, Apple reports... More
Cincinnati airport rolls out contactless retail delivery robots
Passengers travelling from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in the US can now order food, beverages and travel items sold at retail outlets in the airport’s Concourse B on their mobile device and have their purchases delivered directly to their location by an autonomous delivery robot... More
Seven in ten UK debit card transactions are now contactless
Nearly seven in ten debit card transactions (69%) and just over half of all credit card transactions (53%) in the UK are now contactless, according to figures from UK Finance... More
Nayax picks Cilab ci230 to accelerate EMV POS certification
PARTNER NEWS: Award-winning cashless payments provider Nayax has selected Cilab’s ci230 test bench to accelerate its delivery of contactless payments devices conforming to the latest EMVCo standards... More
Survey reveals ‘sharp difference’ between consumer attitudes to CBDCs in emerging and developed markets
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
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
JR East launches contactless coffee shop with AI-powered robot barista
Rail passengers at Tokyo and Yokohama stations in Japan can now order, collect and pay for coffee made by a six-armed AI-powered robot barista — known as Ella — at a fully automated contactless coffee shop... 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