Walmart has updated its mobile app to remove the need for shoppers to make physical contact with a self-checkout station when paying with the retail giant’s QR-based Walmart Pay service... More
Retail
Canada increases contactless transaction limit by 150%
Visa and Mastercard are increasing the contactless payment limit in Canada by 150%, from C$100 (US$70) to C$250 (US$176)... More
Australia doubles contactless transaction limit to A$200
The Australian payments industry has begun implementing an increase in the country’s contactless payments transaction limit, from A$100 (US$60) to A$200 (US$120)... More
Fitbit Charge 4 launches with NFC contactless payments
The latest health and fitness tracker from Fitbit comes with contactless payments as standard... More
Visa reports on the impact of Covid-19 on payment volumes
US credit card payment volumes decreased by 7% in March 2020 compared with March 2019, Visa has reported, while cross-border transaction volumes have fallen 19%... More
Qatar triples contactless transaction limit
Banks in Qatar are raising the contactless transaction limit from 100 riyals (US$27.46) to 300 riyals (US$82.39), in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19... More
EBA recommends Europe-wide contactless transaction limit increase
The European Banking Authority has issued a statement urging the European payments industry to increase contactless transaction limits to €50 (US$54.97)... More
Mastercard: 29 countries have now agreed to raise their contactless payment limit
Mastercard is now working with 29 countries across Europe and central Asia to implement increases to their contactless payment transaction limit, the payments network says... More
Mastercard, Thales and Tappy explain how watch and wearable brands can add support for payments
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: The opening session of the Wearable Payment Summit 2020, NFCW’s first online conference, is now available to watch free of charge in our Knowledge Centre... More
UK raises contactless transaction limit by 50%
The spending limit for contactless card payments in the UK is being increased from £30 (US$35.33) to £45 (US$52.99), UK Finance has announced. The new spending limit will begin to roll out from 1 April 2020. More
Germans switch to contactless payments amid coronavirus concerns
“Coronavirus concerns have pushed consumers across Germany to make the switch to using contactless payments for the first time,” The Local.de reports... More
China promotes consumer spending with government mobile payment vouchers
The Chengyang District of the city of Qingdao has become the first in China to use a new WeChat service to issue government vouchers directly to residents’ mobile phones, in a bid to boost consumer spending as the Chinese economy begins to recover from Covid-19... More
Egypt promotes cashless payments with increased contactless transaction limit, free prepaid cards and mobile wallets
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has introduced a series of measures designed to reduce the need for citizens to use cash to make payments, including a doubling of the contactless payment transaction limit and free access to both prepaid card and mobile wallet services... More
Norwegian banks increase domestic contactless card transaction limit
Norway is increasing the transaction limit for BankAxept domestic contactless debit card payments from 400 kr (US$34.28) to 500 kr (US$42.84) “in order to minimise the number of physical touch points where infection can be transmitted”... More
National Bank of Georgia recommends contactless and mobile payments
“Whenever possible, use cashless payments, contactless and mobile payments,” Georgia’s central bank has urged the country’s citizens... More
ANZ waives contactless debit card fees for small businesses in New Zealand
ANZ is to provide free contactless debit transactions “for eligible small business customers” in New Zealand until 30 June, the bank has announced... More
Ireland to raise contactless transaction limit to €50
Banks in Ireland have agreed to increase the contactless transaction limit from €30 (US$32.17) to €50 (US$53.54) “to minimise the handling of cash amid Covid-19”, The Irish Times reports... More
Dutch banks raise cumulative contactless payments limit to €100
Banks in the Netherlands are seeking to combat the spread of Covid-19 by increasing the maximum value of contactless transactions that a cardholder can make before needing to enter a PIN to €100 (US$107.07), up from the previous €50 (US$53.54)... More
Cole Haan deploys NFC tags across Santa Clara store
Performance lifestyle brand Cole Haan is deploying NFC tags across its new Grandshop outlet in Santa Clara, California, to enable shoppers to find out more about the range of products available for sale... More
OTG to roll out Amazon Go cashierless shopping technology at New York airports
Airport hospitality group OTG is adopting Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, enabling passengers shopping at its CIBO Express Gourmet Markets at New York’s Newark and LaGuardia airports to more quickly make last-minute purchases... More