A new digital identity service to be introduced by the French government this year will use NFC passport reading to enable citizens to use their smartphone to securely enrol themselves onto the system... More
Public transportation users in Paris can now buy and store transit tickets and passes on Samsung and Orange NFC phones — and can use any Android phone to buy a ticket and then upload it to their contactless travel card via NFC... More
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) says its new Omny open loop contactless payments system recorded its one millionth transaction on 8 August, “a remarkable milestone accomplished at a much higher usage rate than initially estimated”... More
Titan Security Keys are now available in Canada, France, Japan, and the UK — Google — “Titan Security Keys are built with a hardware chip that includes firmware engineered by Google to verify the keys’ integrity. Each key leverages FIDO standards to cryptographically verify your identity and URL of the login page, preventing an attacker from accessing your account even if you are tricked into providing your username and password.”
Amazon launches Transparency in Europe, India and Canada — Amazon — “Transparency is a product serialisation service that provides a unique code for every unit that is manufactured. Brands put these codes on its products and every time one of these products is ordered in Amazon’s stores, Amazon scans and verifies the code to ensure only authentic units reach customers. Additionally, customers can use a mobile app to scan the code and verify authenticity regardless of where they purchased their units. Brands can also use Transparency to communicate unique unit-level information, including manufacturing date, manufacturing place, or other enhanced product information (eg ingredients).”
The first of a new range of contactless transit cards and passes are now being made available in Paris, enabling bus, tram and metro users to begin replacing cardboard tickets with contactless alternatives... More
Societe Generale brings personalized credit and debit cards to Apple Pay — Societe Generale — “Societe Generale offers over 180 personalised physical cards, but this marks the first time customers will see the exact same card as they have in their wallet in Apple Pay. ‘With Apple Pay’s personalisation mirroring our cards’ personalisation, we are demonstrating continuity between our digital and our physical products,’ said Julien Claudon, head of card and digital payment.”
“Mastercard is working with Crédit Agricole Payment Services on a biometric card pilot for 200 customers in Touraine and Poitou, who will trial the card which features an integrated fingerprint sensor... More
Uber has launched a trial of its pedal-assisted electric bikes in London as part of its strategy to become an all-round transport app... More
Commuters in the greater Paris region will be able to use their NFC mobile phone to store Navigo transit passes and T+ prepaid ticket books from September 2019... More
Despite greater than ever use of smart devices for banking and payments and a desire for the latest technologies, Europeans are some of the most cautious adopters, according to a survey of 15,000 consumers in Europe, America and Australia... More
Facebook’s decision to discontinue its peer-to-peer (P2P) Messenger payments option in the UK and France next month is due to poor adoption of the service by consumers, according to new figures from data analytics company GlobalData... More
Facebook will scrap Messenger payments in the UK and France — Engadget — “Facebook will discontinue peer-to-peer Messenger payments in France and the UK on 15 June, the company told Engadget. ‘After evaluating how we give people the best experiences in Messenger, we made the decision to focus our efforts on experiences that people find most useful,’ Facebook said.”
Air France, KLM, EasyJet, Lufthansa and Ryanair have all begun adding support for Google Pay, enabling flyers to save their boarding passes to the service when they use an airline’s app to buy a ticket... More
Q&A: The present and future of NFC in cars with ST — ST Microelectronics — PARTNER NEWS — “A couple of years ago, engineers needed to convince decision makers to use NFC in vehicles. Then Mercedes adopted our ST25R reader in their E-Class models. Now, decision makers want a reader because keyless entry and smartphone pairing are all the rage.”
PARTNER NEWS: Card issuers could soon be able to more easily make use of trusted execution environments (TEEs) to add security to their HCE mobile payments apps, mobile transaction specialist Dejamobile explains in a new white paper which is now available to download free of charge from the NFCW Knowledge Centre... More
Google Pay is now live in France, with support for Boon, Boursarama Banque debit and credit cards, Edenred Ticket Restaurant cards, Lydia prepaid Mastercards, N26 Mastercard debit cards and Revolut Mastercards... More
Societe Generale is testing the idea of issuing bank cards that incorporate a built-in fingerprint verification sensor with the aim of using the added security the cards provide to allow customers to make contactless payments “with no limit on the amount.”... More
Paris Saint-Germain becomes first football club in the world to announce long term cryptocurrency strategy — Paris Saint-Germain — “Socios.com will work alongside the club to develop the world’s first Fan Token Offering (FTO) for the Paris Saint-Germain fanbase. The Paris Saint-Germain fan token will be listed on the Socios.com platform and will allow fans to engage with the club through mobile voting and polling platforms. Token owners will also be granted access to exclusive fan rewards, content and experiences.”
Bus tickets and Navigo passes are available on smartphones in Ile-de-France — RTL (translation) — “RATP has begun pilot testing a service that makes it possible to buy and store a metro ticket directly on a smartphone. This first pilot is being conducted with around one hundred users, selected from RATP and SNCF employees. The system will be extended to include the Navigo Pass in November and extended to all operators in the summer of 2019.”