Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) is enabling customers to open a new account remotely and without needing to visit a branch in person by taking a selfie, scanning their passport and tapping their Emirates ID card with an NFC-enabled device... More
United Arab Emirates
UK government to explore biometric contactless corridors for border checks
The UK government is to explore the implementation of walk-through “contactless corridors” at airports and other entry points to the country that will enable passengers to verify their identity using biometrics rather than their passport... More
ABI forecasts open loop EMV transit ticketing payment cards to top 136m by 2025
The number of open-loop EMV contactless cards used to make transit ticketing payments worldwide will increase from 24.8m currently to 136.9m by 2025, according to an ABI Research forecast... More
ANA invites passengers with NFC phones to pilot IATA digital travel pass
All Nippon Airways (ANA) is to trial the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Travel Pass app, enabling passengers on selected flights between Japan and the US to verify their identity and their Covid-19 test results at check-in on their NFC-enabled smartphone... More
Retail CBDC projects ‘particularly strong’ in emerging economies, PwC index shows
Projects to develop a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by consumers and businesses are “more advanced” and “particularly strong” in emerging economies, according to analysis by global consultancy firm PwC... More
Emirates NBD rewards customers for adopting contactless payments
Customers of Emirates NBD bank in the United Arab Emirates can now earn entries to a prize draw for luxury items whenever they make a contactless payment with their credit or debit card, mobile wallet or payments-enabled wearable device... More
Abu Dhabi theme parks roll out face recognition for access and payments
Visitors to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island can now use their face to gain access to the resort island’s Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros World theme parks and to make contactless payments at retail and dining outlets that support its face recognition technology... More
Tencent and Ant to integrate digital yuan wallets into mobile banking apps
Tencent-backed WeBank and Ant-backed MyBank are conducting “preliminary work under the guidance of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)” in order to integrate the digital yuan wallet into their payment and banking services, according to a China Securities report... More
Survey reports on consumer attitudes to using mobile apps for transit ticketing
Nearly one in two Americans (46%) are most likely or definitely interested in mobile payment options for public transit ticketing “for a safer mass transit journey”, a survey of consumers in 28 countries around the world has found... More
Emirates NBD leverages NFC to verify the identity of new account holders
Customers of Emirates NBD in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey are the first in the region to be able to verify their identity documents when they open a new account using an NFC-powered solution on the bank’s mobile banking app... More
Dubai beauty parlour introduces smart manicures that include an NFC chip
Customers of the Lanour Beauty Lounge in Dubai’s World Trade Centre can now have an NFC chip attached to their fingernail as part of a manicure, enabling them to store personal data and transfer it to NFC-enabled devices with a tap of their chip-bearing ‘smart nail’... More
Carrefour introduces mobile self-checkout in UAE
Customers in Carrefour stores run by Majid Al Futtaim in the United Arab Emirates can now scan their purchases and pay for them in-store using the Mobile Scan&Go feature integrated into the retailer’s app... More
Mashreq Bank rolls out contactless payments on standard NFC phones
Owners of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the UAE can now accept contactless payments on standard Android NFC smartphones, with no need for additional hardware... More
Contactless payment and instant credit ecosystem rolls out in UAE
Residents of the United Arab Emirates can now make in-app and in-store NFC and QR code-enabled contactless payments, international remittances, utility bill payments and P2P financial transfers and apply for instant credit using a single mobile payments app... More
Visa lets merchants in 15 countries accept contactless payments on standard NFC phones
Merchants in more than 15 countries around the world are now able to use Android NFC smartphones and tablets to accept contactless payments with no additional hardware required, Visa has announced... More
Klip digital wallet goes live in UAE
Customers of First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq Bank and the National Bank of Fujairah in the UAE can now make cashless digital payments using Klip, the digital wallet that forms part of the country’s new national digital cash replacement platform... More
UAE to launch national digital cash replacement platform that works for both banked and unbanked consumers
Both banked and unbanked residents of the UAE will soon be able to make instant cashless digital payments using a digital cash platform which they can either link directly to their bank accounts or add value to with cash at registered locations... More
Visa: One in two consumers are no longer willing to shop at stores that don’t offer a fully contactless payments process
A survey of merchants and consumers in eight countries around the world has found that the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in “a dramatic shift to digital commerce” with nearly half of consumers (48%) saying they would not now shop at a store that only offers payment methods that require contact with a cashier or a shared device... More
Card networks begin global Click to Pay rollout
American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa have announced that “they are each beginning technical preparations for global expansion” of Click to Pay, the single buy button solution for online merchants based on the EMVCo Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) standard... More
Central banks increase contactless transaction limit in UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait
Central banks in the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait have all increased the contactless transaction limits in their country, in a bid to combat the spread of Covid-19... More