Barclays is to provide its UK corporate banking customers with finger vein biometric authentication devices that will let them “easily access their online bank accounts and authorise payments within seconds, without the need for PIN, passwords or authentication codes.” More
Coffee giant Starbucks is to use its digital payments expertise and online presence to introduce a range of new formats and services, the company says, beginning with the introduction of mobile ordering at its first Express outlet in New York in early 2015... More
Apple will be getting special rates from five US card issuers on mobile payments made by its device users, according to well-connected payments advisor Tom Noyes, and customers will use a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), NFC and Touch ID to make payments in stores... More
NFC Business Models, NFC World’s landmark 2011 research report on strategies for monetising NFC, is now available as a free download in the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre... More
A report in The New York Times, which cites several people “with knowledge of the products” including two Apple employees — the first time the company has been mentioned as a source on the new products and services — appears to confirm many of the rumours circulating about Apple’s NFC payment plans... More
Keep up to date: Get NFCW's headlines by email every Wednesday
PARTNER NEWS: NXP has unveiled a dynamic NFC chip that can be used by electronic device makers to let consumers use their mobile phone as a remote user interface “rather than relying on expensive touchscreens or WiFi connectivity for wireless data exchange on home electronics.” More
Apple plans to include NFC in a new smartwatch that will be unveiled on 9 September, as well as in the next iPhone, the Wall Street Journal reports, “signaling that it sees a role for the device in digital payments.” NFC “is central to Apple’s plans to offer so-called tap-to-pay into its mobile devices, allowing users to pay for goods and services using credit cards stored with iTunes,” the report adds... More
A case study that details an NFC-based shopper marketing service tested by soft drinks giant Pepsi is now available to download free of charge from the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre... More
NFC World+ now has a Knowledge Centre which provides readers with in-depth reports, technical guides and market briefings on the technologies shaping the future of mobile payments and commerce. Sign up to the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre today and you’ll get unlimited access to this unique resource — completely free of charge. More
Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley and now a major tourist attraction, is offering every visitor the use of an iPad that works in conjunction with Bluetooth beacons placed around the Memphis mansion to help guests navigate the attraction and “trigger additional content including videos, trivia and more.” More
Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the mobile payments venture co-owned by US retail chains with collective revenues of more than US$1 trillion annually, has announced that its payments, loyalty and offers platform is to be called CurrentC — and provided the first details of how the service will work when it rolls out to 110,000 merchant locations across the US in 2015. More
An NFC mobile payments service is now available to customers of Quebec-based financial institution Desjardins Group. The Desjardins Mobile Payment service works with NFC phones provided by Bell Mobility, Rogers and Virgin Mobile with Telus and “other mobile carriers” to be added soon. More
Keep up to date: Get NFCW's headlines by email every Wednesday
Fast food giant McDonald’s will begin accepting NFC mobile payments in US stores on 15 September, an internal notice sent out to franchisees and seen by 9to5Mac suggests. More
US NFC mobile payments venture Isis has chosen Softcard as its new name... More
Customers of US department store chain Macy’s can now make online payments and save offers that can be redeemed in store with a new digital wallet, WWD reports... More
Upmarket US retailer Nordstrom is in talks to partner with Apple on its new mobile payments service, Bank Innovation reports... More
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons are being attached to the trays of roving snack and drink vendors for football matches taking place at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Australia this month. The beacons trigger location-specific messages to fans’ smartphones as the vendors move around the stadium, inviting them to show the message to the vendor to receive a free pie. More
A café in Palo Alto, California is using a new service developed by startup Downtown that lets customers order and pay for their meals with their mobile phone. Bluetooth beacons placed at each table link each order with the table the customer is seated at, enabling waiting staff to bring ordered items directly to the correct table. More
UK sports fashion chain JD has installed Bluetooth beacons at its new concept store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre, letting customers who have downloaded the JD app “access exclusive store content and shop from the app before paying in-store.” The store also features eight multi-channel kiosks and a social media wall, and staff have been equipped with iPads “to assist with customers’ enquiries.”... More
Spain-based banking group BBVA has signed up 250,000 customers for its BBVA Wallet service and is to expand availability to the US, Mexico and Chile this year. The wallet includes support for host card emulation (HCE)-based payments for customers with an NFC phone running Android 4.4 or later. More