Ford, Alibaba roll out test-drive services via ‘auto vending machine’ — China Automotive News — “Users can book a test drive via the Alibaba’s Taobao mobile app or the Tmall platform. Entering a key word of ‘super test drive’, users can follow the instructions from the interface to select the vehicles they want and the time to have the test drive. To schedule a test drive, users should submit their basic information and upload their selfies on the platform. Besides, they need to pay some test drive fees and the money for vehicle purchasing intention. After all these done, consumers can pick up their test vehicle via a facial recognition at the ‘super test drive center’ in Guangzhou to enjoy a three-day ride.”
Ford patents a smartphone case that turns your phone into a key fob — Ford Authority — “Ford Motor Company was just this week granted a patent on a new type of smartphone case with all the necessary integrated electronics to allow the phone to function as a vehicle key fob… The device would communicate with the encased smartphone through the Bluetooth or NFC (Near Field Communication) protocols, the patent says, giving the user access to a virtual keyfob on the smartphone’s screen.”
Starbucks customers across the US will soon be able to purchase gift cards using Apple Pay and send them to friends and family within Apple’s iMessage platform. The move comes as the coffee giant reveals it now has approximately nine million mobile paying customers with one in three using Mobile Order & Pay, which accounted for 8% of all transactions made across US stores last month. More
Chinese mobile phone giant Huawei is to pre-load Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant on its flagship Mate 9 smartphone, which has now launched in the US, as Amazon bids for a leading role in the emerging voice-activated services market... More
FordPay, Ford’s virtual mobile wallet that forms part of the FordPass platform unveiled in January 2016, is to make its debut in Europe this year, the car-maker’s CEO Mark Fields has announced at Mobile World Congress... More
Ford car owners will soon be able to make transactions from their vehicle for services such as car parking using FordPay, a virtual wallet that stores payment details on their mobile phone. The feature is part of the FordPass platform which aims to offer drivers more mobility options and also includes merchant rewards. More
Spain’s CaixaBank has launched an app which allows customers to use voice commands to perform simple online banking operations, opening the way for drivers to check balances and initiate transfers as they travel... More
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: MasterCard wins Oyster deal • PayPal nears 100m accounts • Proxama buys Hypertag • Palm tablets to include NFC? • Contactless grows in the UK • NTT Docomo, KT and China Mobile tie up. More
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