Chinese banks have joined a government initiative to add support for payments made using China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to physical state-issued social security cards, according to local media reports... More
Digital payments
Moscow Metro reports 320,000 face biometric fare payment users
More than 320,000 passengers have now used Moscow Metro’s FacePay face biometrics service to pay for more than 67m trips, the transportation operator reports, up from 220,000 registered users and 32m journeys in January 2023... More
Google Wallet to add support for QR mobile payments
Google is adding QR payments to Google Wallet and users in Brazil will be the first in the world to use their Google Wallet to make mobile payments with QR codes, Google VP and country director for Brazil Fabio Coelho has revealed... More
LVMH to bring Tap to Pay on iPhone to US stores
LVMH Group is to equip staff at its Sephora, Christian Dior Couture, Celine, Tiffany & Co and Louis Vuitton stores in the US with iPhones that use Apple’s Tap to Pay softPOS solution from “later this year”. More
Sixteen banks, payments and technology firms to pilot digital Hong Kong dollar
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has officially launched six first-round pilots of a digital Hong Kong dollar or e-HKD with support from 16 banks, payments and technology firms to test the prototype central bank digital currency (CBDC) across a range of use cases including in-store, online and offline payments... More
Beijing Subway lets passengers use their palm as a ticket
Passengers travelling on the Beijing Daxing Airport Express subway service in the Chinese capital can now pass through ticketing gates by scanning their palm... More
Celent analyst Zil Bareisis reports on what’s next in contactless payments
New form factors, value-added services, issuing business models and payment acceptance innovations such as softPOS solutions are the driving forces behind what’s next in the contactless card payments market, Bareisis explains in a presentation for Contactless World Congress. More
City of Brighton boosts local economy with digital gift cards that can only be spent at local merchants
Consumers in the English city of Brighton will soon be able to purchase a prepaid digital gift card that can be stored on a smartphone and used to make in-store mobile payments for goods and services at local retailers, restaurants, leisure attractions and other businesses... More
Bank of Korea and Samsung to test offline CBDC payments using NFC
The Bank of Korea (BOK) and Samsung are to test using NFC to make offline central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions with Galaxy smartphones and smart watches without needing an internet connection... More
Qatar Central Bank rolls out interoperable national mobile payments system
Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has launched an interoperable national mobile payments system that enables Qatari residents and visitors to register and create digital wallets, complete instant money transfers and make in-store QR code payments with their mobile device... More
Apple Pay goes live in El Salvador and Guatemala
Apple Pay has launched in El Salvador and Guatemala with support for Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards issued by BAC Credomatic and Promerica banks in both countries as well as by Banco G&T and Banco Industrial in Guatemala... More
Brazil to pilot digital currency in stores
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) is to begin piloting the use of its proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) across a range of transactions including in-store and offline NFC payments... More
University of Florida to launch contactless mobile student IDs
Students at the University of Florida in the US will soon be able to gain access to campus buildings, events and library services as well as authorise contactless payments for food, beverages and books using a digital student identity card stored on their Apple or Android NFC smartphone or smartwatch... More
Mercedes expands in-car parking payments to Europe
Mercedes-Benz drivers in North America and 14 European countries can now find and pay for parking spaces from their car using the vehicle manufacturer’s MBUX infotainment centre... More
Carrefour Dubai cuts transaction times by 75% with face biometrics
The average transaction time for customers opting to pay for their purchases at Carrefour stores in Dubai with a biometric payment system using face recognition technology is 75% less than for other point-of-sale (POS) payment systems, the retailer says... More
Los Angeles restaurant chain lets customers pay by face or palm
Customers at Pho Banh Mi Che Cali restaurants in Los Angeles in the US can now opt to pay for their orders with either their face or their palm using a biometric payments acceptance system... More
European Payments Initiative to pilot digital wallet for instant P2P payments in Germany and France
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is to begin piloting a digital wallet that will enable users to make instant person-to-person (P2P) payments in Germany and France as a first step towards rolling out a unified payment system that will support “a comprehensive range of transaction types” across Europe... More
Ardshinbank lets merchants in Armenia accept contactless payments on standard Android NFC devices
Armenia’s Ardshinbank has launched a software-only point of sale (softPOS) solution that enables merchants to accept contactless payments on Android NFC smartphones, tablets and other devices. ... More
Yahoo Japan to trial face biometrics for in-store payments
Customers using Yahoo Japan’s convenience store in the Yoyogi Uehara district of Tokyo can now opt to pay for their purchases at a self-service checkout with their face using biometric payment... More
US truckers get mobile wallet and digital cards for contactless fuel payments
Freight brokers in the US can now transfer advance payments for fuel to carriers and their drivers using a mobile wallet app that allows drivers to make contactless fuel payments from their smartphone... More