EXHIBITOR NEWS: Dorset HealthCare University NHS Foundation Trust in England is using ixkio’s NFC tag management platform to enable medical staff, care workers and other employees to access free wellbeing support resources by scanning an NFC hangtag with their smartphone... More
The NFC Forum has introduced a new Card Emulation Device class that makes it possible for manufacturers of wearables and low-end and mid-range smartphones to get their products certified as meeting NFC Forum requirements without needing to include support for NFC tag reading or writing... More
TransLink debuting keychain-sized ‘Compass Mini’ this week — CTV News Vancouver — “The launch of Compass Mini is a part of our commitment to enhance the customer experience,” CEO Kevin Desmond said in a news release. “Compass Wristbands have been a real hit and I’m sure customers will enjoy the convenience and practicality of the new Compass Mini.”
UK bank NatWest is following its biometric payment card trials with a pilot of a biometric payment fob that lets customers make contactless payments for transactions valued at up to £100 (US$130)... More
PARTNER NEWS: Hong Kong-based Tappy Technologies offers a range of wearable payments products including watch straps, wristbands and key fobs that come with an embedded contactless payment chip... More
PARTNER NEWS: A presentation that sets out the potential of the Okey — a standalone, multifunction NFC keyfob that can store multiple contactless payment, transit, loyalty and identity cards — is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
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.”
Continental, Avis turn phones into rental car keys — Roadshow — “Using a smart device, renters will be able to lock, unlock and even start their rental car without needing to hunt down a physical key or key fob… For now, the pilot program is limited to a single market — the Kansas City area. But, if all goes according to plan, it’s likely to roll out to additional markets in the future.”
NFC World today welcomes Beijing-based Okey Co as a member of our partner program... More
A new range of wearable devices equipped with Barclaycard’s bPay contactless technology will enable UK consumers to automatically donate the small change from any contactless payment they make using the device to charities of their choice. More
A digital cash service allowing consumers — including those without bank accounts — to load money onto a range of wearable items and make contactless payments in retail outlets will roll out across “eight or nine countries” in North America, Europe and Africa from April 2017... More
Barclaycard’s bPay contactless payment technology is to be embedded into a range of high street jewellery and watch brands across the UK through new partnerships with fashion jewellery retailer DCK Group and payment technology provider for the watches and jewellery industry Tappy Technologies... More
Luxury car manufacturer Jaguar is working on a facial and gait recognition system for vehicle owners to unlock their cars, enhancing the development of “vehicle personalisation”, according to a patent filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office last month... More
PARTNER NEWS: The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) has expanded its Smart City Challenge initiative to include NXP’s RFID tagging solutions and smart card ICs... More
Barclays bank debit cardholders and Barclaycard credit cardholders can now use Apple Pay to make mobile payments, nine months after the service launched in the UK without the participation of the ‘big four’ bank... More
Finnish digital lock mechanism specialist iLoq has unveiled the world’s first electronic door lock powered by a user’s NFC mobile phone, removing the need for the lock to be equipped with a battery or external power source. More
Connected device maker Coin has partnered with MasterCard to enable NFC payments on a range of fitness bands, smartwatches and other wearable devices. Fitness wearable designers Atlas Wearables and Moov and smartwatch provider Omate are the first to implement the NFC payments technology into their products. More
More than half of UK shoppers (51%) believe that wearable devices including smartwatches, wristbands, fobs, stickers and smart clothing will be commonplace for in-store payments within two to five years, a survey by Vista Retail Support reveals... More
MasterCard has introduced a loyalty middleware specification that aims to ease the integration of loyalty programs with mobile payment apps... More
MasterCard has extended the capabilities of its tokenization service to enable payments to be made using “virtually any device”, including NFC-enabled clothing, jewellery and vehicle keyfobs. “Products will begin rolling out in 2016 in the US,” the payments network says, “with plans to expand to other markets.” More