US startup Spendwallet is raising funds on Indiegogo for an electronic wallet device that can store up to 20 magnetic stripe cards and will let the owner make payments at the point of sale using the company’s self-developed Magnetic Flux Emulation (MFE) technology. More
Apple Pay will experience greater success than Android Pay and will “grow exceptionally based on a belief that Apple Pay using a Secure Enclave/secure element inside of iOS has an advantage over Android Pay’s host card emulation (HCE) in that it’s more secure, with a similar user experience,” according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster... More
US supermarket chain Walmart has begun rolling out its QR code-based mobile payment service in Arkansas and Texas. Walmart Pay is now available in all 480 Walmart stores across Texas and at more than 110 locations in Arkansas. More
Barclays is to begin rolling out a host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payment feature to its mobile banking app in June, the UK bank has confirmed to NFC World. The service — known as Barclays Contactless Mobile — will enable customers to make transactions at any contactless terminal as well as pay for services across Transport for London (TfL) with a tap of their Android device. More
Customers at approximately 250 branches of US department store chain Kohl’s can now earn Yes2You Rewards loyalty points when they use Apple Pay to pay for their purchases at the checkout with a Kohl’s Charge card. More
PARTNER NEWS: Commuters on some 500 Transport for London (TfL) buses can now receive real-time travel updates and relevant location-based advertising using transport app developer Mapway’s Bus Times London app. More
Consumers across the UK can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using German payments technology provider Wirecard’s Boon service... More
Customers of Canada’s Tangerine Bank can now log into its mobile banking app for iOS by authenticating themselves with their iris or voice... More
US retail giant Walmart has begun rolling out its Walmart Pay QR code-based mobile payment service for iOS devices... More
Santander customers in the UK with an Apple iOS device will soon be able to use their voice to interact with their SmartBank mobile banking app in order to make payments, retrieve information such as how much they have spent and perform queries on specific transactions... More
Coca Cola is planning to launch a loyalty programme at select vending machines this spring that would let customers accumulate points to earn a free drink... More
Shoppers in San Francisco’s South Bay area are being invited to take part in a pilot test of Hands Free, a payment service developed by Google that uses a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi and location services to let consumers make in-store payments without taking their mobile phone out of their pocket. More
PARTNER NEWS: NXP has put its support behind two new reference platforms that will enable “innovation and rapid development” for smart wearables. The platforms target a range of internet of things (IoT) applications with open-source hardware and software, form-factor flexibility and expandable solutions for designers to adapt to changing market needs. More
London-based startup Curve has launched a physical payment card that will let consumers store an “unlimited number” of bank cards and make contactless payments at point-of-sale terminals wherever MasterCard cards are accepted. More
Apple has released a security update that fixes more than 100 iOS bugs, including a vulnerability in Apple Pay that allowed third parties to see sensitive information as a payment was made... More
Google has begun supporting the physical web in its Chrome browser for Android, enabling users to discover web content relevant to their surroundings via Eddystone Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons — without needing to download a specific app... More
iPhone 6 users have been left with broken handsets as a result of Apple’s latest iOS 9 operating system update permanently disabling devices if it detects that Touch ID’s hardware integrity has been compromised — such as by being repaired by a non-Apple technician... More
PARTNER NEWS: Digital security giant Gemalto has launched a solution which can bring public key infrastructure-based authentication and security to any device through a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection... More
Customers at US supermarket chain Walmart will soon be able to pay for purchases by scanning a QR code at the point of sale using Walmart Pay, the retailer’s own mobile payment service. Walmart Pay will be integrated into the Walmart app and introduced in select stores this month, with a nationwide launch expected in the first half of next year. More
Customers of United Overseas Bank (UOB) in Singapore can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments for transactions of any value at all Visa PayWave or MasterPass terminals. The new service also makes use of tokenization. More