Softcard, the US carrier-backed NFC venture formerly known as Isis, won’t have access to the NFC support in the new iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch until 2015, a blog post by CEO Michael Abbott suggests — and, even then, it looks as though it won’t be via a conventional NFC-enabled SIM... More
Mobile wallet
Transcript: Apple CEO Tim Cook and SVP Eddy Cue introduce Apple Pay mobile payments and NFC
“It’s all about the wallet,” Apple CEO Tim Cook explained during the unveiling of Apple Pay mobile payments and the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and Apple Watch with NFC on 9 September... More
NFC Business Models report available for free download
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
NYT “confirms” Apple NFC payment plans
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
BBVA reports 250,000 mobile wallet users
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... More
Apple iPhone NFC payments rumours reach fever pitch
MasterCard, American Express and Visa have all signed deals with Apple for the launch of a mobile payments service that will make use of an NFC chip built into the next iPhone, due to launch on 9 September, according to reports in a number of publications including the Financial Times, Bloomberg and Re/Code. More
NXP CEO: NFC secure elements will continue to see strong demand
“We feel very comfortable with the strength of the secure element,” NXP Semiconductors CEO Rick Clemmer has told analysts during the chip maker’s second quarter earnings call... More
Jamba Juice gives away 1m NFC smoothies
One million free juices and smoothies have been given out free of charge by Jamba Juice to Isis NFC mobile wallet users since the ‘Million Free Juice or Smoothie Giveaway’ promotion launched in October 2013... More
Korean banks accelerate mobile wallet plans
Korea’s banks are making a renewed push on mobile payments in the face of increasing competition from outside the financial services sector, Korea Bizwire reports, citing Hana Bank’s ‘Hana N Wallet’, Industrial Bank of Korea’s ‘IBK One Money’, and Shinhan Bank’s ‘Zoo Money’ and ‘My Shinhan Pay’ services... More
Worapay raises funds
Lithuania-based mobile wallet platform provider Worapay has raised €400,000 in new funding from Israel’s Entree Capital, Verslo Zinios reports... More
Visa to launch new payments service in September, Apple could be the first customer
Visa has unveiled a suite of services designed to “facilitate secure payments across a broad range of internet-connected devices and wearables”... More
Amazon releases mobile wallet app for Android
Amazon Wallet, an Android app that lets users store gift cards and loyalty cards on their mobile phone, is now available to download from Google Play and the Amazon Appstore... More
Westpac trials HCE mobile payments in New Zealand
Westpac has begun a host card emulation (HCE) pilot in New Zealand, enabling customers’ credit and debit card details to be securely stored in the cloud and then used at the point of sale to make mobile payments on their Android NFC device... More
Consult Hyperion demos EMV mobile payments over BLE on an iPhone
UK payments technology specialist Consult Hyperion has unveiled a proof-of-concept solution that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and host card emulation (HCE) to enable both iPhone and Android NFC phone owners to make MasterCard, Visa and other open loop EMV payments at the point of sale... More
Four in ten mobile wallet users choose mobile as primary mode of payment
While convincing consumers to make use of a mobile wallet remains an issue for many providers, shoppers that do convert to mobile payments make extensive use of the technology, Nielsen’s Q2 2014 Mobile Wallet Report has found... More
Wallaby launches Gear 2 app
Card management app Wallaby, which helps holders of multiple credit cards view their balances and decide which is the best to use for any given transaction, is now available for use on Samsung Gear 2 smartwatches... More
Google Wallet adds support for gift cards and P2P payments
Google Wallet users can now store gift cards on their mobile phone and redeem them electronically in stores... More
Base launches NFC payments and coupons in Germany
German customers of mobile network operator Base, part of the E-Plus group, can now make payments, store membership cards and redeem coupons with their NFC phone... More
Visa Inc abandons digital wallet ambitions, Visa Europe to continue investing
Visa Inc is replacing its V.me digital wallet service with Visa Checkout, a new payment service that enables consumers in the US, Canada and Australia to pay for goods online, on any device, in “just a few clicks”... More
PayPal adds loyalty cards to mobile wallet app
A new version of the PayPal iOS app has been released that enables users to store a wide range of loyalty cards within their mobile wallet... More