PARTNER NEWS: Visitors to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games are paying for journeys on buses, ferries and trains across the city with NFC wristbands provided by digital security giant Gemalto and public transportation ticketing operator RioCard. More
NFC
Apple says Australian banks’ plans would “diminish” security
Apple is urging the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to reject a request from a group of the country’s banks to “collectively negotiate” with third party mobile wallet providers over the introduction of mobile payment services. More
Samsung Pay to get iris authentication with Galaxy Note 7
Samsung Pay users will soon be able to secure purchases by scanning their eyes with the Galaxy Note 7, the latest addition to the Korean phone-maker’s pen-oriented line up. More
Yandex.Checkout gets QR codes
Russians can now make payments through online payment service Yandex.Checkout by scanning a QR code with the Yandex.Money mobile app... More
AMS sells NFC and RFID reader business to STMicroelectronics
PARTNER NEWS: Chip maker AMS has sold its NFC and RFID reader product lines to STMicroelectronics. AMS will continue to retain ownership of its NFC/RFID tag business, including the AS3955 NFC interface chip (NFiC) which AMS unveiled in May 2015. More
Australian banks seek stronger negotiating powers with third party mobile wallet providers
A group of Australian banks have submitted an application to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), urging for the right to ensure they are able to “collectively negotiate” with third party mobile wallet providers. More
Scotiabank gives Apple Pay users 10% cashback
Canada’s Scotiabank is offering its customers a 10% cashback on everyday purchases of up to US$20 whenever the payment is made using Apple Pay... More
PayPal to roll out NFC mobile payments across the US through Visa deal
US consumers will soon be able to make NFC mobile payments using their PayPal mobile wallet at all physical locations across the country that currently accept Visa contactless transactions. More
White paper advises banks on launching Android-based mobile payment services
A 16-page white paper designed to help banks make informed decisions about bringing an Android-based mobile payments service to market is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre. More
More than half of Irish consumers now using contactless
More than half of Irish debit and credit card owners (54%) are using contactless payments when purchasing goods and services, research released by payment technology provider BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA) reveals, with the average contactless payment standing at €11.33. More
Apple Pay launches in Hong Kong
Apple Pay has launched in Hong Kong with support from Mastercard, Visa and American Express. Participating banks include Bank of China (Hong Kong), DBS, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered, with support from The Bank of East Asia (BEA) and Tap&Go “coming soon”. More
Safaricom pilots M-Pesa NFC cards
Kenyan carrier Safaricom is testing a new PIN-based NFC-enabled ‘Tap-and-Go’ card for its M-Pesa mobile money service... More
Mahindra Comviva introduces Mobiquity Wallet 2.0
PARTNER NEWS: Mobile financial solutions firm Mahindra Comviva has released an updated version of Mobiquity Wallet, a digital wallet platform that launched in March 2014 with support for QR codes, Bluetooth, NFC and host card emulation (HCE). More
Apple Pay launches in France
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across France with support from both Mastercard and Visa as well as Banque Populaire, Ticket Restaurant, Carrefour Banque and Caisse d’Epargne. Support from mobile network operators Boon and Orange France is also expected “soon”. More
Masterpass to enable in-store NFC mobile payments
Mastercard has unveiled an enhanced version of its Masterpass digital payment platform, adding in-store NFC mobile payment capability to the service that has so far only been available for online and in-app payments. More
Pokemon Go to add NFC for trading
Players of augmented reality mobile app Pokemon Go will soon be able to trade the Pokemon they catch with other players through NFC, according to PokeGoFans... More
Videotron launches SIM-based NFC mobile payments
Customers of Canadian mobile network operator Videotron with a Desjardins Visa card can now use their mobile phones to make NFC payments of up to $100 (US$77) at any contactless terminal... More
Canadian NFC mobile wallet SureTap to close down
The SIM-based NFC Canadian mobile wallet SureTap is to be discontinued in August 2016 due to “ongoing changes in the market”, the mobile wallet provider has announced. More
Semble discontinues SIM-based NFC mobile wallet in New Zealand
Semble, the SIM-based NFC mobile wallet launched in New Zealand by two banks, three carriers and payments network Paymark, is to be discontinued, the mobile wallet company has confirmed. Semble says it now aims to “refocus the business to develop and build new services”. More
TfL to license contactless ticketing system across the globe
Transport for London (TfL) is to begin licensing its contactless ticketing system to other major cities across the globe as part of a deal worth up to £15m with Cubic Corporation’s business unit Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS). More