Telefónica Digital has appointed Visa Europe as its preferred mobile payments partner for its O2 and Movistar networks in Europe in a deal described as “a wide ranging strategic partnership to drive new business opportunities within mobile commerce.”... More
The New South Wales Government has provided backing for an interactive walking tour of 37 historic sites in The Rocks, the oldest district of Sydney. More
The new APIs will allow consumers to save offers directly from a merchant’s website into Google Wallet and then redeem them at the point-of-sale via NFC, mobile barcodes or by simply showing the offer code to the sales assistant. More
The launch presentation for Windows Phone 8 shows how Microsoft plans to make its NFC mobile wallet more widely accepted than Google’s, provides details of a forthcoming NFC-enabled Chase payments app and highlights a new deals platform and in-app purchasing technology that charges items to the user’s default payment card. More
Sets of five TecTiles can be ordered online or bought in store for US$14.99 from all four major US carriers and can be used to program a variety of NFC-initiated functions. “Most of the tag types you make will work on nearly all phones which have NFC hardware,” says Samsung. More
The US will have the world’s highest density of NFC point-of-sale terminals in five years time, the forecasters say, as the global installed base increases from 3.9m today to 43.4m in 2017. More
More than 200,000 of the sandwich chain’s customers have signed up for a loyalty program that offers both NFC tags and barcode-based ID. In southern California many outlets have seen almost half their customers choose to use the tags while those in other regions are only moving to mobile contactless as they become more familiar with the technology. More
Two 7-Eleven convenience stores in the New York area are testing standalone NFC kiosks to encourage shoppers to check in and collect offers and discount coupons when they visit... More
New market entrants are currently most popular amongst consumers ready to adopt mobile wallet technology, according to a survey conducted by Carlisle & Gallagher, with eight in 10 willing to use a PayPal wallet and six in 10 willing to consider a mobile wallet provided by Google or Apple. More
US drivers will soon be able to pay, claim loyalty points and redeem offers at the fuel pump using their NFC phones... More
“The brands that elicited the most positive interactions did so through a combination of relevance, dynamic content and a strong call-to-action,” according to an analysis of the largest NFC out-of-home advertising trial to date. More
Aeropostale, Coca-Cola, Foot Locker, Jamba Juice and Macy’s have signed up to take part in the US NFC joint venture’s pilot trials, along with a number of local grocery stores, retailers, gas stations, coffee shops and restaurants. More
The LG Optimus Elite is now available to pre-order from Virgin Mobile USA for US$149.99... More
The payments network has announced PayPass Wallet Services, a digital wallet platform that will support NFC. Eighteen financial institutions, American Airlines and bookseller Barnes & Noble are among those who have signed up for the service. More
“Our intention is that V.me will ultimately be able to incorporate any or all of our new payment technologies, allowing our members to deliver the best possible payments experience whether face-to-face, online or in a mobile environment,” says Visa Europe’s Mariano Dima. More
Amid on-going delays for the UK mobile network operators’ Project Oscar NFC joint venture, O2 has moved ahead with the launch of a mobile wallet that offers a suite of payments and marketing services to any mobile phone user, regardless of the carrier they get their mobile service from — with NFC to arrive later. More
The Turkish mobile network operator has combined its location-based service (LBS) platform with its NFC mobile wallet service to allow subscribers to receive special offers on their NFC phone when they are near a participating merchant — and then redeem an offer at the point-of-sale. More
Facebook has acquired Tagtile, a startup founded by two US-based graduates of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), as it begins to roll out its Facebook Offers service... More
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into the planned NFC joint venture between Everything Everywhere, Telefónica and Vodafone UK which will delay launch until after the London Olympics and casts doubts over the timetable for the introduction of similar projects in a number of other European countries. More
Israeli mobile network operator Cellcom is set to launch an NFC payments service in collaboration with Israel Credit Cards Ltd (ICC-Cal) in the next few weeks, sources have told business publication Globes... More