The price of EMV-compliant chips supplied to contactless payment card manufacturers increased by more than 50% in 2021 and is expected to rise by more than 20% during 2022 with the overall cost to card issuers for finished first-use plastic cards rising by between 5% and 20% during 2021, according to US research firm Nilson Report... More
Transport users in San Antonio in Texas in the USA can now purchase, store and activate bike share passes as well as tickets for public transportation services across the city using a single multimodal mobility app... More
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) in the Indian city of Bengaluru is planning to roll out AI-powered biometric facial recognition technology that will enable passengers with monthly travel passes to walk through station automatic fare collection gates by verifying their identity with their face and without needing a physical smart card, pass or token... More
Six in ten consumers in Germany now make contactless payments with their smartphone or a contactless card (60%), an increase from 56% in 2021 and 47% in 2020, according to a survey conducted by Postbank... More
Iberian fuel station network Galp has opened its first contactless convenience store on a forecourt in Lisbon in Portugal, enabling customers to select food, snacks, beverages and non-perishable goods from the shelves and leave without needing to scan their purchases or wait in line to use a checkout... More
Consumers in the Bahamas can now authorise in-store payments using the country’s Sand Dollar central bank digital currency (CBDC) from a SunCash mobile wallet with their face... More
More than one in two consumers worldwide prefer using a physical payment card to using cash or a digital wallet when making in-person purchases (53%), a survey has revealed... More
Customers of French bank Crédit Agricole de Lorraine can now apply for a biometric card that enables them to authenticate contactless payments above the country’s €50 (US$53) contactless transaction limit with their fingerprint and without needing to use their PIN... More
Apple has begun testing its Tap to Pay software point of sale (sPOS) feature that enables merchants to accept contactless payments directly on their iPhone at its Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino in the US state of California... More
Mastercard has a launched a biometric checkout scheme that sets out standards and requirements for in-store biometric payment solutions enabling consumers to make contactless biometric payments with their face or palm and without needing to use a payment card or mobile device... More
The total transaction values for payments made using QR codes worldwide will reach more than US$3tn by 2025, an increase of 25% from US$2.4tn in 2022, driven by an increasing focus on financial inclusion in developing markets and alternative payment methods in developed regions, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
EMVCo has released a draft specification for the contactless kernels used in payment acceptance devices to process contactless transactions and has made it available for public review... More
German online bank Fidor is to roll out biometric payment cards that will allow users to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprint and without needing to use a PIN... More
PayPal, followed by Alipay, are the top two digital wallet providers, with WeChat Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively, according to a Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard report... More
Public transport users and motorists in Malaysia can now top up their physical Touch ’n Go prepaid contactless fare, toll and parking payments card directly from their NFC smartphone... More
Fans attending baseball matches at Fenway Park in Boston in the USA can now purchase food and drink at two outlets in the Boston Red Sox stadium using AI-powered contactless point of sale technology... More
Customers of BMCI bank in Morocco can now apply for a biometric payment card that allows them to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprint... More
Customers of US-based digital bank Quontic can now opt to order a contactless payments ring that they can link to their checking account and use to make purchases wherever contactless payments are accepted... More
Postal delivery workers in rural Spain can now accept contactless payments on an Android NFC smartphone or tablet, enabling residents to pay for a range of goods and services as well as deposit and withdraw cash from their own home without needing to visit a bricks-and-mortar post office or bank... More
Sweden’s central bank The Riksbank has completed the second phase of its e-krona central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot and demonstrated that the blockchain-based technical solution it is testing can be integrated into existing banking and payments infrastructure... More