CaixaBank has become the first in Europe to launch a Visa-branded wristband that allows users to make contactless payments at locations equipped with a contactless POS terminal... More
US startup Sensory has unveiled a biometric security solution that enables individual apps on a consumer’s smartphone to be secured via voice verification, facial verification or, for higher security applications like mobile payments and banking, a combination of the two... More
Russian Standard Bank has partnered with Samsung and MasterCard to offer NFC payments to consumers with a Galaxy S4 or Note 3 mobile phone... More
Google’s Chromecast media streamer, which enables users to send shows, movies, music and more to large screens, is to use a new ultrasonic connectivity technology to enable mobile devices to be paired with a Chromecast-equipped television, GigaOm reports... More
The next generation of Android, unveiled at the Google I/O developer conference, will offer mobile payments, banking and commerce providers a wide range of new functions... More
Businesses across the London district of Brixton are to be equipped with Bluetooth beacons that will allow residents to make mobile payments using the Brixton Pound, a local currency designed to encourage consumers to spend their money in independent local businesses. More
Pajco, owner of convenience store chains Rhodes 101 and Mercato di Rodi, is working with NCR to offer its customers the ability to pay for fuel by scanning a QR code on a fuel dispenser with their mobile phone... More
Amazon has launched Fire, a smartphone that includes 3D “dynamic perspective” technology and a dedicated Firefly button that lets users recognize — and buy from Amazon — physical products, movies and music that they come across as they shop, browse and socialize... More
Groupement des Cartes Bancaires CB, the French bank card association which pioneered the use of chip cards for payments in the 1980s, expects to enable member banks to issue customers with keyfobs supporting fingerprint payments by the end of this year... More
Zimbabwe-based banking solutions provider Edgetech Solutions is preparing to launch a new mobile payment service that uses sound-based communication technology from NearBytes to let people make payments in stores with their phones... More
Standard Bank, one of South Africa’s largest financial services groups, has launched a service that allows small merchants to accept mobile payments by simply placing a QR code at their point of sale, with no POS terminal required... More
Customers at 45 Total gas stations in Uganda can now use their Airtel Money account to pay for fuel and services as well as make in-store purchases with their mobile phone... More
TD Canada Trust, the retail banking arm of the Toronto-Dominion Bank, has become the first in Canada to offer an NFC mobile payment solution that is supported by the country’s three major wireless networks: Bell, Rogers and Telus... More
The WiFi Alliance has updated its WiFi Protected Setup certification program to include tap-to-connect functionality via NFC... More
Blaze Mobile is selling US patent number 8,630,905, an NFC payments patent entitled “Single Tap Transactions using a Secure Element” that dates back to 2007... More
UAE-based Mashreq Bank is now offering its credit card customers a contactless payment sticker that can be attached to a mobile phone... More
Nigerian mobile payments provider Teasy Mobile is to equip its mobile money agents with POS terminals that use biometric technology to verify a consumer and NFC to allow them to make a payment... More
The Royal Canadian Mint is piloting its MintChip digital currency in the cafeterias at its Ottawa and Winnipeg facilities — and is using NFC technology to enable employees to make purchases with the Bitcoin alternative... More
The NFC payments pilot in the Dutch city of Leiden has proved successful in terms of both consumer and merchant uptake, partners Rabobank, ING and ABN Amro report — and Rabobank is now set to commercially launch an NFC mobile wallet during the second quarter of 2014... More
Royal Bank of Canada has introduced an NFC mobile payments service that stores customers’ card details in the cloud... More