NFC Technology: How Changing Consumer Preferences Create New Opportunities For Retailers, a 26-page white paper that presents the results of a Strategy Analytics and NFC Forum study into US consumer attitudes to NFC, QR codes and Bluetooth beacons in retail, is now available to download from the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre... More
QR Codes
Mobile app just the ticket for Barcelona fans
Fans of FC Barcelona are now able to use their smartphones instead of paper tickets to gain access to the Nou Camp stadium... More
NFC gets 75% approval rating from US consumers
The speed, convenience and control of NFC have made it a clear winner with the American public in a study conducted by Strategy Analytics for the NFC Forum... More
Du backs Beam QR wallet
Mobile network operator Du has formed a partnership with mobile payment service Beam Wallet and Majid Al Futtaim Ventures to promote Beam’s QR code solution to retailers and petrol stations across Dubai... More
Snapchat adopts QR friending
Photo messaging platform Snapchat is letting users add friends to their social network by scanning Snaptags, unique QR codes assigned to each user... More
Kaspersky debuts secure QR scanner
Antivirus and security software provider Kaspersky Lab has launched Kaspersky QR Scanner, an app that warns users of potentially dangerous links within QR codes when they scan with their mobile device... More
Alibaba invests in visual QR codes
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has invested an undisclosed sum in Israeli start-up Visualead, developer of the “visual” QR code technology adopted by Chinese social media site RenRen in May last year... More
7-Eleven HK adds mobile payment and rewards
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has launched 7-Fans, a QR code-based mobile payment and loyalty app that rewards customers with one point for every HK$5 spent using the service at any of more than 900 stores across Hong Kong... More
Pey equips merchants with Bitcoin POS terminals that support iBeacon, QR and NFC
Fifty merchants in the German city of Hannover have signed up to accept Bitcoin payments using a terminal supplied by startup Pey, that uses a combination of iBeacon, QR code and NFC technology. More
Glasgow to get NFC bus shelters
Glasgow City Council-owned bus shelters around the Scottish city will be fitted with NFC tags and QR codes to allow people to engage with advertisers by accessing interactive content such as vouchers, games and videos using their smartphones... More
Wintrust lets customers withdraw cash with their mobile phones
Wintrust Financial is updating its fleet of 190 ATMs in Chicago to enable its mobile banking customers to withdraw cash by requesting money on their smartphone then scanning an on-screen QR code when they get to the ATM. More
HyprKey unveils biometric mobile wallet add-on
A US startup is taking pre-orders for a biometrically secured mobile wallet, consisting of a payment app and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-based “bio-sticker” attached to the back of the user’s phone... More
RedCritter launches classroom rewards with NFC
Business productivity management specialist RedCritter has unveiled a platform for schools that recognises, rewards and socialises students’ learning achievements via NFC and QR codes. More
Mobile payments platform Sixdots goes live with multiple banks in Belgium
Customers of nine banks representing 80% of the Belgian market can now make use of Sixdots, a mobile wallet service that uses a combination of QR codes and a six-digit PIN to make payments in stores, online and between friends... More
Barcelona equips 8,000 city locations with NFC and QR touchpoints
More than eight thousand locations across the Spanish city of Barcelona are to be equipped with NFC and QR touchpoints that deliver information on local services directly to visitors’ and citizens’ smartphones... More
BKM and Mekanist let Turkish diners pay by beacon
Diners at Turkish restaurant Olivia’s Pizzeria have become the first in the country to be able to use their BKM Express digital wallet to pay for their meals with their mobile phone... More
Quikkly offers QR code alternative
UK startup Quikkly has unveiled an alternative to QR codes that aims to provide an improved user experience and increased consumer uptake. “QR codes are great for machines, but they weren’t designed for people,” Quikkly says. “We’ve designed Quikkly Tags to be understandable by everyone. It’s clear what app to use and it’s clear what will happen when you scan the tag.” More
AirAsia picks Yoyo for mobile payments
UK startup Yoyo is to provide a mobile payments and loyalty app to Malaysian budget airline AirAsia, City AM reports... More
Latvian merchants and ski resorts adopt NFC loyalty platform
Latvian startup Walmoo has launched a mobile loyalty platform that uses standard NFC phones or tablets to provide customers with the ability to redeem coupons, discounts and offers... More
Norwich buses get Bluetooth beacons that deliver offers to passengers on the move
UK transportation operator FirstGroup has installed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons on buses in the city of Norwich to help deliver content and offers to passengers’ smartphones... More