What's New in Payments

ETA issues US mobile payments market status report

The state of mobile payments in 2019 — Electronic Transactions Association — “In 2018, 55 million people in the US used their smartphone to make a payment at a physical point of sale, whether by loading money into a closed-loop mobile app (like the Starbucks app) or by loading a credit or debit card into an open-loop mobile wallet (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay) and using it to pay at the point of sale. These 55 million users account for about 20% of the U.S. population aged 15 and over, and just over 25% of US smartphone users.”



Face recognition to be supported by more than a billion smartphones in 2020

More than one billion smartphones to feature facial recognition in 2020 — Counterpoint Research — “The diffusion of facial recognition technology into lower tier price bands will be faster than any other flagship feature due to 2D facial recognition being native on the Android platform… In future, Counterpoint Research expects mobile devices will combine biometric sensors for the face, iris, voice and fingerprints. Rather than competing against each other, each biometric technology will be layered on top of each other with the most convenient and least intrusive being selected on an application by application basis.”


Samsung patents blood flow biometric for smartphones and wearables

Samsung’s patent shows authenticating users by measuring their blood flow patterns — SamMobile — “The patent describes a method to identify users based on blood flow patterns in their fingers or wrists using sensors in smartphones and smartwatches… According to the patent application, it is possible to authenticate users based on their blood flow patterns as ‘the arterial conduction paths of different users are almost never identical’.”


Researchers build ID data into smart clothing

How to store information in your clothes invisibly, without electronics — University of Washington — “Most people today combine conductive thread — embroidery thread that can carry an electrical current — with other types of electronics to create outfits, stuffed animals or accessories that light up or communicate… The UW researchers realized that this off-the-shelf conductive thread also has magnetic properties that can be manipulated to store either digital data or visual information like letters or numbers. This data can be read by a magnetometer, an inexpensive instrument that measures the direction and strength of magnetic fields and is embedded in most smartphones.”


Researchers develop continuous biometric login for smartphones

NSF grant to develop one-handed smartphone authentication — Illinois State University — “The interactions, such as strokes, that users make with their thumbs when working with smartphones can be very unique,” said Lai, who is an assistant professor in the School of Information Technology. “We can use these interactions to identify different users. This is what we call thumb biometrics.”



Ticketmaster will soon admit you to events using audio data transmitted from your phone

Ticketmaster will soon admit you to events using audio data transmitted from your phone — VentureBeat — “Ticketmaster will soon be able to admit you to live events and track your movement using nothing more than a discrete digital audio broadcast from your smartphone… The ticketing giant has teamed up with Lisnr, a data-over-audio company that uses an ultrasonic sound technology it calls ‘smart tones’ to transmit information between devices.”


What's New in Payments

LG Pay to be used for low-budget smartphones next year

LG Pay to be used for low-budget smartphones next year — Korea Herald — “‘We will expand the use of LG Pay into low-budget smartphones alongside premium phones next year,’ Cho Jun-ho, president of LG’s mobile communication division said during a meeting with local bloggers on Friday… Cho said the use of LG Pay will expand into online stores and the global market, although he did not elaborate the specific date.”


NFC World

NXP, Shanghai Unicom and Roam2Free collaborate to develop secure eSIM solution

NXP, Shanghai Unicom and Roam2Free collaborate to develop secure eSIM solution — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — “Complete solution combines mobile payment and ticketing with GSMA-compliant remote SIM activation for consumers to quickly add mobile subscriptions and cellular networks to their smartphones for better coverage and when traveling abroad”


Transit Ticketing Today

Beijing subway launches smartphone version of travel card

Beijing subway launches smartphone version of travel card — ECNS — “Starting Monday, subway travelers in the Chinese capital with NFC-enabled phones can leave their physical travel card at home and use their smartphone instead, Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card (BMAC) said… Beijing subway said the mobile pass function does not support iPhone because of Apple’s restrictions.”