Hong Kong to implement QR codes on MTR station, calls for application — e27 — “Under the new system, passengers will be required to pre-generate a QR-based transit code to enter or exit paid areas of the MTR stations, where they will be required to present the QR code. Information collected from the code will be used for journey construction and fare calculation based on travel-first-and-pay-afterwards mechanism.”
Travel and ticketing
Valitor picks Dejamobile to offer mobile payments and branded mobile wallets to clients
PARTNER NEWS: Payment solutions provider Valitor is to use Dejamobile’s cloud-based payments platform to provide its clients with the ability to add mobile payments and a branded mobile wallet to their services... More
TCL picks ST’s NFC controller for Alcatel 3V smartphone
STMicroelectronics’ NFC technology chosen to distinguish TCL Communication’s Alcatel 3V smartphone through outstanding contactless user experience — STMicroelectronics — PARTNER NEWS — “ST’s technology ensures robust connectivity for fast and reliable contactless payments, e-ticket transactions, peer-to-peer data transfer, and emerging use cases including interacting with ‘physical web’ objects like smart posters or store shelves. Superior RF performance also helped TCL Communication to streamline certification to mandatory stringent EMVCo, GSMA and NFC Forum standards for handsets.”
Shanghai Metro to accept WeChat Pay mobile payments at turnstiles
Ride the subway using WeChat Pay — Global Times — “Starting Monday, WeChat Pay will be accepted as a means of payment for passengers riding the metro lines of Shanghai. After downloading and using the official mobile app of Shanghai Metro ‘Metro Daduhui’, passengers can pass through station gates simply by scanning the WeChat QR code.”
Asian ride hailing giant Grab to let users pay for public transit with its app
Bid to enable public transit payments via GrabPay — The Straits Times — “In future, the Grab app will give commuters a range of options — from a direct point-to-point method, using taxis or private hire cars, or through multiple modes including transfers on shuttle buses, cars and public transport. ‘You pay everything in a seamless way — cashless — through GrabPay.”
Apple to add new NFC features in iOS 12?
Apple is set to announce that iOS 12 will include “a significant change” to the iPhone’s NFC capabilities that “could pave the way for people to use iPhones for other security-sensitive interactions, from paying transit fares and opening car doors to verifying their identity in other ways”, according to a report in The Information... More
Google Pay adds support for Japanese payment cards
Now you can add Suica and Waon to Google Pay in Japan — Google — “Starting today, you can add and manage your Suica and Waon cards in Google Pay if you live in Japan and have an Osaifu-Keitai eligible phone. This means four major Japanese prepaid e-money cards — Nanaco, Rakuten Edy, Suica and Waon — can all be used with Google Pay. You’ll be able to pay with Google Pay at the hundreds of locations that accept any of these cards, plus pay on transit anywhere Suica is accepted.”
Translink adds mobile payments for transit users in Vancouver
Tap to Pay — Translink — “On May 22, our card readers will accept contactless Visa and Mastercard credit cards and Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. For customers without Compass Cards, this new feature will mean no more ticket line-ups, digging for exact change, or worrying about pre-calculating zones. You can tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard credit card or mobile-payment method on card readers to pay your adult, cash fare. Note: card readers will not accept debit cards.”
Okey Co explains how its contactless keyfob can unlock new NFC business opportunities
PARTNER NEWS: A presentation that sets out the potential of the Okey — a standalone, multifunction NFC keyfob that can store multiple contactless payment, transit, loyalty and identity cards — is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
Google Pay update to provide users with a single view of all their transactions
Google Pay’s app adds boarding passes, tickets, P2P payments and more — Techcrunch — “In an upcoming update of the Google Pay app, we’re going to allow you to manage all the payment methods in your Google account — not just the payment methods that you used to pay in-store… And even better, we’re going to provide you with a holistic view of all your transactions — whether they be on Google apps and services, such as Play and YouTube, whether they be with third-party merchants, such as Walgreens and Uber, or whether they’re transactions you’ve made to friends and families via our peer-to-peer service.”
Google Pay adds support for NFC tickets and boarding passes
Google Pay gains support for event tickets and boarding passes — VentureBeat — “Companies that integrate with Google Pay’s API — such as Ticketmaster — can enable their customers to save tickets directly to their phone by hitting the ‘Save to phone’ button after the checkout… Instead of having to open the Google Pay app or scan QR codes, fans will be able to simply hold their phone up to an NFC reader at the check-in to gain admission.”
Apple Pay to go live in Norway, Poland and Ukraine as transit ticketing drives consumer adoption
Apple financial results conference call Q2 2018 — Apple — “We believe the availability of Apple Pay at major transit systems have been a key driver of adoption among commuters… Apple Pay is already the most successful mobile transit payment system in Tokyo, which has the busiest transit system of all. With the launch of Brazil in April, Apple Pay is now available in 21 markets and we expect Norway, Poland and Ukraine to launch in the next several months.”
Beijing Metro begins accepting QR code mobile tickets at turnstiles
QR code smartphone tickets available for subway — China.org.cn — “Travellers in Beijing can now use a QR code on their smartphone as a ticket to ride the subway… Passengers can download an app called RuubyPay that generates a QR code ticket that can be read using a scanner built into the subway turnstiles. The QR code scanning app can be used on any smartphone running iOS or Android that is connected to the internet, according to Sina.com. Tickets can be paid for using a linked bank, Alipay, or JD Finance account.”
One in four Koreans now use their phone to make mobile payments
More than quarter of South Koreans use mobile payment services — The Korea Times — “The survey of 2,500 adults, conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK) between September and October last year, showed that 26.1% of respondents had used a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet computer for payment services in the previous six months… Online purchasing was the most frequently used service through mobile devices with 86.6%, followed by offline mobile settlement with 34.7% and mobile transportation payment with 21.6%.”
Google Pay expands support for transit ticketing cards to Portland
Google Pay now supports Hop Fastpass transit tickets in Portland, Oregon — Android Police — “To use Google Pay to pay for transit in Portland, users must first download the Hop Fastpass app and add money to create a virtual card. Once the virtual card is set up, holding your phone up the reader will work the same as with a regular Hop card.”
Japanese airline ANA to enter mobile payments market
Japan airline ANA aims to build digital payments business — Financial Times — “The plan is part of a broader digital push by ANA, which hopes to build on data collected from the 31m users of its airline miles to provide a range of services including real estate, insurance and health to consumers across Japan… ‘We are aiming for ANA’s version of Alibaba’s Alipay,’ Shinya Katanozaka, ANA’s chief executive, said in an interview.”
Uber to integrate transit ticketing into its mobile app
Moving forward together with cities — Uber — “We’ve inked a partnership with Masabi, the global leader in public transit mobile ticketing, to let Uber customers book and use transit tickets in our app. For many people, getting around their city is already a multimodal affair, and this partnership will let riders seamlessly combine public transit with other transportation options like ridesharing, no matter where they need to go.”
Washington Metro to accept mobile payments from 2019
Metro moves to become mobile ready, announces plans to offer new app, mobile fare payment options beginning next year — Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority — “The new mobile fare payment platform will work with Metro’s existing infrastructure, eventually allowing customers to tap their mobile device to the white target at the faregate. The payment process is designed to be seamless and will have a similar experience to tapping a SmarTrip card today.”
Korea’s capital city plans its own payments cryptocurrency
Mayor Park Won-soon unveils Seoul cryptocurrency ‘S-Coin’ — Coindesk Korea (translation) — “Park Won-soon, mayor of Seoul, said he will create a coin currency called S-coin that can be used in Seoul… He thinks that ‘blockchains can be applied to all administrations in Seoul such as the public transport system operated by Seoul City and the provision of youth allowance.'”
Apple rolls out support for transit cards in China
Using Apple Pay Express Card features in Beijing and Shanghai — Apple (translation) — “To use the Apple Pay Express Card feature in Beijing or Shanghai, you first need to set up an Apple Pay Transportation Card on your iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or later, or Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch Series 2 or later… In Beijing, you can use transportation cards to pay for subways and buses. In Shanghai, you can use transportation cards to pay for subways, buses, ferries and Maglev trains.”