Supermarket chain Aldi is trialling its first checkout-free contactless store in continental Europe in the Dutch city of Utrecht, enabling customers to enter the store by scanning an app, selecting items from the shelves and then leaving without needing to scan their purchases or use a conventional checkout... More
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Singapore trials in-car contactless biometric border checks
Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is trialling a contactless biometric immigration clearance system that enables travellers arriving in the country from Malaysia by car to scan their passport and verify their identity with a face and iris scan without needing to leave their vehicle... More
Westpac to let merchants accept contactless payments on Android NFC smartphones in Australia
Westpac bank in Australia is piloting a software point of sale (sPOS) solution that will enable merchants to accept contactless payments on their Android NFC smartphone or tablet without needing any additional accessories or hardware... More
Square to let merchants begin testing contactless payment acceptance on iPhone with Apple’s Tap to Pay
Merchants will soon be able to accept contactless payments directly on their iPhone using Apple’s Tap to Pay feature via the Square Point of Sale (POS) app without needing to connect their device to any additional hardware... More
Iraqi bank to pilot biometric payment cards
Customers of Al-Mansour Bank in Iraq will be among the first in the country to be able to trial biometric payment cards that allow them to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprints... More
Rhode Island trials geofenced free contactless ticketing
Passengers using transport services provided by Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) in Central Falls in the US will soon be able to travel for free when they scan their Wave smart transit card or mobile app on services originating and operating within the city... More
7-Eleven Japan trials holographic contactless self-checkout
Customers at six 7-Eleven convenience stores in Tokyo, Japan, can now make cashless payments for their purchases by interacting with a holographic screen projected from a contactless self-checkout kiosk... More
China to roll out next phase of digital yuan testing
China is to launch trials of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in more cities and regions across the country after rolling out a pilot version of the digital yuan wallet app in January and trialling the CBDC during the Beijing Winter Olympics... More
Queensland to launch digital driving licence in 2023
Motorists in the Australian state of Queensland will be able to store and display a digital version of their driving licence and other proof of identity cards on their mobile device from 2023... More
Japanese merchants trial face payments for customers wearing a mask
Consumers using 10 restaurants and retail outlets in the Japanese city of Niigata can now test a biometric payments service that lets them authenticate contactless payments with their face even if they are wearing a mask... More
Touch&Heat pilots electric radiators with NFC controls
Householders in Germany, France and the UK are trialling NFC-enabled electric radiators that let users configure the daily heat settings on individual appliances with a tap of their mobile phone... More
Asda lets customers authorise age-restricted purchases with their face
Customers at two Asda supermarkets in Pudsey and Stevenage in the UK can now verify their age when purchasing age-restricted products such as beer, wine and spirits using facial age estimation technology... More
China to let visiting athletes and spectators use digital yuan at Beijing Winter Olympics
Overseas athletes and spectators visiting the Beijing Winter Olympics will be among the first foreign nationals to be able to trial China’s digital yuan central bank digital currency (CBDC) at event venues, nearby merchants and inside the Olympic Village... More
Banks to pilot biometric payment cards in India, Poland, Iraq, Mexico, Lebanon and Egypt
Banks in India, Poland, Iraq, Mexico, Lebanon and Egypt are among those set to trial biometric payment cards that enable customers to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprints... More
Eurostar begins biometric ticketing pilot
Passengers travelling on Eurostar rail services from London’s St Pancras International station to continental Europe will be able to complete pre-departure ticket and passport checks before they arrive at the terminus via biometric face recognition technology, enabling them to board the train using face verification alone... More
Japanese banks gear up to test digital currency
A consortium of more than 70 leading banks, financial services providers and other businesses in Japan is to conduct a series of proof of concept (PoC) trials of a digital currency supported by commercial banks across a range of specific use cases with the aim of rolling the currency out by the end of the 2022 fiscal year... More
US grocery stores trial AI-powered self-checkout shopping carts
Two US stores owned by retail giant Albertsons are trialling a self-checkout shopping trolley that enables customers to select and scan items while they shop, compare products and receive personalised recommendations via an on-cart screen, and pay for their purchases by inserting or tapping their payments card without visiting a checkout... More
Three in four airline passengers support the use of biometrics to speed up airport processes
Nearly three quarters of airline passengers (73%) say they are willing to share their biometric data in order to speed up airport processes and reduce queuing at security, border control and boarding gates, according to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) survey... More
Mercedes-Benz and BP pilot in-truck fuel payments in the UK
Mercedes-Benz and BP have completed a trial of an app-based digital in-truck fuel payment system that allows haulage drivers to pay without leaving their vehicle or using a fuel payment card... More
Metrolinx adds support for debit card payments to contactless ticketing pilot in Toronto
Passengers travelling on Metrolinx’s Union Pearson (UP) Express airport rail link in the Canadian city of Toronto can now opt to pay their fares with their contactless debit card as part of the transport agency’s trial of its Presto open payment ticketing system... More