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.”
Square will replace meters in Washington taxis — Bloomberg — “The overhaul of the city’s cab system will help drivers compete with Uber… By the end of August, all of the taxis in Washington have to tear out their traditional meters and start using smartphones or tablets, in what the city government has been describing as a complete reimagining of how the cab system works.”
US supermarket chain Walmart has launched Walmart Pay in 15 additional US states including Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington DC... More
Hotel chain Residence Inn by Marriott is to pilot image recognition and augmented reality technology that will allow guests to scan beverage coasters to access interactive experiences, including games and food and drink suggestions, on their smartphones... More
Fast food chain Chick-fil-A has rolled out mobile payments to all of its US restaurants, with the exception of licensed locations, following a pilot that began in June 2014... More
Washington Metro (WMATA) is preparing to pilot NFC payments, allowing passengers to pay for their journey with an NFC smartphone or a contactless bank or ID card... More
Public transportation users in Chicago and Washington DC will be able to use their NFC phones to purchase tickets in the coming years, the cities’ transportation authorities have announced... More
Identity and credential management provider Intercede is to demonstrate an NFC version of its MyID security system at the Smart Card Alliance Government Conference in Washington DC this week... More
Google, Sprint and Samsung are taking Google Wallet across the US on a five city roadshow that will allow consumers to test out the NFC service in selected retail stores... More
Shoppers at the flagship Times Square branch of American Eagle Outfitters can now use an NFC phone to make payments, earn reward points and collect or redeem special offers. More
Customers can now use their NFC mobile phones to make payments, redeem coupons and receive rewards via Google SingleTap terminals installed at more than one hundred of the office supplies chain’s stores in five US regions. More
The flexible labels don’t need a battery and automatically light up or display information when they are read by an NFC phone. More
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