Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications is to roll out an automated fare collection system as part of its Sila multimodal public transportation project that will enable passengers to make contactless payments for metro, bus, tram and taxi journeys with their debit or credit card, their Sila transit card or from their mobile device... More
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Qatar and the Philippines move towards developing CBDCs
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project “in the near term” and the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is also exploring the possible development of a CBDC in line with its wider payment digitisation plans... More
Hindu temples pilot contactless payments in India
Devotees will soon be able to make contactless offerings and other charitable payments at some 536 Hindu temples across India using a QR code-based payment system being piloted by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department... More
Apple acquires open banking provider Credit Kudos
Apple has acquired Credit Kudos, an update to the UK-based open banking provider’s website reveals, describing the company as “a subsidiary of Apple” and confirming media reports... More
MBTA to add open loop contactless ticketing and digital transit card
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) in the US is to expand its fare payments system to enable passengers to pay for their journeys with a contactless credit card, mobile wallet or a digital version of their CharlieCard transit card... More
Banks develop interoperable platform for cross-border CBDC transactions
The Bank of International Settlements and the central banks of Australia, Malaysia and Singapore have completed a joint project to develop a shared platform that could facilitate direct cross-border transactions between institutions using different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)... More
Houston to expand mobile ticketing options
The Metropolitan Transit Authority in Houston, Texas, in the USA is planning to enable passengers on its bus and light rail services to pay their fares with their mobile device as well as with a contactless transit card or via its mobile ticketing app when it upgrades its fare collection system... More
RTC adds support for contactless EMV card fare payments
Passengers on Regional Transport Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) buses in the Las Vegas valley area of the USA can now make contactless fare payments by tapping their EMV payment card on an onboard validator... 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
Korean buses roll out ‘tagless’ Bluetooth fare payments
Gyeonggi-do Province Transportation Bureau in South Korea has officially launched a ‘tagless’ fare payment system that uses Bluetooth technology to detect a Bluetooth signal from a passenger’s smartphone when they board and alight from the vehicle and then automatically charges their pre- or post-paid transit card for their fare... More
First National Bank reports ‘surge’ in contactless payments from smart devices in South Africa
The total transaction values of contactless payments made using a smart device processed by retail and commercial clients of South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) has increased from R640m (US$43m) in 2020 to “in excess” of R4.2bn (US$3bn) in 2021, the bank reports... More
Citi to roll out NFC mobile payments to corporate cardholders in 40 countries
Citi Commercial Cards is to enable its business customers in more than 40 markets worldwide to digitise their plastic corporate payment card or provision a virtual card into a mobile wallet and use it to make NFC mobile payments... More
Seattle boutique opens contactless clothing rental store
Customers using Armoire clothing rental store in Seattle in the US can now collect and return fashion items by simply picking them up or leaving them on a table in the store... More
Libyan bank to pilot biometric payment cards
Mediterranean Bank in Libya will be the first in the country to trial biometric payment cards that enable customers to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprint... More
Banco Central do Brasil names CBDC project partners
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) has named the partner organisations that will support the next phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) project... More
Singapore adds digital driving licences to Singpass app
Residents of Singapore can now add a digital version of their driving licence to the country’s Singpass app and use it to verify their identity, the classes of vehicles they are certified to drive and updated information about merits or demerits they have accumulated... More
Shake Shack offers customers bitcoin rewards
Customers purchasing food and beverages from Shake Shack outlets in the US using the Cash App payments platform can opt to receive a 15% cashback reward in bitcoin... 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
ST to explain NFC wireless charging in webinar
PARTNER NEWS: A webinar on Tuesday 15 March will explain to device makers and developers how to enable NFC wireless charging in IoT devices, and examine the design requirements... More
Santiago metro and suburban rail services add mobile fare payments
Passengers travelling on Metro de Santiago services and EFE suburban rail lines in Chile can now pay their fares at station ticket gates with their mobile device as well as with a contactless bank or transit smartcard... More