Six hundred Chevron gas stations in the US are to begin accepting Google Wallet payments and will “send out signage and other point-of-purchase (POP) material to stations before year’s end,” CSP Daily News reports... More
Archive for December 2011
San Francisco gets NFC parking meters
All of the city’s 30,800 parking meters are being equipped with NFC stickers that allow drivers to pay for parking with their NFC phones, get a reminder when their parking time runs out and add extra parking time wherever they are. More
Intel signs NFC deal with Inside Secure
“We look forward to working with Inside to develop and bring to market a range of exciting connectivity solutions for mainstream consumer products that incorporate NFC features,” says the head of the semiconductor giant’s Mobile Wireless Group. More
NFC shopping zone opens in Seoul
Korea’s leading mobile network operators, card networks, phone manufacturers and government agencies have joined forces to provide shoppers in Seoul’s busiest shopping district with a wide range of NFC services including payments, couponing, smart posters and digital receipts. More
Taiwan gets NFC iPhone case
Taiwanese mobile network operator Chunghwa Telecom has teamed up with transportation card operator EasyCard, chip maker NXP, and MasterCard to launch an iPhone case that enables users to make NFC payments in stores and on public transport... More
New report maps out the current status and future trends in the NFC market
A new research report by Sarah Clark, editor of NFC World, sets out the current state of play in the international NFC market, explains the critical factors for success, identifies the issues that remain to be resolved and analyses the opportunities for growth in the year ahead. More
Security researchers raise Google Wallet concerns
The amount of unencrypted data stored by the Google Wallet app “surpasses what we believe most consumers find acceptable,” says digital forensics specialist viaForensics in a report on the security of the search giant’s NFC wallet — but no access to the secure element was gained. More
IBM to develop NFC payments solutions in Moscow
The computer giant has partnered with Russia’s Skolkovo Foundation to create a Science and Technology Center that will work on intelligent operations, technology for the oil and gas industry and on “the creation of security-rich and customizable mobile payment transactions for use across a number of industries including telco, retail and banking.” More
Microsoft adds NFC to tag platform
The software giant has expanded its Microsoft Tag platform to include support for NFC tags as well as QR codes and its own tag technology, ahead of the expected release of the first Windows Phone NFC devices in 2012. More
No NFC in Windows Phone — yet
Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango” does not support NFC, Microsoft has told NFC World... More
Panasonic to enter European market with NFC smartphone
Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic is to move into the European smartphone market with a ‘global model’ handset which looks likely to come with NFC... More
Isis picks Gemalto for NFC mobile commerce platform
The core trusted service management (TSM) platform to be used by the US NFC joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will be provided by France-based Gemalto. More
Starbucks China adds NFC to festive check-in campaign
The coffee giant is using NFC-enabled posters to promote a rewards campaign that will see everyone who checks in to Starbucks via social network Jiepang getting a voucher for a free drink upgrade — but only if a total of 30,000 check-ins is reached by the Christmas deadline. More
eProvenance tracks wine shipments with NFC
Adding NFC temperature sensors to cases of wine “will motivate importers to verify quality conditions, give retailers more information to share at point of sale, and lead consumers to check the quality of what they are buying,” says the wine tracking specialist’s founder. More
Intel upgrades NFC Forum membership
Intel has upgraded its membership of the NFC Forum from ‘Principal’ to ‘Sponsor’, the top level of membership... More
Woolworths goes contactless
Australian supermarket giant Woolworths is set to roll out 30,000 contactless payment terminals across more than 3,000 stores in 2012... More
Google Wallet on way to UK?
The UK will be the next country to get Google Wallet, following its US launch in October 2011, according to Les Echos... More
Absa begins South Africa’s first NFC pilot
The trial will see five hundred bank staff using BlackBerry NFC smartphones to make MasterCard PayPass payments, and the technology used will in future also support the country’s national transportation ticketing technology. More
Verizon and Google fire first shots in the mobile wallet wars
“Recent reports that Verizon is blocking Google Wallet on our devices are false,” says Verizon. “We are continuing our commercial discussions with Google on this issue.” More
KPMG reports on consumer attitudes to mobile
A new survey from KPMG has found that 41% of shoppers now use their phone to research products and services in-store and consumers are increasingly willing to share data with advertisers if it saves them money — but concerns over mobile payments security and privacy issues remain. More