Chinese university pilots face recognition for campus access control

Peking University installs facial recognition system for students and staff on campus gate — South China Morning Post — “Anyone going through the southwestern gate of prestigious Peking University can now have their face scanned by a camera instead of showing their ID card to security guards under a trial run of the system that started on Wednesday… It is not the university’s first use of the technology on campus — it has already installed about two dozen facial recognition devices outside some of its libraries, classrooms, student dormitories, gymnasiums and computer centres.”


What's New in Payments

Line Pay aims to convert 1m Japanese merchants to QR payments with free transactions for three years

Japan’s Line Pay throws down gauntlet to Alipay — Nikkei Asian Review — “Line has sought to minimize the hassle for retailers by allowing the retailer to use the service by simply downloading a free app on a smartphone… Retailers can also send messages to individual shoppers later, such as sales promotions. The service can be used free of charge for the next three years… There are also incentives for customers, offering them loyalty points valued at 3% to 5% of every purchase they make with Line Pay.”


What's New in Payments

Tesco pilots ‘Scan Pay Go’ cashless supermarket concept

Tesco trials cashless ‘shop and go’ store at HQ — Essential Retail — “Tesco staff are trialling a completely cashless store at the grocer’s headquarters in Welwyn Garden City, including ‘shop and go’ technology similar to that used in the Amazon Go store in Seattle… The technology allows customers to scan and pay for their products via their smartphone before walking out of the store without visiting a traditional till point.”


Transit Ticketing Today

Sydney’s public transport operator integrates on-demand transit service into its ticketing system

First on-demand operator taps into Opal — iTnews — “Transport for NSW has expanded its OpalPay payment method to allow the first on-demand public transport operators to tap into the Opal card system… The payment method will now expand to on-demand public transport services operated by Transit Systems in Sydney’s Inner West. The on-demand service, which will launch new week, is the latest in a series of on-demand services now operating across Sydney and Newcastle.”


NFC World

Mobvoi includes ST NFC technology in TicWatch Pro

STMicroelectronics’ secure NFC technology enhances contactless user experience in Mobvoi’s TicWatch Pro — STMicroelectronics — PARTNER NEWS — “Prioritizing enhanced user experience and convenience, Mobvoi integrated ST’s NFC controller (ST21NFCD) in TicWatch Pro for its unique technology that boosts RF performance without penalizing battery performance and integrated features that minimize circuit size to reduce bill-of-materials costs.”


NFC World

Adidas includes NFC chip in official match ball for knockout stage of 2018 Fifa World Cup

Adidas Football reveals official match ball for the knockout stage of the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia — Fifa — “The Telstar 18 and Telstar Mechta feature an embedded NFC chip… The chip enables consumers to interact with the ball using a smartphone. Upon interaction, each ball generates a unique identifier, unlocking exclusive content and information for the user. The personalised and location-aware experience displays specific details of each ball and provides access to challenges.”


NFC World

HID Global supplies RFID tickets to 2018 World Cup

HID Global scores big with smart and secure tickets for 2018 Fifa World Cup — HID Global — PARTNER NEWS — “The 2018 Fifa World Cup ticket is a smart ticket containing a radio frequency identification (RFID) inlay and manufactured with special security papers and integrates several security features designed to prevent counterfeiting and forgery… Attendees can simply tap their tickets to a reader to validate them and gain access to an event, speeding up admissions dramatically in high-volume events such as World Cup matches.”


JPMorgan Chase to reward mobile-only bank account customers for using key features

JPMorgan Chase takes smartphone account ‘Finn’ nationwide — Reuters — “JPMorgan is offering $100 to people who open accounts and complete 10 transactions of certain types, such as sending money to another person or paying a bill. The incentive is designed to make customers familiar with using the app, said Melissa Feldsher, head of Finn. She believes customers will stick with the accounts after seeing they can automatically make deposits to their savings accounts, such as moving $2 from their checking account every time they spend $5 with the app at a Starbucks coffee shop.”


What's New in Payments

PayPal adds support for local payments services

Introducing the new PayPal Checkout, built to drive conversions — PayPal — “Smart Payment Buttons are checkout buttons that dynamically present the most relevant payment methods for each customer in each geography… Over the next few weeks, we will enable iDEAL for customers in the Netherlands, Bancontact for customers in Belgium, MyBank for customers in Italy, Giropay for customers in Germany and EPS for customers in Austria… We expect to roll out many more local payment methods this year.”


What's New in Payments

New Bank of England settlement system to support ‘private payment systems’

New economy, new finance, new bank — Bank of England — “The Bank of England is in the midst of an ambitious rebuild of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system — the backbone of every payment in the UK… RTGS is being re-built so that new private payment systems, including those using distributed ledger, can simply plug into our system… No longer will access to central bank money be the exclusive preserve of banks.”


NFC World

Scientists combine gas sensors and NFC tags to deliver rotten food warnings to consumers

The ultimate ‘smell test’: Device sends rotten food warning to smartphones — American Chemical Society — “The scientists created a nanostructured, conductive, polymer-based gas sensor that can detect substances called biogenic amines (BAs), which give decomposing meat its bad odor. They embedded these sensors into NFCs placed next to meats. After the meats had been stored for 24 hours at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the researchers found that the sensors successfully detected significant amounts of BAs. The sensors then switched on the NFCs so they could transmit this information to a nearby smartphone.”


What's New in Payments

BIS: Digital currencies don’t yet offer a solution to any specific economic problems

Cryptocurrencies: looking beyond the hype — Bank for International Settlements — “Cryptocurrencies promise to replace trusted institutions with distributed ledger technology. Yet, looking beyond the hype, it is hard to identify a specific economic problem which they currently solve. Transactions are slow and costly, prone to congestion, and cannot scale with demand. The decentralised consensus behind the technology is also fragile and consumes vast amounts of energy. Still, distributed ledger technology could have promise in other applications.”


What's New in Payments

Korea’s central bank ‘opposes’ the idea of a digital currency

BOK will not issue digital money — Korea Times — “The Bank of Korea (BOK), the country’s central bank, said Monday it opposes the idea of central bank digital currency (CBDC)… The bank is worrying over concerns that such a sudden launch of the CBDC will cost society a lot and cause a moral hazard. Also, issuing CBDC could destabilize the market order because digital currencies don’t currently constitute money.”


What's New in Payments

Juniper predicts gains in market share for OEM Pays

Apple Pay accounts for 1 in 2 OEM Pay users globally, reaching 200 million by 2020 — Juniper Research — “The global number of mobile contactless users will exceed 760 million by 2020, up from an estimated 440 million in 2018… The combined market share of Apple, Samsung and Google will reach 60% of global mobile contactless users by 2023, up from an estimated 50% in 2018. Other OEM Pay users, including the likes of Huawei Pay, Xiaomi Pay, Fitbit Pay and Garmin Pay, will exceed 20 million by 2020.”


What's New in Payments

Central bank patents point to plans for a hybrid digital currency in China

PBOC filings reveal big picture for planned digital currency — Coindesk — “The ultimate goal, according to PBOC’s patents, is to ‘break the silo between blockchain-based cryptocurrency and the existing monetary system’ so that the digital currency can sport cryptocurrency-like features, while being widely used in the existing financial structure.”


What's New in Payments

Central Bank of Bahamas plans digital currency pilot

Bahamas to introduce digital currency — Jamaica Observer — “The production of a modern fully digital payment service is the way forward for this era of governance… A digital Bahamian currency is especially important for the many family islands as they have seen many commercial banks downsize and pull out of their communities, leaving them without banking services.”


What's New in Payments

UnionPay begins mobile payments rollout in North America

UnionPay QR code payment debuts in North America — UnionPay International — “UnionPay International announced today that it has partnered with Bank of China (Canada) in enabling all the stores of Foodymart in Canada to accept UnionPay QR code payment… Some food and beverage merchants in California, the US, have recently started accepting UnionPay QR code payment too… It is expected that the number of merchants accepting UnionPay QR code payment in North America will reach 5,000 within this year.”



What's New in Payments

mPOS terminals to account for one in four POS transactions

Mobile point-of-sale devices to account for almost 1 in 4 POS transactions by 2023 — Juniper Research — “The adoption of mPos (mobile point-of-sale) devices connecting wirelessly or via mobile devices, such as those from iZettle and Square, will drive annual mPos transactions to over 87bn by 2023. This will represent a threefold increase over an estimated 28bn transactions in 2018.”


Canadian banks and carriers to roll out digital ID platform

Canadian mobile digital identity service to launch this fall — IT World Canada — “A long-awaited Canadian mobile digital identity validation service supported by Canada’s biggest banks and telcos will launch this fall… Called Verified.Me, the service installs an app on a mobile device that confirms a user’s identity, allowing businesses and governments to immediately do transactions without demanding proof of identity.”