Fujitsu’s cashless betting machines use palm vein authentication to support Japan Racing Organization — Fujitsu — “The betting machines will allow users to place bets without using cash by simply holding their hands out to the machine and using their JRA-Umaca contactless membership card… The purchase information is recorded on the JRA-Umaca card making it unnecessary to print a paper betting ticket, and if they make an accurate prediction, winnings will be paid out to the JRA-Umaca card automatically.”
Archive for September 2018
Nike adds NFC labels to Chelsea football shirts
UK Premier League club Chelsea has added NFC tags to its third kit shirts for the forthcoming football season... More
Apple Pay hits launch hurdles in India
After Amazon and WhatsApp, Apple orders ‘stop payment’ — The Economic Times — “Silicon Valley giant Apple has shelved plans to launch a Unified Payments Interface-based payments platform in India after landing in a regulatory grey zone that has stalled the full rollouts of similar products by Amazon and WhatsApp as well. Apple put the brakes on introducing Apple Pay in the country despite holding discussions with a few leading banks and the National Payments Corporation of India, which manages the UPI platform, said two people with knowledge of the matter.”
NFC ticketing pioneer Utah Transit Authority pulls support for contactless payments
General-purpose contactless payments continue to struggle on US transit systems — Digital Transactions — “The Salt Lake City-based Utah Transit Authority, a pioneer in contactless fare payments, has discontinued acceptance of general-purpose contactless mobile wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. The UTA also no longer accepts contactless general-purpose payment cards, though such cards aren’t yet common in the United States. Only 112 riders on average used those forms of payment — far less than 1% of UTA’s average of 147,728 weekday boardings as of last December, according to a spokesperson.”
Moscow Credit Bank issues NFC payment rings
Non-contact payment ring of the Moscow Credit Bank — Moscow Credit Bank (translation) — “Visa payment card of the Moscow Credit Bank with support for NFC technology allows you to pay for purchases with one stroke of your hand… To pay for a purchase, it is enough to touch the ring to a terminal that accepts contactless payments. The payment ring is made of impact-resistant waterproof ceramics, so it will become indispensable for athletes and active lifestyle lovers.”
Paris Metro begins NFC ticketing pilot
Bus tickets and Navigo passes are available on smartphones in Ile-de-France — RTL (translation) — “RATP has begun pilot testing a service that makes it possible to buy and store a metro ticket directly on a smartphone. This first pilot is being conducted with around one hundred users, selected from RATP and SNCF employees. The system will be extended to include the Navigo Pass in November and extended to all operators in the summer of 2019.”
Samsung Pay adds funds trading service in Korea
Samsung Pay begins funds trading service — Yonhap News — “Fund Online Korea Co said Tuesday it launched services for the trading of investment funds via Samsung Pay, the country’s top mobile payment tool. The service allowed users to shop for a variety of funds at the Samsung Pay platform after a simple process of opening accounts, according to the firm. ‘We are aiming at offering an easy, convenient and accessible investment channel,’ said company official Kim Seung-hyun.”
Singapore Airlines adds boarding passes to Google Pay
SIA introduces seamless access to mobile boarding passes via Google Pay — Singapore Airlines — “Customers travelling with Singapore Airlines (SIA) can now have the added flexibility of saving their mobile boarding pass on Google Pay, the digital wallet platform and online payment system developed by Google. This is the first time an airline in the Asia-Pacific region has such a capability on Google Pay.”
Diesel launches touchscreen smartwatch with NFC payments — and support for Alipay in China
Diesel takes wearables to new heights by introducing next generation touchscreen smartwatch — Diesel — “New features include heart rate tracking, NFC payment capabilities, and GPS tracking… Make purchases via your NFC-enabled smartwatch using Google Pay. Alipay available in China.”