EZ-Link and Touch ‘N Go to introduce dual currency cross-border combi card — EZ-Link — “A first in Southeast Asia, the Combi Card will securely host both electronic wallets from EZ-Link and Touch ‘n Go. Targeted for launch in quarter four 2019, the card will first allow users to pay for urban mobility in both countries… To date, EZ-Link has issued about 30 million Cepas EZ-Link cards in Singapore and Touch ‘n Go has more than 23 million active Touch ‘n Go cards in circulation in Malaysia.”
Archive for April 2019
Aeon to identify customers with face recognition at 80 self-serve stores
Aeon to use facial recognition at 80 China self-serve stores — Nikkei Asian Review — “Aeon, Japan’s largest retailer by sales, will soon debut a chain of self-serve smart stores in China that can anticipate what a customer will buy upon entering the establishment… Facial recognition technology installed in the stores will identify shoppers. Customers’ smartphones will then display recommended items and coupons based on purchasing habits and digital payment history.”
Bespoke shirtmaker to add payments to cuffs
A dress shirt which incorporates contactless payment technology in the cuff is set to go on sale this summer... More
Apple to unlock iPhone NFC to read secure data from passports
Apple will expand the iPhone’s NFC chip reading capabilities before the end of 2019 so that it can be used to read data stored in security chips like those used in passports, according to comments made by the UK government... More
Case study: Distillery uses NFC tags to fight counterfeiting and build customer engagement
PARTNER NEWS: Tasmania-based Old Kempton Distillery is using HID Global’s Trusted Tag technology to combat counterfeiting of its whiskies and gins — and to drive personalized and ongoing engagement with customers after they make a purchase... More
Sainsbury’s: Mobile self-checkout drives higher shopper spending
Behind Sainsbury’s in-store Mobile Pay solution — Essential Retail — “We have an average basket spend in store and we were expecting it to be slightly lower than that, but actually it’s coming out higher… If they go into store and see a queue, they want to be quick and grab two things to get into the queue as quickly as possible. But now they take their time and buy three or four things.”
Wells Fargo to add contactless functionality to US credit and debit cards
Wells Fargo accelerates customer checkout experience with new tap-to-pay contactless cards — Wells Fargo — “This week, new Wells Fargo consumer credit cardholders began receiving cards with the contactless feature when opening an account, and existing Wells Fargo consumer credit cardholders will receive a new contactless card when their current credit card expires. Consumer debit cards with the contactless feature will start to become available this summer.”
Stance lets customers use their phones to self checkout anywhere in store
Specialist sock retailer Stance is enabling customers to pay for products on their mobile phones from anywhere in its stores — without them having to visit a physical checkout desk, talk with a shop assistant or download an app... More
ScotRail pilots pay-as-you-go rail ticketing
ScotRail is running a trial of pay-as-you-go rail ticketing which enables travellers to load money onto a smart card and use it as a ticket on the company’s trains. The best fare is deducted directly from the card when the traveller taps out of the station at the end of their journey. More
Walmart to let customers shop for groceries with their voice
Want Walmart to help you grocery shop? With our new voice capabilities, just say the word — Walmart — “Beginning this month, customers can say: ‘Hey Google, talk to Walmart’ and the Google Assistant will add items directly to their Walmart Grocery cart. Best of all, customers can be extra confident that we can quickly and accurately identify the items they are asking for with the help of information from their prior purchases with us. The more you use it, the better we’ll get.”
Johns Hopkins University rolls out support for iOS and Android campus cards
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) has become the fifth university in the US to enable its students to load their campus card onto their iPhone or Apple Watch... More
Google Pay to integrate with Google Maps for transit card top ups
Google Pay says G’day to Mobile Myki — Google — “If you’re a Myki user in Melbourne or regional Victoria, you can now skip the line and get there faster with Google Pay… Soon, you’ll also be able to see your current balance in Google Maps when you’re planning your Myki journey, and initiate your top-up from there.”
Amazon Pay begins in-store payments rollout in India
Amazon Pay makes an offline push with ‘scan and pay’ service — Livemint — “We have begun introducing Amazon SmileCode, a new way for our customers to shop and pay at physical stores like Shoppers Stop, among others,” said an Amazon spokesperson. “Customers will soon find Amazon SmileCodes in neighbourhood retail stores, where they can scan and pay for their purchases seamlessly.”
Apple details ‘contactless’ Apple Card activation process in iOS 12.3 beta release
Although the physical version of Apple’s new credit card does not include support for contactless transactions, cardholders will be able to activate it by simply placing it in close proximity to their iPhone, code in the latest iOS beta release suggests... More