Mumbai bus operator BEST is to begin a pilot of India’s ‘One Nation One Card’ national transit card system in November this year... More
Archive for August 2019
Daimler pilots Truck Wallet that lets vehicles make their own payments
Daimler Trucks has announced the successful completion of a proof-of-concept pilot of Truck Wallet, a machine-to-machine (M2M) payments service designed to enable vehicles to automatically pay for road tolls, electric charging and other services — without involving or interacting with the driver... More
China sets out plans for two-tier digital currency
China’s central bank has completed a five-year project to develop a digital currency that can be processed at a speed which is fast enough for it to be used in a retail environment, a senior People’s Bank of China (PBOC) official has revealed... More
US Army to issue soldiers with wearable contactless IDs
The US Army is looking to replace its current smartcard-based Common Access Card (CAC) with “wireless, lightweight, flexible and rugged” wearable contactless identity tokens that can be inserted into a soldier’s pocket, attached to a sleeve or integrated into a wristband... More
DIG puts premium wines on blockchain NFC authentication platform
Chinese buyers of premium wines are now able to verify the authenticity of their purchase using the Wine Traceability Platform (WTP), a blockchain-based NFC service designed to protect Chinese consumers against the growing problem of fake wines... More
NFC mobile payments to account for ‘just 1.6%’ of in-store transactions this year
Payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay will be used by US consumers to make transactions valued at a total of US$78.6bn this year, representing 1.6% of all US brick-and-mortar retail sales, according to a new forecast from 451 Research... More
POC adds NFC chips to bike helmets
Sports equipment maker POC has included NFC chips in two new cycling helmets “to aid user safety and protection” in the case of injury, Endurance Business reports... More
Google rolls out NFC Titan Security Keys to Canada, France, Japan and UK
Titan Security Keys are now available in Canada, France, Japan, and the UK — Google — “Titan Security Keys are built with a hardware chip that includes firmware engineered by Google to verify the keys’ integrity. Each key leverages FIDO standards to cryptographically verify your identity and URL of the login page, preventing an attacker from accessing your account even if you are tricked into providing your username and password.”
CryptoKaiju launches Cryptokitty toys with NFC
Wouldn’t you like a Real CryptoKitty? — Decrypt — “The 7.5 inch CryptoKitties each have a unique identity and are traceable on the blockchain. Look underneath the toy’s foot, and you’ll see a tamper-proof, near field communication (NFC) tag, with a unique serial number. Doting owners can interact with the chip, using a smartphone or other device, to access details about their toy’s unique characteristics.”
California winemaker to use NFC to provide buyers with a ‘farm-to-table’ experience
Böen Wines is to use NFC tags incorporated into all its bottle caps to let customers easily access information about where and how their wine was made, get advice on food pairings and “share their own experiences with Böen within the platform and via social media”... More
Shinhan pilots face recognition payments in Korea
Korea’s Shinhan Card has begun testing Shinhan Face Pay, a face recognition payments system that it is developing with CU convenience stores operator BGF Retail “to identify customers who visit unmanned convenience stores in the future”... More
CaixaBank reports 87% rise in mobile payments users
One million CaixaBank customers are now using their mobile phone to make in-store payments, up 87% on this time last year, and 100,000 customers are making payments using wearable devices, the Spanish bank has reported... More
DHL tracks temperature-sensitive medical supplies with NFC
New logistics technologies introduced at DHL Global Chicago hub — Healthcare Packaging — “Using near field communication (NFC) technology, sensors log in-transit ambient environmental temperature conditions during shipping, functioning at temperatures between -40 and +60 degrees Celsius. The sensors allow uploading of temperature data directly to the DHL mobile app and LifeTrack web portal, making them cost effective and easy to use without the need for specific scanners or devices… DHL has seen a 40% increase in operational capabilities using these scanners.”
Apple demos NFC tag reading for Apple Card activation
Titanium Apple Card activation with background NFC tag reading — Ata Distance — “Apple has posted two videos for activating the Titanium Apple Card: a video for A12 Bionic iPhone XR/XS with background NFC tag reading, and a video for non-A12 Bionic iPhones without background NFC tag reading ability. This marks the first time Apple has put A12 Bionic background NFC tag reading ability to use, almost a year since the new functionality appeared.”
ShipChain to use NFC to track temperature-sensitive shipments on the blockchain
ShipChain and GTX Corp launch global NFC blockchain shipment tracking solution — ShipChain — “The NFC tags provide real-time temperature sensing and data logging across the supply chain necessary with transportation of perishables; food, drinks, pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive products that can be negatively affected by conditions in transit. These built-in security measures can prevent the distribution of contaminated supplies in the marketplace and unauthorised modification of data logs, allowing brands, retailers, distributors, and freight forwarders to verify shipment quality.”
Face recognition to replace QR codes in China?
As China turns towards facial recognition payments, are QR codes on their way out? — South China Morning Post — “As the familiar square mosaic gains greater popularity outside China, the tech giants that helped to drive its adoption are already moving away from the app-based payment method to something even more portable: your face.”
Tencent reports 100 million transit ticketing mini-app users
100 million transit riders are paying with WeChat mini-program: Tencent — Caixin Global — “Ride Code allows subway and bus riders to pay for transit fares with QR codes directly upon boarding in various Chinese cities. At subway stations, that means showing your barcode at the turnstile. Riders do not need to visit ticket kiosks as the fare is deducted from their WeChat Pay wallet.”
Mastercard pilots blockchain product provenance platform
Mastercard enables luxury shoppers to purchase with confidence — Mastercard — “Consumers will be able to shop the exclusive Rodarte pieces at Fred Segal Sunset with the ability to scan a QR code on the garment’s tag to trace each step of the product journey. Consumers who purchase from Fred Segal’s online store can learn more about the product journey and verify authenticity by scanning the QR code when their package arrives at home.”
Apple Card begins to roll out in the US
The Apple Card starts rolling out today — The Verge — “Apple says a random selection of people who signed up to be notified about the Apple Card will be invited to sign up today… The signup process, which requires iOS 12.4, involves entering your address, birthday, income level and last four digits of your Social Security number. That information is sent to Goldman Sachs, which will approve or decline your application in real time… Once you’ve been approved, your new card will show up in your Apple Wallet immediately.”
Samsung lets Canadian merchants accept contactless payments on Galaxy smartphones
Samsung Pay Touch app turns your Galaxy smartphone into a PoS terminal — SamMobile — “Samsung has quietly launched the Samsung Pay Touch app to target small businesses in Canada. The app transforms compatible Galaxy smartphones into POS (point of sale) terminals that can accept contactless payments from customers… The biggest advantage of Samsung Pay Touch is that it doesn’t require any additional hardware to set up. As long as you have a compatible Galaxy smartphone, you can download the app and complete the registration to start using it right away.”