Swift has published a new open banking API standard that “allows a payer’s bank to earmark funds for a purchase in advance, guaranteeing that the future payment will be honoured”... More
Archive for September 2019
Polish merchants to pilot dongle-free contactless payments
Merchants in Poland are to be the first to pilot a new service that enables them to accept contactless payments of any amount “via a smartphone or tablet, in the same way a traditional payment terminal functions but with no additional equipment”... More
Cordless kitchens to combine NFC with wireless power to remove the need for plugs and cables
NFC connectivity is to play a major role in the delivery of a new generation of cordless kitchen appliances which work in conjunction with wireless power transmitter hotspots built into kitchen work surfaces to replace the need for traditional plugs and cables... More
Sainsbury’s halts cashierless supermarket pilot
Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has added a manned till and two self-checkout stations to the London store it opened in April as the UK’s first checkout-free supermarket... More
Detroit rolls out multi-operator transit ticketing app
Public transportation users in Detroit, Michigan, can now use their mobile phone as well as the city’s new contactless transit cards to purchase time-based travel passes that work seamlessly across multiple transportation operators... More
Amazon to pilot biometric payments in Whole Foods stores?
A biometric payments system that uses the shape of a shopper’s hand to identify them at the point of sale (POS) is currently being tested by Amazon employees ahead of a planned pilot at “a handful” of Whole Foods supermarkets early next year, the New York Post reports... More
Mobile payments providers team up to let customers make QR payments across Europe
A group of seven mobile payments service providers with a combined user base of 25 million people in nine European countries have formed a new association to deliver “interoperability of the mobile payment systems across national borders”... More
Researchers develop stretchable NFC antennas for clothing
A team of researchers from universities in the UK and China have developed a way to use standard machine embroidering equipment to add NFC capabilities to items of clothing so that the technology continues to work reliably even when the fabric is stretched out of shape by the wearer... More
China to begin issuing digital currency in November?
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is preparing to launch a central bank-backed digital currency on 11 November, according to a Forbes report — and is to kickstart usage by distributing it to UnionPay, Tencent, Alibaba and several Chinese banks in time for consumers to use it on Singles Day, the country’s busiest shopping day... More
Sierra Leone puts national ID cards on the blockchain
The government of Sierra Leone is to introduce a blockchain-based national identity system at the end of this year, enabling citizens to “grant access to approved institutions to assert and verify identity and also build credit histories,” the country’s president has announced... More
UK government to add support for iPhone NFC passport reading
The UK government is to introduce an iOS version of its NFC-based EU Exit: ID Document Check app in October, the Home Office has told The Register... More
NFCW adds dedicated payments, transit ticketing and NFC technology hubs
NFC World is today rebranding as NFCW, moving to a new home at www.nfcw.com and switching on a new site design that lets readers easily access specialist news and knowledge on topics of particular interest, beginning with payments, transit ticketing and NFC technology... More