China is to launch trials of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) in more cities and regions across the country after rolling out a pilot version of the digital yuan wallet app in January and trialling the CBDC during the Beijing Winter Olympics... More
Archive for March 2022
Delhi lets tourists top up metro fare payment cards from official tourism app
Tourists in India can now top up their contactless Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) transit card and receive information about routes and fares from their Apple or Android mobile device via the official Delhi Tourism app... More
ST to explain NFC wireless charging in webinar
PARTNER NEWS: A webinar on Tuesday 15 March will explain to device makers and developers how to enable NFC wireless charging in IoT devices, and examine the design requirements... More
Santiago metro and suburban rail services add mobile fare payments
Passengers travelling on Metro de Santiago services and EFE suburban rail lines in Chile can now pay their fares at station ticket gates with their mobile device as well as with a contactless bank or transit smartcard... More
AirAsia migrates 95% of passengers to contactless self-check-in
Some 95% of passengers travelling with AirAsia now use the Malaysian airline’s contactless self-check-in service that enables them to receive an e-boarding pass, choose their seat and add baggage, in-flight meals and travel insurance via the airline’s app or website... More
Transport Scotland lets young passengers add free bus travel to national smartcard with NFC
Young people aged between 16 and 21 in Scotland can now add a pass entitling them to free bus travel to their physical National Entitlement Card (NEC) or Young Scot NEC smartcard from their NFC smartphone using Transport Scotland’s Pass Collect app... More
Tyne and Wear Metro launches mobile ticketing for Android users
Android smartphone users travelling on Tyne and Wear Metro services in the UK can now add their Pop preloaded transit card to Google Pay and use it to pay their fares with a tap of their mobile... More
Soldo lets customers in the UK and Italy add corporate payment cards to Google Pay
Holders of corporate payment cards issued by spending management platform Soldo in the UK and Italy can now add them to Google Pay and use them to make contactless payments with their Android smartphone, smartwatch or tablet... More
eBay authenticates 1.5m pairs of sneakers with NFC tags
Auction site eBay has added NFC tags that enable buyers to authenticate their purchases with a tap of their smartphone to 1.5m pairs of sneakers worldwide since adding sneakers to the products eligible for its Authenticity Guarantee service in 2021... More
USI adds NFC wireless charging for active styluses
The Universal Stylus Initiative (USI) has incorporated the NFC Forum’s Wireless Charging Specification (WLC) in the newly released version 2.0 of its active stylus specification (USI 2.0), enabling rechargeable styluses to be wirelessly charged with a compatible smartphone or other NFC charging device at a power transfer rate of up to one watt... More
Contactless card purchases to exceed 522bn globally by 2026
The number of contactless card purchases made worldwide will increase by an average of 23% a year and reach a total of more than 522bn by 2026, up by more than 370bn on the 149bn recorded in 2020, according to a forecast by Retail Banking Research (RBR)... More
Santa Maria gets mobility app for contactless fare payments and trip planning
Santa Maria Regional Transit (SMRT) in the US has launched a mobility app that enables passengers on the Californian city’s public transport network to make contactless payments for all available fare options and validate their ticket or pass by scanning a QR code at an on-board validator... More
Taiwan to complete central bank digital currency pilot by September
The Central Bank of Taiwan (CBT) has accelerated its research into the development of a Taiwanese central bank digital currency (CBDC) and expects to complete the second phase of its pilot programme by September this year... More
Researchers develop miniature batteryless ‘flying microchips’ with NFC
Researchers based at Northwestern University in the US have developed ‘flying microchips’ or microfliers the size of a grain of sand that incorporate micro-sensors and use NFC to harvest ambient energy and transfer data to a smartphone, tablet or computer... More
Queensland to launch digital driving licence in 2023
Motorists in the Australian state of Queensland will be able to store and display a digital version of their driving licence and other proof of identity cards on their mobile device from 2023... More
Swedish challenger bank rolls out biometric payment cards
Customers of Swedish challenger bank Rocker can now apply for a biometric payment card that allows them to authenticate payments of any amount with their fingerprint rather than using a PIN... More
Global shipments of biometric payment cards to grow by 850% and reach 173m in 2026
Shipments of biometric payment cards with embedded fingerprint sensors will grow by almost 850% and reach a total of 173m worldwide by 2026, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More