European banks call for rethink on incorporating payments into EU digital identity wallet proposals

European banking association logo large

The European Credit Sector Associations (ECSAs) are calling on the European Union to re-examine clauses in legislation on the proposed European Digital Identity Wallet that appear to imply that “widely used cards and payment specifications” will have to accept the wallet for strong customer authentication (SCA) for payments “on a mandatory basis”... More


Lithuanian supermarket chain begins rolling out contactless stores

Lithuanian supermarket chain IKI contactless stores in Vilnius

Lithuanian supermarket chain IKI has opened its second contactless convenience store in the capital Vilnius, enabling customers to check in at the store door by tapping their payment card, mobile wallet or retailer’s app, select the products they want and pay for their purchases without needing to scan them, by tapping their payment card as they leave... More



Hugo Boss adds NFC tags to baseball caps

Adding an avatar by scanning NFC tag in Hugo Boss baseball cap that link to NFT

Fashion house Hugo Boss has added an NFC tag to a range of baseball caps that enables purchasers to create non-fungible token (NFT) digital twins that they can use to dress avatars on the Ready Player Me metaverse platform... More




Japan to host first entirely cashless World Expo in 2025

Logo for Japan cashless World Expo 2025 in Osaka

The World Expo 2025 in the Japanese city of Osaka will be the first world’s fair to be entirely cashless and is developing a dedicated blockchain-enabled Expo Digital Wallet that visitors will be able to use to make contactless payments with their smartphone both inside and outside the venue as well as after the event... More


Kochi Metro promotion drives upsurge in mobile ticketing adoption

Kochi Metro discount on mobile QR ticketing advert

The number of passengers purchasing QR code mobile tickets for journeys on Kochi Metro services in the Indian state of Kerala has increased twenty-fold since the rapid transit system launched a promotion offering a 10% discount for peak-time and 50% discount for off-peak travel to mobile ticketing users... More



EU begins work on digital visas for Schengen visitors

Sweden’s Minister for Migration Maria Malmer Stenergard

The European Union is to begin negotiating a proposal to enable travellers who require a visa to transit through — or make a short stay in countries within — the border-free Schengen area of Europe to apply for and store a digital version of the credential on their smartphone... More




TSA to extend contactless digital ID verification pilot to airports in Puerto Rico and Tennessee

TSA map of contactless digital ID acceptance across USA

The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is to start letting passengers use their digital driving licence or state ID card stored on their smartphone to verify their identity at checkpoints in Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico and Nashville International Airport in Tennessee later this year, according to TSA administrator David Pekoske... More




European Banking Federation lays out principles for a retail digital euro

European Banking Federation chart showing objectives for a retail digital euro

The proposed retail digital euro should be appropriately designed in collaboration with the private sector, create value for end-users, preserve financial stability and incentivise and enable private sector intermediaries to add solutions and services within the central bank digital currency (CBDC) ecosystem, according to a European Banking Federation (EBF) vision paper... More