The National Bank of Iraq is to pilot biometric payment cards that will allow users to authenticate contactless transactions with their fingerprints... More
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Dubai merchants to let customers make payments with face biometrics
Consumers in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates will soon be able to make contactless payments with their face at branches of Costa Coffee, drinks retailer MMI, grocery chain Géant, the Cove Beach at Caesars Palace beach club and the Coca-Cola Arena Dubai... More
European Commission requests payments industry input on digital euro
The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation on the expected impact of a digital euro on key industries, institutions, consumers, merchants and other stakeholders in international trade... More
Uber to integrate train, coach and plane tickets into UK app
Uber is to enable users in the UK to purchase train, coach and plane tickets for long-distance journeys within its mobile app as part of a plan to create a ‘superapp’ that offers “a one-stop shop for travel”... More
Apple Pay goes live in Moldova
Apple Pay has launched in Moldova with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by Maib, Moldindconbank and Victoriabank... More
Vietnam lets citizens add internationally standardized vaccine passports to their mobile phones
Residents of Vietnam will soon be able to store a digital vaccine passport on their Android or iOS device that enables border officials to verify an individual travelling abroad has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by scanning a QR code... More
Qatar to roll out contactless fare payments across metro, bus, tram and taxi services
Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications is to roll out an automated fare collection system as part of its Sila multimodal public transportation project that will enable passengers to make contactless payments for metro, bus, tram and taxi journeys with their debit or credit card, their Sila transit card or from their mobile device... More
Jamaica begins central bank digital currency rollout
Residents of Jamaica can now open a digital wallet that supports the country’s Jam-Dex central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) prepares to launch the CBDC during the April to June quarter... More
Contactless P2P payments to drive adoption of digital euro, central bank survey finds
European consumers consider the ability to make instant contactless payments, including person-to-person transfers, to be a priority and “a very important selling point” for a digital euro, according to European Central Bank (ECB) research... More
Apple to enter payment processing market?
Apple has launched a project to develop its own payment processing technology and infrastructure for future financial products and services including buy now, pay later instalment payments for Apple Pay, credit checking and risk assessment, according to media reports... More
Apple files patent application for game controller that connects to iPhones via NFC
Apple has filed a patent application for a “magnetically attachable gaming accessory” that “can provide a physical interface controlling game activities on an electronic device” such as an iPhone or iPad and would use NFC to transmit data to that device... More
Google Pay lets users in India make contactless mobile payments directly from their bank account
Google Pay users in India can now choose to make in-store mobile payments with their Android NFC smartphone directly from their bank account using the country’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) real-time mobile payments service... More
Apcoa lets drivers make contactless parking payments from their cars at 1.5m spaces across Europe
Drivers can now enter and exit Apcoa car parks in 13 European countries and make in-car payments for their parking via their vehicle’s infotainment screen without needing to collect a ticket or stop at a pay station... More
US record label uses NFC to authenticate and link vinyl albums to digital NFT assets
Music fans, investors and collectors who purchase exclusive limited edition vinyl albums released by US company Vinylkey can authenticate their purchase, register proof of ownership and link to unique digital assets by tapping an NFC tag embedded in the physical album with their smartphone... More
Qatar and the Philippines move towards developing CBDCs
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project “in the near term” and the Qatar Central Bank (QCB) is also exploring the possible development of a CBDC in line with its wider payment digitisation plans... More
Automated kiosk lets customers order contactless burgers in New Jersey
Consumers in Newark, New Jersey, in the US can now purchase “contactless burgers” that have been cooked by a robot from an automated kiosk in the Newport Centre shopping mall... More
New EU law to force Apple to open up its NFC chip?
Negotiators from the European Parliament and the European Council have provisionally agreed the text of a Digital Markets Act (DMA) that will obligate “gatekeeper” technology companies such as Apple and Google to “allow app developers fair access to the supplementary functionalities of smartphones (eg NFC chip)”... More
Apple Pay and Google Pay suspend contactless mobile payments for Mir cardholders in Russia
Apple Pay and Google Pay are suspending support for contactless mobile payments made using Mir cards issued by Russia’s National Payment Card System (NSPK)... More
Bangladesh switches on support for contactless debit and prepaid cards
The central bank of Bangladesh has announced that it has added approval for contactless debit and prepaid card payments in a circular that also sets a PIN-free transaction limit of Tk3,000 (US$35) and requires card issuers to notify customers of each transaction via SMS... More
Hindu temples pilot contactless payments in India
Devotees will soon be able to make contactless offerings and other charitable payments at some 536 Hindu temples across India using a QR code-based payment system being piloted by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department... More