PARTNER NEWS: Morocco-based CIH Bank has launched CIH Pay, a mobile payments service that allows customers to digitize their bank card on their smartphone and use it to make in-store contactless payments... More
South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korean National Police Agency have begun trialling a mobile driving licence prior to a national rollout and as a first step towards the introduction of other state-issued digital ID documents... More
Total global revenues from the provision of digital identity services and technologies, including third-party and civic identity apps, centralised identity schemes and digital ID verification, will exceed US$53bn in 2026 compared with US$26bn in 2021, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
One in two in-person transactions authorised, cleared and settled through Mastercard’s payment processing services worldwide during Q4 2021 were contactless, up from “approximately” one in three in the period prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to figures revealed at the card network’s Q4 earnings call... More
Customers using an Adidas store in Manila in the Philippines can now select products, request different sizes and styles to try on and pay for their purchases directly from their smartphone... More
Chinese consumers can now make online payments for purchases from the JD.com ecommerce app using digital yuan stored on a physical card or hard wallet via their Android NFC smartphone... More
The total transaction value of contactless card payments made in UK stores “surged” by 40.2% in 2021 and the average number of contactless payments made each day increased by 27.5% compared with the previous year, according to Barclaycard... More
Apple may soon enable merchants to accept contactless payments on their iPhone without needing to connect their device to a separate payment terminal or other additional hardware, according to reports... More
The 12 Russian banks taking part in the first phase of the Central Bank of Russia’s digital ruble pilot scheme have started or are ready to start trialling the central bank digital currency (CBDC) across a range of payment types... More
Google is seeking to focus on developing Google Pay into a multipurpose digital wallet by extending the range of cards, passes and tickets that the service supports and is working with cryptocurrency providers to introduce digital cards that will enable users to store crypto assets but still make payments in conventional currencies... More
Residents of the Czech Republic will soon be able to store, display and verify digital versions of their identity card and driving licence on their mobile device and will no longer be required to carry physical ID documents if they do so, the Czech government has confirmed in a policy statement... More
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has released an open API standard to support and facilitate the development and implementation of interoperable radar sensing systems which, like NFC-enabled technologies, can be used to add contactless and hands-free functionalities to devices across a wide range of use cases... More
The US Federal Reserve has published a study examining the potential benefits and risks of issuing an American central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the first step in a public consultation on the possible future issuance of a digital dollar... More
Public transport users in the Philippines can now top up their Beep prepaid contactless fare payments card directly from their NFC-enabled smartphone... More
Smart Technologies has added NFC functionality to its latest range of interactive displays for use in schools, universities and other learning environments, enabling teachers to log into their presentations, files and other personalised teaching content with the tap of an NFC card and without needing to use a password... More
Public transport users in the Russian city of Tula are the first outside Moscow to be able to top up their prepaid Troika transit card from their smartphone using the My Troika app... More
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US has released a public service announcement (PSA) warning that “cybercriminals are tampering with QR codes” in order to steal data and funds and is advising consumers to “practice caution” when using them... More
Passengers using bus services in the Indian city of Mumbai will now be able to automatically verify that they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to travel when they present their digital bus ticket on their smartphone... More
Apple Pay has launched in Armenia with support for Mastercard and Visa cards issued by Acba Bank, Ardshinbank, Ameriabank, Converse Bank, Inecobank and Unibank... More
Customers shopping at Nisa grocery stores across the UK will soon be able to scan selected products with their smartphone in order to receive digital vouchers that entitle them to a discount on those products when they present their ‘voucher wallet’ at the checkout... More