Customers of Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart can now use SuperCoin reward points earned by shopping on the platform to make in-store purchases at retail outlets across the country by scanning a QR code at participating merchants... More
At least eight major banks, including Hong Kong-based China CITIC Bank, have now introduced or are in the process of introducing digital wallets that support China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to local media reports... More
International passengers arriving at US airports on American Airlines flights can now verify that they have had a negative Covid-19 test before travelling via a digital health passport on their mobile phone... More
Mastercard has announced new specifications for contactless payments that will offer quantum-resistant security via “next-generation algorithms and cryptographic key strengths”, enhanced privacy at the checkout and “help ensure any device truly can be a payment device”... More
PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has released two new NFC Type 5 tags that combine NFC and RFID technology, Augmented NDEF and anti-tampering to let developers “leverage NFC contactless communication in new and imaginative ways for applications in consumer engagement, brand recognition, supply-chain management and access control”... More
BNP Paribas Visa Premier card customers will soon have the option of upgrading to a biometric payment card for an additional fee of €24 (US$29) a year, the French bank has revealed... More
The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) is to develop a proof of concept platform to explore the use of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) for cross-border payments and has identified CBDCs as one of six “thematic priorities” for the year... More
Employees travelling on Seoul Metro’s Ui-Sinseol light rapid transit line in South Korea are testing a face recognition payment system that enables passengers to pay their fares without needing to tap a smartphone or card or remove their face mask... More
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is to follow its pilots of NFC-based contactless digital currency payments with the distribution of a further 20m digital yuan (US$3.1m) in a third ‘red envelope’ lottery to be held in the city of Shenzhen... More
The total value of digital wallet transactions globally will reach more than US$10tn in 2025, according to Juniper Research, “with over 34% of mobile handsets set to use contactless payments in 2025, up from 11% in 2020.”... More
Nine in ten card payments made in UK stores during 2020 (88.6%) were contactless and the average contactless user made 141 transactions worth a total of £1,640 (US$2,241) over the course of the year, according to Barclaycard... More
The city of Moscow will complete the modernisation of its integrated contactless ticketing system across all transit networks by the end of 2021, its deputy mayor for transport Maksim Liksutov has announced... More
The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) are to consider launching a digital euro project towards the middle of 2021. “Such a project would answer key design and technical questions,” the two institutions say in a joint statement. More
Apple iPhone users travelling on public transport in the greater Paris region can now pay for daily, weekly and monthly travel passes and single-use tickets with Apple Pay and load them onto their physical Navigo transit card from their smartphone... More
A third of Indian households across a range of income groups now use digital payment methods, but “this can easily go up to 50% given high desire to use,” research from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and People Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) reveals... More
China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) has revealed plans to develop a universal digital payments network (UDPN) based on standardised procedures for international transfers and payments with and between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)... More
Owners of Samsung Galaxy smartphones will soon be able to attach Bluetooth low energy (BLE) or ultra wideband (UWB) tags to items such as keys, bags and pet collars so they can use their phone to locate them quickly and easily... More
Hyundai is to let iPhone users lock and unlock their vehicles and control selected vehicle systems remotely with a digital key compatible with Apple devices... More
Owners of Samsung Galaxy S21 series smartphones who take delivery of future models of Audi, BMW, Ford and Genesis vehicles will be able to use their mobile device as a digital key to unlock their vehicle using either ultra wideband (UWB) or NFC technology... More
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: Token management solutions that enable consumers to self-manage their digital cards from within their mobile banking app will provide issuers with the ability both to reduce customer service costs and improve customer experience, Antelop Solutions CEO Nicolas Bruley explains in a 22-minute webinar now available to view in the NFCW Knowledge Centre... More