St George Bank is testing the use of Bluetooth LE technology to send a welcome message and personalised information directly to a customer’s iPhone when they enter a branch... More
Australian bank tests beacons in branches
Australia
Bank develops NFC suit that lets customers pay by swiping a sleeve
Australia’s Heritage Bank has unveiled prototypes of a suit that comes with an embedded NFC chip and antenna to allow its wearer to make NFC payments at contactless POS terminals by simply swiping their sleeve... More
The Hunger Games catches fire with NFC
The DVD release of the latest instalment of The Hunger Games movie franchise is being promoted in shopping centres in Australia via digital media panels that “catch fire” when a shopper uses their mobile phone to access a game based on the movie... More
Westpac to launch embedded NFC payments on Samsung devices
Australia’s Westpac bank is to launch its NFC mobile payments service on Samsung Galaxy S4 and S5 devices “over the next few weeks” with the functionality being “rolled out progressively” from this month. By 2015, the bank predicts, three million Australians will be using NFC to make payments. More
Westpac readies embedded NFC
Australia’s Westpac bank is to launch its NFC mobile payments service next month, with credentials stored in the embedded secure elements offered by some Android phones... More
Cuscal tests HCE in Australia
An NFC payments service using host card emulation (HCE) is being tested in-house by Australian transactional banking services provider Cuscal... More
Placard picks Bell for NFC
Australian card manufacturer Placard has chosen Bell ID’s trusted service manager solution to enable it to personalise and securely provision NFC applications for its customer base over the air... More
Westpac to launch embedded NFC payments in New Year
Australia’s Westpac bank is to introduce NFC payments from the beginning of 2014, using the secure elements embedded in some Android mobile phones... More
MasterCard and Samsung introduce embedded NFC payments
Customers of Commonwealth Bank of Australia with a Samsung Galaxy S4 can make payments using a secure element embedded in their mobile phone today, and banks in Turkey, Russia and the Ukraine are due to begin offering the solution in the first quarter of 2014. More
New Year app gets NFC push
Australian telco Telstra has teamed up with Tapit to enable revellers to download a New Year’s Eve app by tapping NFC tags located at 1,100 Telstra phone boxes and on lanyards worn by 1,300 retail staff... More
Diamond Circle to turn NFC tags into Bitcoin wallets
An Australian startup is to begin issuing NFC tags that act as Bitcoin wallets, NFC readers that merchants can use to charge customers in Bitcoins, and to provide Bitcoin ATMs that can be used to issue new wallet tags as well as top up and withdraw funds from Bitcoin accounts. More
Google Play Music gets NFC promotion on Australian public transport
Google has partnered with NFC specialist Tapit to promote its Google Play Music service using NFC and QR code enabled posters on public transport along the east coast of Australia. More
Tappr gets $2m for NFC payments
Australian startup Tappr has raised A$2m in seed funding for an NFC payments service that is due to launch in early 2014... More
Call of Duty: Ghosts goes NFC
Video game publisher Activision is using NFC advertising specialist Tapit’s platform to promote its latest blockbuster Call of Duty: Ghosts across Clear Channel’s Australian out-of-home media locations... More
Bankmecu tests NFC stickers
Australia’s Bankmecu and card issuer Cuscal have completed an NFC payment sticker trial, enabling consumers to make contactless payments at Visa payWave terminals using a smart sticker stuck to their phone... More
Adelaide Airport adds NFC ads
NFC capabilities are to be added to indoor and outdoor digital signage at Adelaide Airport’s domestic and international terminals... More
CommBank to launch NFC payments using embedded secure elements
Commonwealth Bank of Australia has announced a series of upgrades to its mobile banking and payments service, including plans to offer NFC payments using secure elements embedded in “certain phones” and NFC stickers that can be used to make payments by customers with a standard mobile phone... More
Australian supermarket chain tests NFC stickers
Australian supermarket chain Coles is testing a contactless payment sticker that attaches to a customer’s mobile phone... More
News Corp runs NFC campaign in Sydney
News Corp newspaper The Daily Telegraph is promoting its content using NFC and QR posters placed on the rear of the seats of more than 80 buses in Western Sydney, Australia, enabling commuters to download selected content from the newspaper’s website... More
The Informed Tourist equips Sydney hotels with NFC touchpoints
Visitor information provider The Informed Tourist has installed NFC touchpoints in more than 200 hotels, rental car locations and city information centres in Sydney, enabling visitors to access information and get directions to local attractions with a tap of their NFC phone... More