Google has begun rolling out a multipurpose digital wallet that enables users to store, use and present digital credentials such as identity cards and health passes as well as payment cards, transit and event tickets and hotel keys in 39 countries across Europe, the Americas and Asia... More
Australia
Visa survey identifies capped contactless fare payments as key driver of more frequent public transportation usage
More than nine in ten public transport users worldwide expect transit services to offer contactless fare payment options (91%) and just under half prefer to make contactless payments for their transit fares (45%), according to Visa’s 2022 Future of Urban mobility survey... More
Westpac to let merchants accept contactless payments on Android NFC smartphones in Australia
Westpac bank in Australia is piloting a software point of sale (sPOS) solution that will enable merchants to accept contactless payments on their Android NFC smartphone or tablet without needing any additional accessories or hardware... More
Transport for NSW to pilot Opal+ Mobility-as-a-Service app
Transport for NSW is to officially launch the digital version of its Opal transit card that enables passengers to pay fares by tapping a reader with their NFC smartphone or smartwatch and to begin trialling a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app that will let users plan, book and pay for multimodal journeys across both private and public transport services... More
Queensland extends pilot of regional open loop contactless ticketing system
Passengers travelling on the Ferny Grove suburban rail line in Brisbane in Queensland can now pay their fares with a tap of their contactless credit or debit card, mobile phone or smartwatch using the open loop transportation ticketing system that the Australian state is planning to roll out across 18 regional centres this year... More
National QR payments system goes live at Subway stores in Australia
Two Subway outlets in Sydney and Brisbane are “the first major Australian quick-service restaurants” to let customers pay for their purchases using the national QR code payments and rewards platform developed by Australia’s Eftpos payments system... More
Banks develop interoperable platform for cross-border CBDC transactions
The Bank of International Settlements and the central banks of Australia, Malaysia and Singapore have completed a joint project to develop a shared platform that could facilitate direct cross-border transactions between institutions using different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)... More
eBay authenticates 1.5m pairs of sneakers with NFC tags
Auction site eBay has added NFC tags that enable buyers to authenticate their purchases with a tap of their smartphone to 1.5m pairs of sneakers worldwide since adding sneakers to the products eligible for its Authenticity Guarantee service in 2021... More
Queensland to launch digital driving licence in 2023
Motorists in the Australian state of Queensland will be able to store and display a digital version of their driving licence and other proof of identity cards on their mobile device from 2023... More
Digital Identity Working Group lays out principles for interoperable digital identity systems
The Digital Identity Working Group (DIWG), made up of digital identity specialists from eight Digital Government Exchange (DGX) member states across the world, has identified 11 core principles to support international collaboration on the development of mutually recognised and interoperable digital identity systems and infrastructure... More
BIS finds consumers worldwide are switching to digital and contactless payments at ‘unprecedented rate’
Consumers in key markets around the world have switched from physical cash to digital and contactless payment methods at “a rate unprecedented” since the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) launched its Red Book of payment and settlement statistics in 2004, BIS says... More
More than half of Asia Pacific consumers make digital payments at least once a week
Nine in 10 consumers in the Asia Pacific region have used mobile payment apps at least once during the past 12 months, while more than half have used digital payment methods at least once a week and a sixth have made a digital payment for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (15%), according to research published by Kaspersky... More
Sydney to trial multimodal Mobility-as-a-Service app with subscription options
Transport for NSW is to pilot a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app in Sydney, Australia, that will enable passengers to plan, book and pay for journeys across both private and public transport services and opt to purchase a prepaid multimodal mobility plan... More
New South Wales to roll out ‘whole-of-government’ digital identity wallet in 2022
The state government of New South Wales in Australia is to expand its digital ID system and enable citizens to store, display and renew a wider range of identity documents and other personal credentials including digital versions of their birth certificate, educational qualifications, seniors card and vocational licences in a digital wallet on their mobile device... More
Westpac expands dynamic CVVs to Android phones
Customers of Australia’s Westpac bank with an Android smartphone will soon be able to make payments using a digital card secured by a dynamic card verification code (CVC) that changes every 24 hours... More
Ikea introduces scan-and-go mobile checkout in Australia
Customers at two Ikea outlets in Brisbane, Australia, can now use their mobile device to scan the products they want to buy while they shop and then pay on their way out without needing to unload and reload their shopping cart at the checkout... More
Australian liquor store chain adds NFC shelf labels to enhance customer engagement
Consumers purchasing beer, wine and spirits at outlets operated by Dan Murphy’s in Australia can now get product information and read customer reviews about specific products by tapping an NFC shelf label with their smartphone... More
Researchers propose patient monitoring system for remote Covid-19 wards using NFC tags
Researchers at Rajalakshmi Engineering College in Chennai, India, and in Sydney, Australia, have published a paper laying out the framework for a “contactless tele-health system” that uses NFC technology to enable healthcare workers to upload, access and update health and treatment data for individual patients in remotely located mobile Covid-19 quarantine and isolation wards... More
Patent-holding company sues Apple over NFC technologies
Ireland-based patent-holding company Aire Technology has filed a lawsuit against Apple over alleged infringement of patents relating to NFC and digital wallet technologies with the US District Court for the Western District of Texas... More
Major banks, retailers and fintechs to support rollout of national QR payments and rewards system in Australia
Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank as well as supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths and fintechs Azupay, Beem It and Merchant Warrior have confirmed they will support the rollout of the national QR payments and rewards platform developed by Australia’s Eftpos payments system... More