Your smartphone will soon double as an Eftpos terminal as Quest partners with NAB and Visa — Quest — “Quest Payment Systems (Quest), in conjunction with NAB and Visa, has launched a trial which allows merchants to accept card payments using their Android smartphone. Customers simply tap the merchant’s phone with a contactless card or mobile wallet. No additional payment terminal hardware or dongle is required, allowing small businesses to start accepting payments quickly using their existing mobile device.”
Australia
Sydney extends Opal transit card benefits to contactless and mobile payments users
Savings for commuters using contactless payments — Commonwealth Bank of Australia — “Commuters using contactless payments will now also receive Opal travel benefits, including: Daily, weekly and Sunday travel caps in line with Opal caps; Weekly travel reward (half price after eight trips); The Opal transfer discount; Off-peak pricing for train travel… The trial is also extending to the Sydney bus network in a staged roll-out over the coming months.”
CBA builds location tracking security into mobile banking app
CBA app wants your location, biometrics in name of security — CIO Australia — “If we see a transaction coming out of Hong Kong but we know from a customer’s phone they’re in Melbourne or Sydney: straight away that gives us an opportunity to spot a discrepancy and block it straight away… If we’re not sure we’ll pop into the app with a question in real time and we ask the customer to help us, and they can swipe or click to say yep I’m comfortable with this or no this is something I don’t recognise.”
Transport for NSW eyes face recognition for frictionless transit card payments
NSW looks to facial recognition as Opal card alternative — iTnews — “In the transport space we’ll use facial recognition technology to scan customers who’ve ‘opted in’ and linked their Opal account… No more gate barriers – just a smooth journey.”
Domino’s pilots cashless stores in Australia
Domino’s Is starting to ditch cash payments — Gizmodo Australia — “The pizza maker is calling it ‘Tap & Take’ and is positioning it as a way to make the ordering process both quicker and more convenient… Domino’s has stated that the participating stores will accept ‘all forms of payment’, except for cash. This includes card payments, PayPal, Apple Pay, Android Pay, EFTPOS to door and Instagift.”
Seppeltsfield Barossa adds NFC tags to wine bottles
Historic Australian wine estate Seppeltsfield Barossa is adding NFC tags to the bottles of its new Grounds range of wines, to guarantee the product’s authenticity and verify that the bottle has not previously been opened... More
Public Transport Victoria reports strong takeup for Mobile Myki transit cards
Nearly 100,000 travellers in the Australian state of Victoria have used the Mobile Myki NFC-based mobile transit ticketing service since its launch in March with adoption set to accelerate further after the addition of support for the Apple iPhone, which is planned for 2019-20.... More
Queensland to roll out state-wide open loop ticketing for trains, buses and ferries
Train and bus ticketing via phones and plastic to be tested in regional Queensland — ABC News — “The new system allows train, bus and ferry rides to be paid for with the swipe of a credit or debit card, smartphone wallet or smartwatch… The project in Queensland comes with a A$371m (US$257m) price tag, but unlike systems interstate and overseas, it will take in regional cities including Cairns, Townsville, Mackay and the Gold Coast.”
Airlines commit to RFID baggage tags and single biometric ID for travellers
Two new resolutions passed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will see global adoption of RFID for airport baggage tracking and a move from passengers using paper documents to a single biometric ID they can use to prove their identity at any airport anywhere in the world... More
TNS reports on consumer attitudes to wearable payments
TNS report shows alternative and cashless payments adoption at an inflection point with security a concern to wider usage — TNS — “44% of respondents are willing to make a payment using a wearable device like a ring or a bracelet; just under two-thirds (65%) expressed that security concerns would stop them from using a wearable device to make a payment; Australians are most concerned about security (68%) versus Americans (64%) and Britons (63%); more than half of male smartwatch owners have used it to make a payment.”
Analyst: Rise of OEM Pay smartphone wallets to cost banks US$15bn — in Australia alone
$22b of bank revenue at risk from smartphone wallets: Morgan Stanley — The Australian Financial Review — “Smartphone digital wallets offered by Google, Apple and other technology giants will put A$22bn of revenue across the major Australian banks at risk, according to Morgan Stanley… Its analysts came to that figure after looking into how a banks’ payments capability influences decisions relating to other products. This includes transaction accounts that give major banks an opportunity to cross-sell customers more profitable products such as mortgages.”
iPhone NFC ticketing goes live at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium
Ticketek contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch go live — TEG — “Ticketek, the Australian leader in ticketing, announced today [that] Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane is Australia’s first sport and entertainment stadium to offer convenient and fast contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch… Contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch will be rolled out to further venues across Australia in the coming months.”
National Australia Bank goes live with Apple Pay
Australian ‘big four’ bank NAB adopts Apple Pay, Westpac lone holdout — AppleInsider — “National Australia Bank (NAB) on Monday announced immediate support for Apple Pay, becoming the third of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks to integrate with Apple’s payments platform after a failed boycott… With NAB on board, Westpac becomes the last of Australia’s ‘big four’ banks to resist Apple Pay.”
Report highlights discrepancies between what technology users want and what they adopt
Despite greater than ever use of smart devices for banking and payments and a desire for the latest technologies, Europeans are some of the most cautious adopters, according to a survey of 15,000 consumers in Europe, America and Australia... More
Apple to expand Express Transit payments to open loop cards?
iOS 12.3 to bring EMV Express Transit support to Apple Pay — Tap Down Under — “New strings discovered within the pass.json files of Apple Pay card files make mention of new ‘Transit Network Identifiers’ options, as well as new passUpgrades/open loop options.”
PayPal to develop digital wallet for Uber
Uber is to extend its partnership with PayPal to explore future commercial payment collaborations, including the development of a digital wallet for the on-demand transport firm... More
Queensland rolls out contactless driving licences
Revamped ‘tap and go’ licences now available — The Queensland Times — “The updated design means the chip, which is now contained within the card, is no longer visible, allowing space for a bigger font to assist police and security staff reading the cards. The cards also have updated security features.”
Case study: Distillery uses NFC tags to fight counterfeiting and build customer engagement
PARTNER NEWS: Tasmania-based Old Kempton Distillery is using HID Global’s Trusted Tag technology to combat counterfeiting of its whiskies and gins — and to drive personalized and ongoing engagement with customers after they make a purchase... More
Google Pay to integrate with Google Maps for transit card top ups
Google Pay says G’day to Mobile Myki — Google — “If you’re a Myki user in Melbourne or regional Victoria, you can now skip the line and get there faster with Google Pay… Soon, you’ll also be able to see your current balance in Google Maps when you’re planning your Myki journey, and initiate your top-up from there.”
Public Transport Victoria picks NXP’s Mifare 2GO platform for multimodal NFC ticketing
NXP takes Melbourne Transit (Myki) mobile with Google Pay integration for trains, buses and trams — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — “NXP’s Mifare 2GO cloud service is the first to work with Google Pay to enable mobile ticketing in multiple transportation modes and scalability across all compatible Android NFC-enabled phones, giving citizens convenient and efficient travel options in smart cities.”