More than nine in ten transit agencies (92%) are planning to introduce new mobile and contactless fare payment solutions to help support a return to pre-pandemic passenger levels, a survey has found... More
Canada
Canada rolls out federal Covid vaccine card for domestic and international travel
Residents of Canada can now download and store a digital version of the country’s new federal proof of Covid-19 vaccination card on a mobile device that supports the Smart Health Card format... More
Metrolinx adds support for debit card payments to contactless ticketing pilot in Toronto
Passengers travelling on Metrolinx’s Union Pearson (UP) Express airport rail link in the Canadian city of Toronto can now opt to pay their fares with their contactless debit card as part of the transport agency’s trial of its Presto open payment ticketing system... More
Two in three consumers worldwide say Covid-19 has permanently changed the way they pay
Just over two-thirds of consumers globally (67%) now expect bricks-and-mortar retail stores to accept contactless payments and just under half (44%) wouldn’t shop at a store that only offers payment methods that require contact with a cashier or shared device, a survey of merchants and consumers in nine countries around the world has found... More
TransLink uses ticketing data to show passengers in Vancouver how busy their bus is likely to be
Passengers planning a journey or waiting to board a bus on the Translink network in the Metro Vancouver area of Canada can now check how many seats are likely to be available on any given bus service using a new feature on the transportation provider’s Transit app... More
Apple rolls out NFC student IDs in Canada and expands to further universities in the US
Students at the University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College will be the first in Canada to be able to store their digital student ID on their iPhone or Apple Watch and use it to gain access to buildings and make purchases this coming academic year, Apple has announced... More
Canadian restaurants use NFC to track reusable food containers
Customers ordering takeaway food from eight restaurants in the Canadian city of Waterloo can now opt to receive their order in a reusable and recyclable food container embedded with an NFC tag that allows the service provider to track each container throughout the reuse cycle... More
Visa to begin rolling out instalment payments in Canada
Visa is to launch its Visa Installments payments service in Canada, enabling consumers to choose to pay for purchases made using their credit card in smaller instalments over a specified period of time... More
Nearly 90% of card present payments globally were made using EMV chip cards in 2020
Almost nine in 10 card present transactions conducted globally (86.1%) were made using EMV chip-enabled payment cards between January and December 2020, according to standards body EMVCo... More
Wine company uses NFC to tackle counterfeiting and enhance customer experience
Customers purchasing wine from the Boisset Collection can now authenticate their purchase and gain access to tasting notes, information about the wine’s origin, stories and videos by tapping an NFC tag embedded in the bottle’s label with their smartphone... More
Retail CBDC projects ‘particularly strong’ in emerging economies, PwC index shows
Projects to develop a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) for use by consumers and businesses are “more advanced” and “particularly strong” in emerging economies, according to analysis by global consultancy firm PwC... More
Metrolinx begins contactless fare payment pilot in Toronto
Passengers travelling on Metrolinx’s Union Pearson (UP) Express airport rail link are the first in the Canadian city of Toronto to trial an open payment system that enables them to pay their fares with a contactless credit card or mobile wallet, without needing to buy a Presto transit card or e-ticket... More
Ottawa tests tap-to-pay contactless ticketing on light rail network
Passengers travelling from Ottawa’s Rideau Station can now purchase single-ride adult fares on the Canadian capital’s light rail transit network by tapping to pay with their credit card or mobile wallet at a pilot touchless entry gate... More
Mastercard pilots cloud POS solution for contactless payments acceptance on NFC smartphones
Mastercard is piloting a cloud-based version of its Tap on Phone payments acceptance solution, enabling merchants of all sizes to accept cloud-hosted contactless payments directly on their Android NFC smartphone or tablet... More
CIBC raises transaction limit for customers making contactless payments with a mobile phone or smartwatch
Customers of CIBC can now make purchases of up to C$250 (US$196) with their debit card using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay following a 150% increase in the Canadian bank’s transaction limit for in-store payments with a mobile phone or smartwatch... More
Regional Transit Service integrates transit tickets into mobility-as-a-service app
Passengers using Regional Transit Service (RTS) buses in the US city of Rochester can now plan their journeys, get real-time updates, connect to third-party mobility services and make tap-and-ride fare payments from within a single mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) app... More
Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes to install digital menu boards across USA and Canada
Customers at Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes fast food outlets will be able to order meals, earn loyalty rewards and make contactless payments at digital menu boards being rolled out to 10,000 redesigned drive-thru locations across the USA and Canada... More
Poppy appeal adds contactless donation boxes in Canada
Customers of HSBC Bank Canada can use their bank cards, mobile phones and wearables to make contactless donations to the Royal Canadian Legion’s National Poppy Campaign via tap-enabled donation boxes... More
Canadian retailer vends ready-made meals from contactless kiosks
Consumers in Calgary, Canada, can now order and pay for ready-made meals on their smartphone and then collect their food from an automated contactless kiosk by presenting a barcode shown on their mobile device... More
Central banks set out ground rules for digital currencies
A working group set up by seven central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has laid out a set of ground rules for the successful issuance of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)... More