MasterCard could begin supporting Apple Pay in Canada this year, according to a MacRumors report... More
Hong Kong
WeChat Wallet launches pilot in Hong Kong
Chinese ecommerce giant Tencent is testing its WeChat Wallet service with users in Hong Kong... More
Jetco to launch P2P payments with 12 Hong Kong banks
Hong Kong ATM network Jetco has partnered with 12 banks to offer Jetco Pay P2P, a service that will let customers transfer funds using the recipient’s mobile number... More
White paper gives insight into mobile ticketing deployments in ten markets
A white paper aimed at giving transport operators, transport authorities and ticket distributors greater insight into deploying mobile ticketing technologies and services while both containing costs and improving the passenger experience is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre. More
Apple Pay goes live in Australia
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Australia, allowing American Express cardholders to make NFC mobile payments using iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus and Apple Watch devices. More
Apple Pay goes live in Canada for American Express cardholders
Apple Pay has begun rolling out across Canada, allowing American Express cardholders to pay in-store with compatible Apple devices at Amex contactless merchants as well as make purchases within participating mobile apps... More
Apple Pay to launch in Australia, Canada, Spain, Hong Kong and Singapore
Apple Pay is to go live in Australia and Canada this year and in Spain, Singapore and Hong Kong in 2016, Apple CEO Tim Cook has revealed during the iPhone maker’s latest earnings call... More
Alibaba and Ant Financial make “strategic investment” in India’s Paytm
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial are to make a “strategic investment” believed to be worth some US$680m in Indian mobile payment platform Paytm through an agreement with its parent company One97 Communications... More
McDonald’s to accept Alipay in more than 2,100 restaurants in China
Chinese customers of fast food chain McDonald’s will soon be able to use Ant Financial’s Alipay QR code mobile payment platform to pay for their food and drink in more than 2,100 restaurants... More
SmarTone unveils Kiss mobile marketing platform with NFC payments and Bluetooth beacons
Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has unveiled Kissco, an end-to-end mobile marketing platform incorporating Kiss Pay, a mobile payments service based on NFC and ultrasound technology, a Kiss Dollars loyalty program and Kiss Beacons to allow retailers to send out offers and promotions directly to customers’ smartphones from their stores... More
HKT launches NFC mobile payments service in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) subsidiary HKT Payment has launched a SIM-based NFC mobile payment service to let customers of its 1010 and Csl mobile service brands pay at more than three million locations worldwide which accept MasterCard PayPass, using funds stored in their Tap & Go mobile wallet account... More
Visa signs up 2,300 financial institutions for Visa Token Service
More than 2,300 financial institutions and banking partners have now signed up for Visa’s tokenization service with international expansion set to happen “in the fall”, Visa has revealed during a third quarter earnings call... More
Beacons guide Hong Kong airport passengers
Passengers at Hong Kong International Airport are being guided by 50 beacons installed across Terminal 1 as part of a pilot with SITA Lab... More
China UnionPay to take NFC to Hong Kong
China UnionPay has invested an undisclosed sum in Jetco, the largest ATM network operator in Hong Kong and Macau... More
7-Eleven HK adds mobile payment and rewards
Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has launched 7-Fans, a QR code-based mobile payment and loyalty app that rewards customers with one point for every HK$5 spent using the service at any of more than 900 stores across Hong Kong... More
Starwood Hotels picks Bluetooth for mobile room keys that work on smartphones and Apple Watch
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has unveiled a mobile keyless entry system that will allow guests to use smartphones to unlock rooms using Bluetooth at 150 hotels around the globe by early 2015. The service will also be available via an Apple Watch app when the new wearable device ships next year, the hotel chain has told NFC World+. More
Hong Kong carrier SmarTone rolls out Bluetooth marketing platform to retailers
Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has introduced ST Beacon, a marketing service that lets retailers send promotional messages to customers with an Android or iOS device using Bluetooth... More
US bank tests NFC Wave add-on
“One of the largest financial institutions in North America” is conducting an NFC mobile payments pilot that uses the Wave NFC device developed by On Track Innovations (OTI) in combination with provisioning and mobile wallet technology provided by ABnote... More
100km race tracks runners and timings with NFC
Athletes taking part in Hong Kong’s TransLantau trail running event last weekend were issued with NFC wristbands that staff equipped with NFC phones could use to track their progress throughout the race... More
KDDI, SK Planet, Chunghwa Telecom and HKT form Asia NFC Alliance
Japanese carrier KDDI, Korea’s SK Planet, Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) are to work together to spread adoption of NFC services in Asia, using a shared NFC tag specification, brand mark and platform... More