US retailer-owned mobile payments consortium MCX is to test its CurrentC mobile wallet in stores next month, Bloomberg reports, adding: “MCX expects to formally introduce the CurrentC app some time in the third quarter.” MCX unveiled the CurrentC brand in September 2014 and confirmed to NFC World it would launch in a “mid-sized market” in April... More
USA
Three in four consumers interested in using alternatives to passwords online
One in six consumers find usernames and passwords “cumbersome” and 77% are interested in using alternatives to protect their security on the internet, research from Accenture reveals... More
Apple Pay adds 35 US banks
Apple has added an additional 35 banks and credit unions to the list of US financial institutions that support Apple Pay... More
Apple Pay to hit 1.5m US locations by year end
Apple Pay is “on track” to be accepted at more than 1.5m locations across the US by the end of 2015, including at some 700 universities and colleges such as Auburn University, the University of California Irvine, Colorado State University, the University of Kentucky and the University of Oklahoma... More
Nearly half of US diners interested in mobile payments
Some 46% of US diners like the idea of using their mobile phone to pay in restaurants even though they have never done so, while of the 13% that have tried it over half liked the experience, research from restaurant booking service OpenTable finds... More
Gemalto and InComm to deliver prepaid contactless cards to mobile devices
PARTNER NEWS: Digital security specialist Gemalto has partnered with prepaid card provider InComm to enable mobile wallet providers to offer prepaid NFC mobile payment services... More
US consumers put trust in biometrics
Some 41% of US consumers have a “high level” of comfort when logging in to a website or mobile app using a thumbprint or face/eye scan, research from Gigya finds... More
Chevron pilots Apple Pay at the pump
Oil company Chevron is testing NFC mobile payments, including Apple Pay, for direct fuel pump sales at a service station in San Ramon, California... More
US shoppers eye mobile wallet availability
More than half of US shoppers (54%) would use a mobile wallet if it were accepted everywhere and 20% would stop carrying traditional wallets if mobile payments were accepted everywhere, research from Blackhawk Engagement Solutions reveals... More
MLB offers Apple Pay rewards
Visitors to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game festivities in Cincinnati have the chance to win a Priceless Surprise when using Apple Pay for purchases... More
CU Wallet adds offers and promotions
CU Wallet, a mobile payments platform developed for US credit unions, is to integrate merchant offers and promotions through a partnership with Relevant Solutions... More
American Express unveils online checkout service
American Express has launched an online checkout service that works across desktop, mobile and native apps to let its US card members make payments with their existing American Express user ID and password, without having to create or manage a new account... More
Eight in 10 Americans aware of contactless payments
Some 82% of US consumers have heard of contactless or tap-and-go payments and 69% are now using chip cards or plan to use them soon, research from MasterCard reveals... More
Amano McGann brings NFC mobile payments to US car parks
More than 5,000 attended and unattended Amano McGann car parks in the US are to be upgraded to support EMV and NFC mobile payments, using security solutions provider Apriva’s Gateway system... More
Revel adds Zapper mobile payments
US restaurants using Revel Systems’ iPad point-of-sale service will be able to activate mobile payments platform Zapper as an additional payment option for customers... More
Apple gets face verification patent
Apple has been granted a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office for an authentication system to allow owners to unlock content on their devices by taking a picture of their face... More
23 more US banks add Apple Pay
Apple has added an additional 23 banks and credit unions to the list of financial institutions that support Apple Pay in the US... More
38% of Americans back biometrics
More than a third (38%) of Americans believe biometrics will increase their smartphone security, while 25% are skeptical and 37% don’t know, research from Unisys Security Insights finds... More
Las Vegas gets park and reward meters
Drivers in Las Vegas can pick up offers from local businesses via 16 interactive on-street parking meters... More
Mobile tickets launch for Houston buses
Bus users in Houston, Texas will be able to pay for and display tickets on their smartphones after the Metropolitan Transit Authority signed a contract with mobile ticketing specialist GlobeSherpa... More