Miami International Airport has become the first in the world to use an open approach to deploying Bluetooth beacons across its footprint... More
USA
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
Federal Reserve gives cautious backing to tokenization
The US Federal Reserve’s Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup (MPIW) has given cautious backing to the potential of tokenization in mobile payments and formed a subgroup dedicated to exploring the impact of the technology in more depth... More
Macy’s unveils mobile payments and customer marketing plans
Macy’s Inc, owner of the Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department store chains, has unveiled plans to implement a range of new technologies designed to provide an omnichannel shopping service to its customers... More
Subway to accept mobile payments in 26,000 US locations
Subway restaurants across the US are to begin accepting NFC mobile payments on 1 October, using new POS terminals that carry branding from mobile network operator-owned commerce venture Softcard... More
Apple Pay to get 0.15% transaction fee
The kickback from card issuers negotiated by Apple for purchases made via its new Apple Pay mobile payments service amounts to 0.15% of the value of each transaction, the Financial Times reports... More
No Apple Pay for Walmart, Best Buy
Owners of Apple’s new NFC-enabled smartwatch and iPhones will not be able to make Apple Pay mobile payments in either Walmart or Best Buy, the Wall Street Journal reports... More
Video demos show how Apple Pay users will make a payment with the iPhone 6
Videos of Apple staff demonstrating how Apple Pay will be used to make payments in stores and for in-app purchases have now been made available, providing further details of how the new mobile payments service will work... More
Discover in talks on Apple Pay support
“We are in discussions with Apple to add Discover cards to Apple Pay in the future,” a representative of the US payment network has revealed on Twitter... More
MasterCard launches MDES token platform for mobile payments
MasterCard has announced US availability of a token platform that enables card issuers to store tokenized versions of their customers’ card details on Apple’s new NFC devices as well as NFC phones and tablets from a range of other manufacturers... More
Visa launches token service to support Apple Pay and more
Visa Token Service, the payment network’s new platform that enables card account numbers to be replaced with digital tokens that ensure the cardholder’s actual card number is never shared with merchants, is now live and will be used to enable Visa cardholders to make use of Apple’s new NFC mobile payments service... More
Twitter adds Buy button
“Today we are beginning to test a new way for you to discover and buy products on Twitter,” group product manager Tarun Jain has announced in a blog post... More
Apple to use tokenization for mobile payments?
“Apple will be utilizing near field communication (NFC) technology and tokenization technology in the new iPhone 6 and iWatch as a part of its payments initiative,” reports Bank Innovation, citing “sources close to Apple and with knowledge of Apple’s plans for its new smartphone”... More
Rumoured Apple retail partner list grows
The list of retailers that look set to accept Apple’s new mobile payments service now includes CVS and Walgreens according to Re/Code and Disney, according to 9to5Mac, which adds that Apple is installing additional Gimbal Series 20 Bluetooth beacons in its stores... More
Starbucks to expand mobile payments
Coffee giant Starbucks is to use its digital payments expertise and online presence to introduce a range of new formats and services, the company says, beginning with the introduction of mobile ordering at its first Express outlet in New York in early 2015... More
Apple cuts deals with card issuers?
Apple will be getting special rates from five US card issuers on mobile payments made by its device users, according to well-connected payments advisor Tom Noyes, and customers will use a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), NFC and Touch ID to make payments in stores... More
Pepsi NFC case study now available
A case study that details an NFC-based shopper marketing service tested by soft drinks giant Pepsi is now available to download free of charge from the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre... More
Graceland uses Bluetooth beacons to guide Elvis fans
Graceland, the former home of Elvis Presley and now a major tourist attraction, is offering every visitor the use of an iPad that works in conjunction with Bluetooth beacons placed around the Memphis mansion to help guests navigate the attraction and “trigger additional content including videos, trivia and more.”... More
Retailer-owned payments venture MCX unveils CurrentC brand
Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), the mobile payments venture co-owned by US retail chains with collective revenues of more than US$1 trillion annually, has announced that its payments, loyalty and offers platform is to be called CurrentC — and provided the first details of how the service will work when it rolls out to 110,000 merchant locations across the US in 2015... More
McDonald’s to launch NFC payments in the US this month?
Fast food giant McDonald’s will begin accepting NFC mobile payments in US stores on 15 September, an internal notice sent out to franchisees and seen by 9to5Mac suggests... More