One metro card to cover 260 cities in China — ECNS — “China’s nationwide public transit card, usable on both bus and subway routes, will cover 260 cities at prefecture level and above this year, according to the Ministry of Transport. That means a passenger holding one card can take buses or subways in any of the designated cities and enjoy local preferential policies, ensuring travel convenience.”
- Bank of China lets taxi drivers accept central bank digital currency payments on NFC mobile phones
- Juniper forecasts 25% increase in POS terminal transaction values by 2028
- STMicroelectronics launches NFC tag chip with elliptic curve cryptography
- NFC Forum survey finds majority of consumers now prefer making payments with their mobile phone
- Hello, NFCW readers!
Xiaomi unveils low cost fitness tracker that supports NFC and QR payments
Chinese mobile device manufacturer Xiaomi has launched the Mi Band 4 NFC fitness tracker that supports contactless NFC payments and QR-based payments through AliPay and can be used as a key when combined with the company’s MI Smart Door Lock... More
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
UK government begins testing iPhone NFC passport reading
Home Office begins testing settled status app on Apple devices — PublicTechnology — “The Home Secretary has already confirmed that the EU Exit ID Document Check app will be available on Apple devices this year,” the spokesperson said. “We are now testing the app on Apple devices with the new functionality.”
Crédit Agricole pilots biometric bank cards
“Mastercard is working with Crédit Agricole Payment Services on a biometric card pilot for 200 customers in Touraine and Poitou, who will trial the card which features an integrated fingerprint sensor. Cardholders will place their finger on the sensor to make secure and prompt contactless payments without the ceiling limit of 30 euros.” More
Keep up to date: Get NFCW's headlines by email every Wednesday
Mattel adds NFC to Hot Wheels racing cars
Mattel launches new Hot Wheels ‘id’ Smart Track Kit and NFC cars exclusively at Apple Stores — MacRumors — “The new Hot Wheels ID setup includes 51 die-cast cars with NFC tags that are going to be released in six mini collections throughout 2019, with each vehicle to be priced at US$6.99. Each car can be levelled up digitally, with challenges available to break race records.”
Android Q to let users log into Wi-Fi networks via NFC, QR or Bluetooth LE
Android Q supports ‘Wi-Fi Easy Connect’ for NFC, Bluetooth, QR credential sharing — 9to5Google — “Android Q enables you to use Easy Connect to provision Wi-Fi credentials to a peer device… The calling app can retrieve the URI through various methods, including scanning a QR code from a sticker or display, or through scanning Bluetooth LE or NFC advertisements.”
Chinese retailers shutter unmanned stores as ‘novelty wears off’
China’s unmanned store boom ends as quickly as it began — Nikkei Asian Review — “Across China, shops once considered the future of retail have been shutting their doors for good… The Chinese IT companies that entered the market used technology to remove the need for workers but may have overlooked other parts of the equation.”
Visa rolls out ‘sensory branding’ to a million points of sale in 25 countries
Animation, sound and vibration – How Visa is reinforcing consumer trust in a changing payments world — Visa — “Visa today announced that its sensory branding suite is live at more than one million points of sale in 25 countries. The suite is comprised of sound, animation and haptic vibration brand cues that occur with a Visa payment transaction.”
Visa, Mastercard and PayPal back Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency launch
The Libra Association — Libra — “Libra is a global, digitally native, reserve-backed cryptocurrency built on the foundation of blockchain technology. People will be able to send, receive, spend, and secure their money, enabling a more inclusive global financial system… The Libra Association is made up of a group of diverse organizations from around the world… This initial group of organisations will work together to finalize the Libra Association’s charter and will become the association’s Founding Members upon its completion.”
Facebook unveils its blockchain digital wallet plan
Coming in 2020: Calibra — Facebook — “Today we’re sharing plans for Calibra, a newly formed Facebook subsidiary whose goal is to provide financial services that will let people access and participate in the Libra network. The first product Calibra will introduce is a digital wallet for Libra, a new global currency powered by blockchain technology. The wallet will be available in Messenger, WhatsApp and as a standalone app — and we expect to launch in 2020.”
Android Q to add face verification for payments?
Android Q Beta 4: ‘Face authentication’ appears in settings, reveals some features — 9to5Google — “With the added support for face authentication, users will have the option of requiring eyes open to unlock. They will be able to use it to sign-in to applications and use it for payments, as well, according to new strings in the Settings app.”
Keep up to date: Get NFCW's headlines by email every Wednesday
Survey finds consumers ‘reluctant to swap passwords for biometrics’
Consumers reluctant to swap passwords for biometrics for fear of identity fraud — Paysafe Group — “Over half of consumers (56%) are worried that the shift to biometrics to authenticate online payments will dramatically increase the amount of identity fraud, according to new research conducted by Paysafe… The research found that four fifths (81%) of consumers still favour passwords for making payments online due to concerns about the security of new biometric options.”
Singapore pop-up store allows customers to buy mobiles in ‘truly unmanned’ environment
Asian communications group Singtel has opened a cashless, unmanned pop-up store that uses face recognition and personalization to let customers select, purchase and leave with high-value goods including new phones and accessories... More
NFC Forum releases bidirectional IoT communication standard
NFC Forum enhances connectivity of IoT devices with new and updated specifications — NFC Forum — “Bidirectional communication with IoT devices means NFC-enabled smartphones can read the actual state from the IoT device (eg, the actual title of music played) and can change the configuration of the IoT device by write access (eg, to adjust the volume or to switch to the next audio file). It can be used, for example, to configure an audio system, digital camera, lightning system, smart meter or radiator valve. This protocol can also be used where P2P is not implemented, for example, on existing NFC readers that do not support P2P mode.”
ETA issues US mobile payments market status report
The state of mobile payments in 2019 — Electronic Transactions Association — “In 2018, 55 million people in the US used their smartphone to make a payment at a physical point of sale, whether by loading money into a closed-loop mobile app (like the Starbucks app) or by loading a credit or debit card into an open-loop mobile wallet (like Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay) and using it to pay at the point of sale. These 55 million users account for about 20% of the U.S. population aged 15 and over, and just over 25% of US smartphone users.”
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.”
Apple extends GymKit NFC functionality to additional gym equipment market leaders
Apple has added three US gym equipment manufacturers — Octane Fitness, True Fitness and Woodway — to its growing list of partners worldwide for NFC-based GymKit for the Apple Watch, which enables users to sync their workout data between their watch and fitness machines... More
NFC testing disruptor Cilab joins the NFC World Partner Program
PARTNER NEWS: Cilab’s ci230 high speed tester takes a whole new approach to NFC testing that makes it faster and easier to conduct pre-certification testing, makes the certification process quicker and cheaper, lets customers get a fast return on investment — and a competitive advantage from speeding up time to market... More
Japanese government to adopt iPhone NFC chip reading for citizen ID
iOS 13 NFC for Japanese Individual Number Cards — Ata Distance — “Individual Number Cards are supported by card readers that require a personal computer and additional software. NFC tag reading with a smartphone is much easier because it can work out of the box and an app. Android phones are supported but limited to select Aquos, Galaxy and Xperia smartphone models. iPhone NFC tag support in iOS 13 will considerably widen the user footprint.”