Samsung has responded to the group of hackers from the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) who managed to defeat the iris recognition system on the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones, saying that the hackers’ claims could “only have been made under a rare combination of circumstances”. More
- 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!
UAE biometric database will allow residents not to carry ID
UAE biometric database will allow residents not to carry ID — Gulf Business — “The UAE plans to utilise third generation biometric data with the goal of allowing residents not to carry their ID card within the next five years… By 2018, the authority is also aiming to allow 80% people to use government services via their mobile by operating the device’s Near Field Communication chip to read their Emirates ID.”
Android Pay to launch in Canada on May 31
Android Pay to launch in Canada on May 31 — MobileSyrup — “Android Pay is finally set to launch in Canada on May 31st, according to sources that have reached out to MobileSyrup with internal documents… It’s unclear how widespread bank support will be for Android Pay when it launches. We do, however, know that Android Pay will work with ‘major credit and debit cards in Canada’.”
Samsung Pay rolls out across Hong Kong following early access launch
Samsung Pay has gone live in Hong Kong with support from Mastercard, Visa and American Express and banks including Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citibank, DahSing Bank, DBS and Standard Chartered. The launch takes the mobile payment service to a total of 17 markets globally and follows its debut in Taiwan earlier this month. More
Amazon adds shoppable stickers to its iOS app
Amazon adds shoppable stickers to its iOS app — TechCrunch — “Amazon has added support for stickers within its iOS app’s camera feed — the feature that allows you to search for products on its site by viewing real-world objects through your phone’s camera… In addition, you can tap on the “i” (information) button on the stickers themselves to be taken to the product detail page.”
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Ant Financial enters Hong Kong market with AlipayHK mobile wallet
Ant Financial enters Hong Kong market with AlipayHK mobile wallet — South China Morning Post — “The mobile wallet and payments app, dubbed AlipayHK, is similar to its Chinese counterpart Alipay — registered users are able to top up their mobile wallets and make in-store payments that are settled in Hong Kong dollars at merchants such as Watsons, Fortress and at supermarkets like ParknShop.”
Macey’s invites shoppers to skip checkout lines
Macey’s invites shoppers to skip checkout lines — Progressive Grocer — “After setting up a free account, Macey’s shoppers simply scan their items as they’re placed in the cart. Once they have everything they need, shoppers simply pay for the purchase directly from their phones using a linked debit or credit card, or the Apple Pay or Android Pay mobile wallet apps, and exit the store via the Skip Checkout lane.”
Danish fintech startup Clearhaus buys 33% of a Danish bank – eyeing new business model and expansion
Danish fintech startup Clearhaus buys 33% of a Danish bank – eyeing new business model and expansion — Clearhaus — “Clearhaus has recently acquired 33% (worth 10 mil EUR) of the Copenhagen Cooperative Bank… Our interest is in closing the gap between traditional banking and acquiring. Clients will be able to see where they stand banking-wise without delay based on their transaction activity. We want to issue cards as well.”
BBVA makes eight APIs available to kickstart open banking program
Spanish bank BBVA has launched its open banking program by making eight of its APIs commercially available for the first time, meaning that third-party companies including startups and developers will be able to build new products and services by accessing and integrating customers’ banking data into their applications. More
Hangzhou buses first to all use mobile pay
Hangzhou buses first to all use mobile pay — China.org.cn — “‘Passengers can use Alipay and UnionPay flash payment cards on this terminal. Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Huawei Pay, Mi Pay and Android Pay can be used with smartphones or wearables like watches and electronic bracelets,’ said Liu Xiaojie, general manager of public services at Ant Financial.”
New York forces smart lock maker to improve its security
New York forces smart lock maker to improve its security — Engadget — “Utah-based Safetech Products has agreed to encrypt all of its smart lock passwords, electronic keys and other credentials within its locks, prompt users to change the default password upon initial setup and establish a more comprehensive security program.”
Euro Banking Association paper analyses cryptotechnologies in international payments
Euro Banking Association paper analyses cryptotechnologies in international payments — Euro Banking Association — “Our information paper shows how this technology could support industry players in meeting user expectations regarding speed, transparency and cost. We strongly believe that collaborative initiatives in this area, in particular, could unlock significant value for payment service providers and their customers.”
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Mobile wallet Curve launches ‘time travel’ tool to let you ‘shop in the past’
Mobile wallet Curve launches ‘time travel’ tool to let you ‘shop in the past’ — Wired — “Once a person’s cards are uploaded to the Curve platform, they are all stored on a single Curve card. When shopping, they can then choose which account they would like to shop with using an app. If they change their mind, for example if they paid using a credit card but meant to pay with a debit card, the time travel tool lets them go back and swap.”
Iowa smartphone driver’s licenses expected to launch in 2018
Iowa smartphone driver’s licenses expected to launch in 2018 — The Des Moines Register — “Iowans should be able to start downloading their driver’s licenses onto smartphones in about 12 to 18 months, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.”
KPN and Vodafone launch SIM-based mobile payments for public transport
Commuters across the Netherlands can now make payments for travel across “all public transport operators” in the country by adding their OV transport card to their compatible NFC smartphone and tapping the phone against a reader before and after their journeys... More
Control Ikea Home Smart products with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Home app
Control Ikea Home Smart products with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple’s Home app — Ikea — “Ikea is adding functionality to its smart lighting range by enabling people to voice control their lighting with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant and to set up and adjust lighting using Apple’s Home app and Siri voice commands. This takes Ikea one step closer to making smart home technology accessible for the many.”
NEC earbuds showcase hands-free biometric verification
NEC earbuds showcase hands-free biometric verification — New Atlas — “The new prototype earbuds are an application of NEC’s “hearable device user authentication technology”… NEC says the technology can identify the user within one second and with “greater than 99% accuracy”. Unlike biometrics based on the iris recognition or fingerprints, you don’t need to hold or look at your phone to use it.”
New cloud framework for mobile biometrics
New cloud framework for mobile biometrics — The Stack — “Researchers from the IEEE have proposed a high-performance cluster cloud framework to help manage the mountains of data associated with mobile biometric authentication… the team found that using a cloud-based biometric authentication framework, or BAMCloud, helped to achieve network speed performance of over eight times more than alternate methods.”
Introducing Paytm Payments Bank
Introducing Paytm Payments Bank — Paytm — “We are proud to bring you Paytm Payments Bank — India’s first bank with zero charges on online transactions, no minimum balance requirement and free virtual debit card… Our ambition is to become India’s most trusted and consumer-friendly bank.”
Hackers defeat Samsung Galaxy S8 iris scanner
Hackers defeat Samsung Galaxy S8 iris scanner — Security Week — “Hackers of the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) in Germany have managed to defeat the iris recognition system on Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S8 smartphones… While an individual’s iris is unique, researchers from CCC showed that Samsung’s iris scanner can be defeated by showing it a picture of the victim’s eye.”