PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has released an NFC chip that supports active waveshaping and heartbeat detection, enabling developers and manufacturers to create smaller and more efficient contactless payment solutions and ensure devices comply with EMVCo 3.1 specifications... More
- NFC Forum to increase transaction range from 2cm “to three or four centimetres”
- Delhi Metro reports on passenger uptake of QR paper tickets
- Seven-Eleven stores in Japan to let consumers access ATM services via face biometrics
- Apple picks iris biometrics for Vision Pro virtual reality headset user authentication
- Google Wallet GM Jenny Cheng announces support for new types of contactless credentials
OECD seeks feedback on digital identity recommendations

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a draft recommendation for the implementation and governance of national and cross-border digital identity systems and is inviting comment on the document from government officials, civil society organisations, international bodies and interested citizens and stakeholders. More
Austria launches nationwide multi-modal ‘swipe on, swipe off’ mobile fare payments
Passengers travelling on rail, bus, tram and subway services across the whole of Austria can now make contactless end-to-end fare payments for single or multi-modal journeys with two swipes on their smartphone screen using a ticketing function added to the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB Tickets app... More
JP Morgan to pilot in-store biometric payments with US merchants

Financial services company JP Morgan is to pilot a biometric payments solution that will enable consumers to make contactless in-store payments with their palm or face at selected bricks-and-mortar merchants in the USA and “potentially” at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix in May. More
Samsung and Naver launch integrated mobile payments service in South Korea
Samsung and Naver Financial have launched an integrated mobile payments service in South Korea that enables Naver Pay users to make in-store payments with their smartphone at outlets accepting Samsung Pay and Samsung Pay users to make online payments at ecommerce merchants supporting Naver Pay... More
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Panera Bread installs biometric palm payments devices at US bakery stores
Customers at Panera Bread outlets in St Louis, Missouri, in the USA can now opt to access their loyalty account and make contactless payments for their purchases with their palm... More
Apple Pay goes live in South Korea
Apple Pay has launched in South Korea with support for Mastercard, Visa and local debit and credit cards issued by Hyundai Card... More
MTR begins open loop contactless fare payments rollout in Hong Kong
Passengers travelling on services operated by Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) will soon be able to make contactless fare payments with their physical or digital credit card as well as an Octopus transit card or a digital QR code ticket on their smartphone... More
Xiaomi files patent for technology supporting contactless QR payments on AR glasses
Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi has filed a patent with the China National Intellectual Property Administration for technology that would enable users of its wearable augmented reality glasses to initiate and authenticate contactless QR code payments. More
Germany to issue contactless monthly passes for unlimited multi-modal travel on transport services nationwide
Public transport users in Germany will soon be able to purchase a physical or digital contactless travel pass that will enable them to make unlimited journeys on local and regional public transport services across the entire country for a fixed monthly fee... More
Landmark London building rolls out support for employee IDs in Apple Wallet for contactless entry
Apple users working in landmark City of London skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate can now gain access to the building, their workplace and shared amenities with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch using a digital employee badge stored in Wallet... More
ST explains how smart home device makers can use NFC to offer a better user experience
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: A new white paper from STMicroelectronics that sets out the benefits to both device manufacturers and consumers of using NFC to enhance, simplify and secure smart home applications is now available to download from the NFCW Knowledge Centre... More
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NJ Transit adds cash top-ups to mobile ticketing app
Passengers using NJ Transit services across the US state of New Jersey who do not have a bank account or a debit or credit card can now use cash to fund the purchase of digital tickets and passes for travel on bus, train or light rail services on their smartphone... More
Indian rapid transit system to trial digital rupee for contactless parking payments
Passengers using rapid transit services operated by Kochi Metro in the Indian state of Kerala will soon be able to make contactless parking payments with the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) as part of a digital rupee pilot programme launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)... More
Visa reports on contactless and mobile payments adoption in Singapore
More than eight in ten consumers in Singapore now use contactless cards (82%) and the widespread use of and preference for contactless card payments is one of the key drivers behind the country’s “shift towards becoming a cashless nation”, according to a Visa report... More
In-store mobile and wearable transaction values in Italy rise by 122% to hit US$17.5bn
Consumers in Italy used their smartphones or wearable devices to make in-store contactless payments worth a total of €16.3bn (US$17.5bn) in 2022, an increase of 122% compared with 2021, according to the Innovative Payments Observatory (IPO) at Milan Polytechnic University... More
CBDC transactions to top US$213bn worldwide by 2030

The total annual value of transactions made using central bank digital currencies (CBDC) will exceed US$213bn by 2030, up from US$100m in 2023, according to a Juniper Research forecast. More
US Department of Agriculture to put state benefits on mobile phones in five states
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to enable citizens entitled to financial support under its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma to receive benefits and make NFC or QR code payments for eligible purchases on their mobile device... More
Central bank enables rollout of contactless mobile payments in Egypt
The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued regulations governing payment card tokenization on mobile apps that enable banks and payment service providers to allow customers to make contactless payments with digital cards stored in mobile wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay... More
Visa reports on passenger preferences for transit payments
More than four in ten transit passengers worldwide say that tapping their own debit or credit card to make open loop contactless fare payments is their preferred fare payment option (42%), followed by tapping a card stored in their mobile wallet (39%), using a closed loop transit card (38%), cash (31%) and app-based payment (29%), according to a Visa survey... More