A lack of commercially available handsets is continuing to cause frustration at Dubai-based mobile network operator Etisalat... More
Samsung
Inside Contactless raises 50m euros in additional funding
Contactless and NFC specialist Inside Contactless has raised a further €50m (US$65m approx) in financing... More
Vivotech adds OTA provisioning to DeviceFidelity’s microSD format NFC device
Vivotech and DeviceFidelity have partnered to add over-the-air (OTA) provisioning capabilities to the In2Pay microSD technology to be tested by Visa, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, US Bank and Akbank... More
Turkey’s Akbank and Visa Europe to test microSD NFC device
News of Akbank and Visa’s trial follows the announcement in May that MasterCard, Garanti Bank and mobile network operator Avea are to begin a commercial NFC service in Turkey this summer. More
La Caixa reports first results from Sitges NFC trial
The first results of the NFC payments trial taking place in Sitges, Spain show that 60% of the participants have so far used their phone to make a payment, Benjamí Puigdevall, CEO of e-La Caixa, has told Spanish financial publication CincoDias... More
Orange France launches NFC time and attendance service
Business customers who purchase a Samsung S5230 NFC phone for their staff pay a flat fee each month to use the new Mobile et Badge service to track the time and attendance of field service workers such as security staff and cleaners. More
PTC, Inteligo and MasterCard test NFC payments in Poland
The 100 participants can use their Samsung NFC phones to make payments at any of 10,000 points of sale in Poland that are already equipped to handle PayPass contactless transactions. More
Telefónica Movistar, La Caixa and Visa begin pre-commercial NFC pilot in Spanish resort of Sitges
1,500 customers of Telefónica and La Caixa have been issued with Samsung S5230 NFC phones which they can use to make debit and credit card payments in taxis, sports centres, at market stalls and in retail stores. More
Telefónica O2 launches its first commercial NFC service — and sets out strategy for future deployments
The mobile network operator is starting small with a limited rollout in the Czech city of Pilsen but a business strategy is now in place and commercial launches in the UK and Spain could be next. More
Polkomtel and BZ WBK bank to run NFC trial in three Polish cities
Mobile network operator Polkomtel has partnered with BZ WBK bank to run an NFC payments trial in the cities of Warsaw, Wroclaw and Poznan... More
T-Mobile begins internal NFC payments and access control trial in Czech Republic
Mobile network operator T-Mobile Czech Republic has begun testing NFC at its offices in the Czech Republic... More
SK Telecom and Hana launch SIM-based mobile contactless payments and promotions service
Korean consumers who sign up for a Hana SK Card credit account and pick up a new ‘13.56MHz RF SIM’ via a retail partner will then be able to store multiple credit, loyalty and membership cards and discount coupons on their mobile phone. More
NFC takes two steps forward — and one step back
OPINION: A host of new NFC products and initiatives were announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress but, it seems, we will have to wait until the end of this year before the first NFC handsets become widely available in the West. More
Samsung adds NFC to bestselling Tocco Lite/Star/Player One/Avila
The bestselling touchscreen phone, known by a number of brand names in different regions, is to be used in trials in Spain, France and Dubai — but there are no plans yet to make the NFC version of the handset available at retail. More
NFC trial begins at Mobile World Congress
Four hundred Samsung Star NFC handsets are being distributed to selected Mobile World Congress attendees for use at the event, which opens in Barcelona today... More
Telefonica announces NFC trial in Sitges, Spain
Telefonica has announced this morning that it is to run an NFC trial in the Spanish resort of Sitges, in conjunction with Visa and La Caixa bank (see a photo from the press conference here)... More
NFC phones enter mass production
OPINION: The news that Malaysian manufacturer Fonelabs is to produce two million NFC phones in 2010 is the first sign that the issue of a lack of NFC handsets is beginning to be resolved. More
ABI ranks contactless transaction and NFC chip suppliers
NXP Semiconductor has been ranked at the top of the latest edition of ABI Research’s Contactless Transaction IC Vendor Matrix... More
IP specialist produces who’s who of NFC patent holders
TechIPm, a research and consulting firm specializing in technology and intellectual property mining, has carried out an analysis of the strength of the patent portfolios held by companies in the NFC market... More
Etisalat partners with Emirates NBD to launch NFC in the UAE
The largest mobile operator in the Middle East has partnered with the region’s largest bank for the launch of NFC-based mobile payments. More