UK sports fashion chain JD has installed Bluetooth beacons at its new concept store in Manchester’s Trafford Centre, letting customers who have downloaded the JD app “access exclusive store content and shop from the app before paying in-store.” The store also features eight multi-channel kiosks and a social media wall, and staff have been equipped with iPads “to assist with customers’ enquiries.”... More
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BBVA reports 250,000 mobile wallet users
Spain-based banking group BBVA has signed up 250,000 customers for its BBVA Wallet service and is to expand availability to the US, Mexico and Chile this year... More
Alipay partners with Huawei to add biometric security to mobile payments
Chinese online payments giant Alipay is working with Huawei to enable users of the phone maker’s new Ascend Mate 7 handset to secure their mobile payments using a fingerprint sensor built into the phone... More
Verizon aims to replace usernames and passwords with QR codes
Verizon Enterprise has introduced Universal ID, a service designed to replace usernames and passwords with a QR code that consumers can scan with their mobile phone to gain access to a website or app... More
Mapco adds mobile payments at the pump
Customers of US fuel and convenience store chain Mapco can now pay at the pump with their mobile phone at 276 of the retailer’s stores... More
Smart Card Alliance offers HCE paper
The Smart Card Alliance has published Host Card Emulation (HCE) 101, a white paper that “takes a deep dive into HCE and NFC opportunities and security considerations”... More
IPC Media promotes magazine sales via convenience store beacons
Publisher IPC Media is using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons installed in 740 One Stop convenience stores across the UK to offer discounted copies of its Chat, Pick Me Up, Woman and TV & Satellite Week magazines... More
St George adds fingerprint security to mobile banking app
Customers of Australia’s St George Bank will be able to use the Touch ID fingerprint verification technology built into the iPhone 5S to log into mobile banking when iOS8 launches in September... More
Orderella to install NFC tags and Bluetooth beacons in 79 UK pubs and bars
Orderella, the developer of an app that lets customers place drinks orders and make payments from their mobile phone, is to install NFC tags and Bluetooth beacons in all the 79 pubs and bars across the UK that use its service... More
EyeVerify raises $6m
EyeVerify has raised US$6m in Series A funding for a service that uses the camera in a mobile phone to secure access to mobile banking and other apps... More
PayPal introduces one touch mobile payments
PayPal has launched One Touch, a mobile payments solution that lets consumers make payments in supported apps with a single touch... More
UK retailers install hi-tech mannequins that let customers buy what they see in the window
UK retailers House of Fraser, Hawes & Curtis and Bentalls are using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons installed in display mannequins to let customers get information about outfits displayed in their shop windows and around their stores, receive special offers and buy items with their mobile phone... More
Westpac NZ unveils augmented reality banking app
Westpac New Zealand is to release a mobile banking app that uses augmented reality and 3D imaging to let customers with an iOS device check their credit and debit card balances, make payments and find their closest bank branch... More
GameStop deploys BLE in stores
Video game retailer GameStop is deploying Shelfbucks beacons in test markets including Austin and College Station, Texas this month to deliver offers and relevant data to a shopper’s smartphone running a mobile app developed by BestFit Mobile... More
Facebook closes gifts business
Facebook is to close down its gifts service on August 12, Techcrunch reports... More
American Express tests HCE for NFC payments
American Express is working with Croatia’s Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ), part of the Italy-based Intesa Sanpaolo banking group, to pilot an NFC payments service that makes use of host card emulation (HCE) technology... More
HBC deploys iBeacons in Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor department stores across the US and Canada
HBC Department Store Group has begun using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons placed around its Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor department stores in Canada and the US “to deliver digital experiences to consumers’ smartphones while they shop”... More
NXP CEO: NFC secure elements will continue to see strong demand
“We feel very comfortable with the strength of the secure element,” NXP Semiconductors CEO Rick Clemmer has told analysts during the chip maker’s second quarter earnings call... More
Zuckerberg: Facebook is working on payments but it will take time to get it right
Facebook is looking into the potential of adding payments capabilities across its business, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has explained during the company’s first earnings call following the hiring of PayPal boss David Marcus to head its messaging business — but the company won’t rush into the market and expects to take several years to fully develop its offering... More
Starbucks now processes six million mobile payments a week
Coffee chain giant Starbucks now has 12 million active users of its mobile app in the US and Canada alone... More