Bangalore-based food delivery service Swiggy Instamart in India has launched a promotional drinks coaster equipped with NFC and a QR code that enables consumers to access a selection of snacks and beverages by tapping or scanning it with their mobile device... More
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has unveiled a suite of United Payments Interface (UPI) services that includes UPI Tap & Pay NFC-enabled QR codes, QR code-enabled ATM withdrawals, the addition of support for offline NFC payments to the UPI Lite X digital wallet, and Hello... More
US electric vehicle manufacturer Mullen Automotive is enabling owners of its commercial and consumer vehicles to lock and unlock vehicle doors and initiate functions including safety features and charging options with their face... More
Wendy’s is to pilot an automated contactless fast food ordering system that will enable customers to place their orders at a drive-through via an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that will have “the ability to understand made-to-order requests and generate responses to frequently asked questions”... More
Lithuanian supermarket chain IKI has opened its second contactless convenience store in the capital Vilnius, enabling customers to check in at the store door by tapping their payment card, mobile wallet or retailer’s app, select the products they want and pay for their purchases without needing to scan them, by tapping their payment card as they leave... More
The UK government has laid out proposals for establishing a framework for the use of trusted and secure digital verification services that will allow consumers to create certified digital identities for use across a range of use cases... More
Supermarket chain Aldi is trialling its first checkout-free contactless store in continental Europe in the Dutch city of Utrecht, enabling customers to enter the store by scanning an app, selecting items from the shelves and then leaving without needing to scan their purchases or use a conventional checkout... More
The number of checkout-free contactless stores around the world increased from 87 in 2020 to 252 in 2021 and will rise by more than 90% a year to exceed 12,000 by the end of 2027, according to Retail Banking Research (RBR)... More
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) in the Indian city of Bengaluru is planning to roll out AI-powered biometric facial recognition technology that will enable passengers with monthly travel passes to walk through station automatic fare collection gates by verifying their identity with their face and without needing a physical smart card, pass or token... More
Fans attending baseball matches at Fenway Park in Boston in the USA can now purchase food and drink at two outlets in the Boston Red Sox stadium using AI-powered contactless point of sale technology... More
The American Airlines Center in Dallas in the US has opened the first of two contactless food and drink outlets that enable fans attending sports and entertainment events at the arena to walk in, select the snacks and refreshments they wish to purchase and pay for them without needing to scan them or use a checkout... More
Customers at two Asda supermarkets in Pudsey and Stevenage in the UK can now verify their age when purchasing age-restricted products such as beer, wine and spirits using facial age estimation technology... More
Total global revenues from the provision of digital identity services and technologies, including third-party and civic identity apps, centralised identity schemes and digital ID verification, will exceed US$53bn in 2026 compared with US$26bn in 2021, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
Rail passengers at Tokyo and Yokohama stations in Japan can now order, collect and pay for coffee made by a six-armed AI-powered robot barista — known as Ella — at a fully automated contactless coffee shop... More
Passengers using Terminal 4 at New York’s JFK International Airport in New York can now purchase food and beverages from a contactless grab-and-go convenience store without needing to scan their purchases or use a checkout... More
France-based supermarket chain Carrefour has opened its first contactless convenience store in Paris that allows customers to walk in, select the items they wish to purchase and pay for them without needing to register or check in at the entrance, download an app or scan their purchases with their mobile device or at a checkout... More
Two US stores owned by retail giant Albertsons are trialling a self-checkout shopping trolley that enables customers to select and scan items while they shop, compare products and receive personalised recommendations via an on-cart screen, and pay for their purchases by inserting or tapping their payments card without visiting a checkout... More
Just over one in two (51%) UK consumers would consider making payments using a chip implanted in their hand provided it met certain criteria including medical safety and privacy protection, a new survey reveals... More
UK supermarket chain Tesco has opened its first checkout-free store in central London, enabling customers to check in at the store entrance with a smartphone app, select the products they want and leave without needing to scan their purchases or pay for them at the checkout... More
Supermarket chain Aldi is trialling its first checkout-free store in London using technology that will enable customers to gain access to the store by scanning a smartphone app, select the products they want to purchase and then leave without needing to pay at a till... More