New form factors, value-added services, issuing business models and payment acceptance innovations such as softPOS solutions are the driving forces behind what’s next in the contactless card payments market, Bareisis explains in a presentation for Contactless World Congress. More
Cashless
European Parliament paper lays out risks, challenges and recommendations for digital euro project
The European Central Bank (ECB) should continue to develop the digital euro and start its proposed testing phase in October this year, but should not go ahead with launching the proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) “unless new elements emerge strongly supporting such a decision”, according to an analysis paper requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON)... More
Apple Pay goes live in Honduras and Panama
Apple Pay has launched in Honduras and Panama with support for Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards issued by BAC Credomatic and Banco Promerica in both countries as well as by Banco Ficohsa in Honduras... More
Bank of Korea and Samsung to test offline CBDC payments using NFC
The Bank of Korea (BOK) and Samsung are to test using NFC to make offline central bank digital currency (CBDC) transactions with Galaxy smartphones and smart watches without needing an internet connection... More
Apple rolls out Tap to Pay on iPhone to merchants in Australia
Merchants in Australia can now accept in-store contactless payments on iPhones using Apple’s Tap to Pay software point of sale (softPOS) feature... More
Houzz lets home professionals accept contactless payments on standard iPhones
Building and design platform Houzz has added support for Apple’s Tap to Pay softPOS solution to its app, enabling residential contractors and design professionals linked to its service in the US to accept contactless payments from clients on their iPhones... More
Apple Pay launch drives Hyundai Card uptake in Korea
The number of new Hyundai Cards issued in South Korea since Apple Pay launched in the country has now reached 355,000, with nearly eight in ten of new cardholders being Millennials or belonging to Generation Z (79%)... More
Qatar Central Bank rolls out interoperable national mobile payments system
Qatar Central Bank (QCB) has launched an interoperable national mobile payments system that enables Qatari residents and visitors to register and create digital wallets, complete instant money transfers and make in-store QR code payments with their mobile device... More
UK food bank lets users make in-store purchases with donated funds
Food bank users in the London borough of Hackney in the UK can now buy essential food items at local grocery stores by using a smartphone app to generate a QR code with their face and then use this code to authorise payments from dedicated funds... More
Greece to get contactless open loop fare payments on buses in 33 cities and islands
Passengers using bus services across 33 cities and islands in Greece will soon be able to make contactless fare payments for their journeys using their own locally issued or international credit, debit or prepaid card... More
Valencia to upgrade transit system for open loop contactless fare payments and mobile ticketing
Passengers travelling on metro and tram services in the Spanish city of Valencia will be able to pay for their fares with a contactless bank card or validate mobile or paper tickets with a QR code using an upgraded ticketing and fare payment system to be implemented across the Metrovalencia network... More
Central Bank of Kenya launches national QR payments standard
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has launched a standard for the generation of QR codes in the country’s retail payments sector as the first phase of a nationwide rollout of a universal QR code payments system... More
Apple Pay goes live in El Salvador and Guatemala
Apple Pay has launched in El Salvador and Guatemala with support for Mastercard and Visa credit and debit cards issued by BAC Credomatic and Promerica banks in both countries as well as by Banco G&T and Banco Industrial in Guatemala... More
Four in ten US consumers prefer using Google Pay or Apple Pay for bar and restaurant payments
Nearly 40% of consumers in the US say they prefer to pay for their orders at bars and restaurants using mobile payments apps such as Apple Pay or Google Pay rather than a physical credit or debit card, according to a survey... More
Brazil to pilot digital currency in stores
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) is to begin piloting the use of its proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) across a range of transactions including in-store and offline NFC payments... More
University of Florida to launch contactless mobile student IDs
Students at the University of Florida in the US will soon be able to gain access to campus buildings, events and library services as well as authorise contactless payments for food, beverages and books using a digital student identity card stored on their Apple or Android NFC smartphone or smartwatch... More
Mercedes expands in-car parking payments to Europe
Mercedes-Benz drivers in North America and 14 European countries can now find and pay for parking spaces from their car using the vehicle manufacturer’s MBUX infotainment centre... More
Digital euro to support both NFC and QR payments in stores
The digital euro should be distributed via apps, digital and physical cards and other form factors that enable consumers to make both NFC and QR code in-store payments with the proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to a European Central Bank (ECB) report... More
Carrefour Dubai cuts transaction times by 75% with face biometrics
The average transaction time for customers opting to pay for their purchases at Carrefour stores in Dubai with a biometric payment system using face recognition technology is 75% less than for other point-of-sale (POS) payment systems, the retailer says... More
Contactless payments drive 350% increase in EMV transactions at vending machines in Canada and the US
More than half of all EMV card transactions at food and beverage vending machines in the USA and Canada in 2022 were contactless (51.69%) and contactless payments were the main driver for a 350% year-on-year growth in cashless vending machine micropayments made using EMV cards, according to a new study... More