Guests staying at Virgin Hotels in four US cities can now securely verify their identity, check in and receive a mobile room key via an app on their iOS or Android device before arriving at their hotel... More
Retailers and other small business owners in six US cities will soon be able to accept contactless payments on an Android NFC smartphone using Visa’s software-only Tap to Phone solution... More
Passengers on public transportation services in Chicago in the US can now use an Android NFC smartphone to make tap-and-go fare payments by uploading the Chicago Transit Authority’s (CTA) virtual Ventra transit card to Google Pay... More
Google Pay users in the US will soon be able to access mobile transit ticketing services including fare payments and transit card management directly from the app’s home screen on their smartphone or other mobile device... More
Passengers on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus and train services can now use their iPhone or Apple Watch to make tap-and-go fare payments via Apple Pay’s Express Transit mode by uploading the authority’s Ventra transit card to their Apple Wallet... More
Diners will soon be able to use a new feature in the Uber Eats app to make contactless orders and payments in US restaurants, whether they are dining in or ordering a takeaway meal... More
Public transport users in Los Angeles will be able to add their TAP transit card to their iPhone or Apple Watch “this year”, LA Metro has announced... More
RTD, the transportation operator for the city of Denver which launched a transit ticketing integration with Uber in May 2019, has now added a further integration with travel planning app Transit, enabling users to plan and purchase RTD tickets from within the Transit app... More
Apple is expanding its support for transit systems, enabling travellers in the US to use Apple Pay as a replacement for travel tickets... More
Amazon will open checkout-free stores in Chicago and San Francisco — Engadget — “Amazon has posted job listings for store managers in both Chicago and San Francisco, making it clear where the automated stores are headed next… Amazon has a building permit for a store in Chicago’s Loop, while a San Francisco Chronicle report claimed that a store would open near Union Square. An earlier Recode scoop asserted that Amazon would open as many as six more stores in 2018, with one possibly coming to Los Angeles.”
McDonald’s will launch its mobile order and pay service in 20,000 restaurants in “some of our largest markets including the US” by the end of 2017, with the fast food giant aiming to enhance its digital capabilities and the use of technology to “dramatically elevate the customer experience” and “unlock meaningful growth and increase guest counts”... More
The Ventra mobile ticketing app introduced by Chicago’s Metra commuter rail service in November 2015 has been downloaded more than one million times and used by passengers to pay for more than US$110m in fares... More
Transport for London (TfL) is to begin licensing its contactless ticketing system to other major cities across the globe as part of a deal worth up to £15m with Cubic Corporation’s business unit Cubic Transportation Systems (CTS). More
The Bluetooth-based mobile keyless entry solution unveiled by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide in November 2014 has been extended to select Le Méridien, Westin, Sheraton and Four Points hotels, with “many additional properties” expected to go live with SPG Keyless over the coming months... More
Consumers in New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles can now make P2P cash withdrawals using a PIN code sent to their mobile phone at ATMs equipped with technology from Pin4 and ATM network operator Payment Alliance International... More
The Ventra mobile ticketing app introduced by Chicago’s Metra commuter rail service in November 2015 has been used by passengers on more than one million journeys in its first two months... More
Mobile POS provider Square is rolling out the first of its $49 contactless readers to 100 US businesses, allowing them to accept chip cards, contactless and NFC payments including Apple Pay... More
Samsung is to run a seven city tour to promote the launch of Samsung Pay in the US... More
Android Pay will launch “very, very soon,” Google’s head of commerce partnerships Jack Connors told Mobile Payments Conference in Chicago this week... More
US retail giant Target has begun testing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons in 50 stores nationwide to send deals and recommendations on nearby products directly to a shopper’s smartphone running the retailer’s iOS mobile app... More
