Android Pay will launch “very, very soon,” Google’s head of commerce partnerships Jack Connors told Mobile Payments Conference in Chicago this week... More
Chicago
Target tests Bluetooth beacons in 50 US stores
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
Kiev subway goes contactless
The Ukrainian capital of Kiev has become the fifth city in the world, after London, St Petersburg, Chicago and Bucharest, to allow fares to be paid with open loop contactless cards... More
Reed Exhibitions uses NFC for IBTM America visitors
Event organiser Reed Exhibitions is using Poken’s conference technology platform at the IBTM America exhibition in Chicago to collect exhibitor information, let attendees check-in for meetings, and exchange and collect contact information and digital brochures using an NFC device... More
Wintrust lets customers withdraw cash with their mobile phones
Wintrust Financial is updating its fleet of 190 ATMs in Chicago to enable its mobile banking customers to withdraw cash by requesting money on their smartphone then scanning an on-screen QR code when they get to the ATM. More
Chick-fil-A rolls out mobile payments
Fast food chain Chick-fil-A has rolled out mobile payments to all of its US restaurants, with the exception of licensed locations, following a pilot that began in June 2014... More
Chicago to get NFC mobile ticketing in 2016
Travellers across Chicago will be able to pay for rides on all three transit systems including Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) trains and buses, Metra commuter rail and Pace suburban buses with a mobile app next year, and “with a few taps on their mobile devices” from early 2016... More
Dash expands to Chicago
Mobile payment provider Dash is expanding to Chicago, adding 20 restaurants and bars in the city to its existing base of 50 locations in New York... More
Chicago transit users get half price rides when they pay by NFC
Users of Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) transportation services can now get half price journeys when they pay using the Serve prepaid card stored in their Softcard NFC mobile wallet... More
Walgreens tests augmented reality offers in stores
US pharmacy chain Walgreens is piloting a shopper marketing platform that uses Google’s Project Tango 3D augmented reality technology to let shoppers locate a particular product, get directions to the correct aisle and earn rewards as they shop... More
Chicago and Washington to get NFC tickets
Public transportation users in Chicago and Washington DC will be able to use their NFC phones to purchase tickets in the coming years, the cities’ transportation authorities have announced... More
Vogue tries NFC in New York taxis
Fashion magazine Vogue has become the first brand to make use of interactive NFC screens installed in New York taxi cabs by Creative Mobile Technologies... More
iCashTV adds NFC to in-store advertising platform
iCashTV, an in-store digital advertising network for check cashing and currency exchange offices, is introducing Blue Bite’s mTag NFC platform across the US... More
Blue Bite puts NFC ads into 5,000 US taxis
Taxi ad network Creative Mobile Technologies has agreed a deal with NFC marketing specialist Blue Bite to use its mTag platform for advertising in 5,000 US cabs... More
Thinaire launches NFC marketing platform
US start-up Thinaire has launched an NFC marketing platform that “details location, occasion, brand, and social interaction so ROI can be determined, and then provides input for future one-to-one efforts”... More
Blue Bite reports results of US NFC marketing campaign
A campaign for travel app HotelTonight, which combined promotional videos shown on digital screens with the ability to download the app via NFC, QR code, Bluetooth or WiFi, saw a small but promising number of interactions via NFC, says the mobile marketing platform provider. More
Snack machines go Google
US-based vending machine technology provider Cantaloupe Systems has equipped 6,000 units in San Francisco, Chicago and the mid-Atlantic region to accept Google Wallet, AllthingsD reports, while Chicago-based Mark Vend plans to convert half its 2,000 machines in the first half of 2012... More
Google Wallet goes on tour
Google, Sprint and Samsung are taking Google Wallet across the US on a five city roadshow that will allow consumers to test out the NFC service in selected retail stores... More
Google Wallet with offers goes live in Times Square
Shoppers at the flagship Times Square branch of American Eagle Outfitters can now use an NFC phone to make payments, earn reward points and collect or redeem special offers. More
OfficeMax goes live with Google Wallet
Customers can now use their NFC mobile phones to make payments, redeem coupons and receive rewards via Google SingleTap terminals installed at more than one hundred of the office supplies chain’s stores in five US regions. More