Rwanda is to develop and launch a digital national identity card that residents will be able to store and use on their smartphone and which will replace the country’s existing physical ID card, according to Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation Paula Ingabire... More
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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
Utah to pilot blockchain digital IDs
The US state of Utah is to launch a pilot programme that will test the use of blockchain technology for the issuance of digital identity cards and other digital credentials that can be stored and used on a holder’s smartphone or other mobile device... 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
European Payments Initiative to pilot digital wallet for instant P2P payments in Germany and France
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is to begin piloting a digital wallet that will enable users to make instant person-to-person (P2P) payments in Germany and France as a first step towards rolling out a unified payment system that will support “a comprehensive range of transaction types” across Europe... More
Swatch launches contactless payments on wearables in Thailand
Buyers of Swatch watches in Thailand can now opt to make contactless payments with their NFC wearable device using the Swiss-based company’s SwatchPay! contactless payments service. More
Sweden to launch digital ID card that can be stored on a user’s smartphone
Bank ID, the Swedish digital identity service provider owned by seven Scandinavian banks, is to roll out a QR code-enabled digital ID card that Swedish citizens will be able to create, store and use on their smartphone. ... More
Ardshinbank lets merchants in Armenia accept contactless payments on standard Android NFC devices
Armenia’s Ardshinbank has launched a software-only point of sale (softPOS) solution that enables merchants to accept contactless payments on Android NFC smartphones, tablets and other devices. ... More
GSMA reports ‘faster than predicted’ growth in mobile money services
The number of registered mobile money accounts globally rose by 13% from 1.4bn in 2021 to 1.6bn in 2022 and total mobile money transaction values grew by 22% from US$1tn to US$1.26tn over the same period, according to research by the GSMA... More
Utah Transit Authority to install new ticketing system that supports both closed and open loop payments
The Utah Transit Authority (UTA) in the USA is to implement a “next generation” account-based ticketing system that will support both open and closed loop contactless fare payments, mobile ticketing, flexible fare structures and fare capping across its public transportation networks... More
Johnnie Walker uses NFC to let consumers access immersive digital Singapore experience at Changi Airport
Consumers visiting a Lotte Duty Free store at Changi Airport in Singapore can access an immersive digital experience that brings to life the country as it might be in the year 2220 by tapping an NFC chip embedded in limited edition bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Cities of the Future whisky with their mobile device... More
JR West to roll out digital ICOCA transit and payments card for Apple users
Apple users in Japan will soon be able to store and top up a digital version of rail operator JR West’s ICOCA prepaid contactless transit card in Apple Wallet and use it to pay their fares for bus and rail journeys with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch... More
MTA to install contactless Omny EMV card vending machines across New York subway
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is to begin installing vending machines that will enable passengers to purchase and top up its contactless Omny EMV fare payments card at all 472 stations across the city’s subway network rather than having to visit a retail store... More
Sunderland football club to roll out contactless NFC ticketing
Fans of Sunderland AFC football club in the UK will be able to gain entry to home games at the Stadium of Light from the beginning of the 2023-24 season using a digital NFC season pass or match ticket stored on their smartphone or smart watch at stadium turnstiles... More
BMW rolls out UWB digital car keys for Android devices
Android users with a Samsung Galaxy 23+ or Google Pixel 7 Pro smartphone can now lock, unlock and start compatible BMW vehicles using the car manufacturer’s ultra wideband (UWB) Digital Car Key Plus without needing to take their mobile device out of their pocket or bag... More
Yahoo Japan to trial face biometrics for in-store payments
Customers using Yahoo Japan’s convenience store in the Yoyogi Uehara district of Tokyo can now opt to pay for their purchases at a self-service checkout with their face using biometric payment... More
US truckers get mobile wallet and digital cards for contactless fuel payments
Freight brokers in the US can now transfer advance payments for fuel to carriers and their drivers using a mobile wallet app that allows drivers to make contactless fuel payments from their smartphone... More
SEPTA sets out plans for next generation multimodal mobile and contactless fare payments system
A request for proposals from “experienced vendors” has been issued by Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in the USA, to develop, implement and maintain a multimodal mobile and contactless fare payments system that will use an open architecture to make it possible to quickly and easily add support for new payments technologies... More