A survey of 1,000 US consumers who are familiar with contactless payment cards has found that 75% now prefer using contactless cards as their primary payment method... More
Contactless
Citadele adds support for contactless payments rings
Baltic banking group Citadele is offering customers in Latvia the option of ordering a payments ring that they will be able to use to make payments at any merchant equipped to accept contactless payments... More
Visa reports on contactless transit ticketing adoption
“Globally, Visa now has more than 500 active transit projects and has helped a number of cities launch tap to pay solutions over the course of the pandemic,” the payments network has revealed... More
LA Metro to let passengers add their TAP transit card to Apple Pay ‘this year’
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
Coca-Cola lets consumers dispense drinks with their mobile phones
Diners in fast food restaurants and convenience stores equipped with Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers can now use their mobile phone to select their preferred drink and instruct the machine to pour it for them, enabling a completely contact-free experience... More
Turin rolls out contactless payments on bus and subway services
Travellers using the subway and selected bus services in the Italian city of Turin can now pay for their rides by tapping on and off public transportation using a Visa or Mastercard contactless card or their NFC phone... More
Carrefour integrates its loyalty card with Apple Pay
Supermarket giant Carrefour has become the first retailer in Europe to integrate its customer loyalty programme with Apple Pay, enabling shoppers both to pay for their purchases and collect loyalty points with a single tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch... More
Orange Bank introduces mobile-first debit card in Spain
Customers of Orange Bank in Spain will now be automatically issued with a digital debit card that they can use to instantly begin making mobile payments both online and in-store — and can also request a companion physical card that comes without a printed card number, CVC code or expiration date... More
STIB switches on contactless payments across Brussels
Public transportation users in Brussels can now use their contactless bank card, NFC mobile phone or smart watch to pay for their fares on any of the city’s bus, tram and metro services... More
US Bank lets companies instantly send a corporate card to employees’ mobile phones
Corporate customers of US Bank can now send a digital corporate card directly to an employee, contractor, volunteer or customer’s mobile phone, enabling them to instantly begin charging online and in-store purchases to the company — subject to a strict spending limit and expiration date... More
7-Eleven lets drivers pay at the pump with their voice
7-Eleven is running a pilot of a new mobile payments service that includes an option for iPhone owners to use Siri to pay for their fuel from their vehicle using only their voice... More
KBC rolls out support for wearable payments
Customers of Belgium’s KBC bank can now add their debit card to their choice of a range of wearables and then use their new ring, watch, keyring or bracelet to make payments at any merchant equipped to accept contactless payments... More
Central bank blocks WhatsApp payments in Brazil
Brazil’s central bank has “ordered Visa and Mastercard to suspend the start of activities or immediately stop using the WhatsApp application to initiate payments and transfers”... More
Xiaomi picks NXP’s mWallet 2Go to add payments to Mi Smart Band 4
PARTNER NEWS: Xiaomi is to use NXP’s mWallet 2Go technology to let consumers across Europe make payments using its low-cost Mi Smart Band 4 wearable... More
Facebook picks Brazil for first commercial rollout of WhatsApp payments
WhatsApp users in Brazil can now make payments to local merchants and send money to friends and contacts “without leaving their chat”... More
Stocard picks Dejamobile to add payments to mobile loyalty app
PARTNER NEWS: European mobile loyalty wallet leader Stocard has added support for NFC payments to its app as it looks to evolve its digital wallet into an all-in-one payments, banking and shopping service... More
DCBank backs ‘reverse ATMs’ that turn cash into prepaid Mastercards
Canada’s DCBank has partnered with technology supplier XTM to provide shopping malls and entertainment venues with ‘reverse ATMs’ that let customers instantly convert their physical money into a prepaid Mastercard they can then use to make payments at cashless points of sale... More
Russian grocery retailer uses cashierless shopping technology to create an automated store-within-a-store
Russian grocery retailer Azbuka Vkusa has converted an aisle within one of its Moscow supermarkets to a cashierless store-within-a store, enabling shoppers to use their mobile phone to check in at the entrance to the aisle, add their shopping to their basket and “simply exit when done”... More
Taiwan to issue stimulus credits to contactless cards and mobile phones
Taiwan is to introduce a Triple Stimulus voucher programme that will enable residents to buy NT$3,000 (US$100) worth of shopping vouchers for NT$1,000 (US$33.34) — or receive an equivalent cashback credit to their card or mobile wallet... More
MTA resumes Omny contactless ticketing installations
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has resumed work on the rollout of its Omny contactless payments infrastructure as part of the first phase of its reintroduction of normal services on the city’s subway and local bus services... More