Fans of US pop group Airspoken can now access music, videos and other digital content by tapping their NFC mobile devices against NFC tags embedded in the band’s merchandise, from t-shirts, stickers and hats to bracelets and more... More
Commuters on the F1 Manly to Circular Quay ferry first to tap into contactless ticketing on one of Sydney’s most iconic routes — Mastercard — “Paying for a ferry ride is now as easy as tap-and-go, as Mastercard and Transport for NSW bring contactless ticketing payment to Sydney Ferries… In an Australian first, commuters can use their Mastercard contactless card or mobile wallets that have enabled Mastercard cards to tap on.”
Citi Pay launches in the US — Citi — “Online and in-app purchases will be enabled through Citi’s integration of Masterpass… For Android users, the digital wallet also enables Citi cardholders to make in-store purchases by tapping their Android mobile devices at any NFC-enabled point-of-sale terminal… In 2016, Citi Pay launched in Singapore, Australia and Mexico with tap and pay capabilities.”
More than 31m journeys have been made using NFC mobile phones across Transport for London’s (TfL) network in the last 12 months, the transport operator has revealed... More
UK-based supermarket giant Tesco has launched a contactless version of its Clubcard reward scheme that lets customers “simply tap at the checkout to add their points”... More
A survey of consumer attitudes to emerging technologies has found that the majority of both US and European consumers now believe that using fingerprint scanning to pay for purchases is ‘cool’ — but UK and European consumers are divided on the idea of contactless shopping services like Amazon Go, with 40% considering the technology to be ‘cool’ and 31% seeing it as ‘creepy’... More
A biometric ring could replace your passwords, cards and keys — Engadget — “With a fingerprint sensor on the inside, it can confirm that you’re the authorized user. Then, you slide on the ring, and an onboard IR optical sensor makes sure the device is still on your finger. As long as you have not taken it off, you can authorize transactions with a tap of your hand… Token transmits the authentication signal over NFC in most situations.”
Beijing subway launches smartphone version of travel card — ECNS — “Starting Monday, subway travelers in the Chinese capital with NFC-enabled phones can leave their physical travel card at home and use their smartphone instead, Beijing Municipal Administration and Communications Card (BMAC) said… Beijing subway said the mobile pass function does not support iPhone because of Apple’s restrictions.”
Churchgoers in England will begin trialling contactless donations in 40 churches across the country this summer, as the Church of England announces plans to roll out contactless handheld terminals to process card payments for donations as a replacement for loose change... More
‘Connected finance’ app Curve hits £50m spend ahead of UK launch — Curve — “London fintech startup Curve has passed 50,000 sign-ups and £50m spend in beta mode… Driven by demand and ‘exceptionally high’ satisfaction among beta users, Curve will now launch for consumers later this year.”
Rakbank is the first bank in the Middle East to introduce Samsung Pay solutions for its ATMs — Rakbank — “This innovative digital solution enables the bank’s customers to make cardless cash withdrawals from Rakbank ATMs using their Samsung smartphones without the need for a physical debit or credit card. The Samsung Pay solution for ATMs is an end-to-end contactless process.”
A select group of ABN Amro customers has begun piloting payments using NFC-enabled rings supplied by Kerv and smartwatches... More
MTN Benin and Youtap launch MoMoPay contactless payments for MTN Benin Mobile Money customers — Youtap — “An innovative feature of MoMoPay is the ability for users to make payments and receive small change (rendu monnaie) from merchants directly into their MTN Mobile Money accounts, solving the problem of giving small change back to customers that many merchants face today.”
OTP Bank launches contactless mobile payment — Budapest Business Journal — “Hungaryʼs OTP Bank today launched its contactless mobile payment solution, which has been implemented into its Simple mobile application… ‘As of today, Simple makes contactless payment with mobiles available for millions of OTP clients, without having to contact the bank or mobile service providers’.”
Contactless now the favoured way to pay for British shoppers as spending leaps 34 per cent since the start of 2017 — Barclaycard — “More than half (51%) of all transactions up to the eligible spending limit of £30 are now made using contactless… The amount spent by users of Barclaycard’s Android Contactless Mobile app has jumped by 90% in 2017.”
Customers of Belgium’s Belfius Bank can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using the bank’s mobile app, making it the “first solution available on the Belgian market” that enables contactless payments with the Bancontact debit card... More
Visa to roll out cashless experience at the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 — Visa — “Alfa-Bank guests will also be able to use a payment ring for the first time at a FIFA event. The payment ring, attached to a prepaid card, features an embedded NFC-enabled antenna, enabling fans to tap to pay throughout Russia, anywhere contactless payments are accepted.”
Visitors and employees at the newly opened Pleinair Casino in Marseilles, France will soon be given a biometric smart card equipped with a fingerprint sensor that will enable them to gain access to privileged areas and make payments across the venue... More
Citadele launches contactless mobile payments in Latvia — Citadele Bank — “Citadele’s mobile payment service is currently operable in a beta testing programme, where it is being used by Citadele employees and select client groups… Initially, mobile phone payments will be available on the Android operating system… Citadele will soon offer alternative mobile payment solutions for users of other mobile operating systems: bracelets and stickers with near field communication technology.”
Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel passengers can now ‘wave and pay’ — Oxford Times — “This would do more than ‘just replace the existing cash ticket’, managing director Phil Southall said… ‘We’re really proud to be able to offer the ability for customers to pay for their tickets using Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Android Pay on all of our services from today. We have ambitious plans over the coming months.'”