European Union residents will be able to confirm that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from the illness using an EU-wide Digital Green Certificate by the summer, according to a legislative proposal issued by the European Commission... More
Covid-19
Sweden to introduce NFC vaccine certificates
Residents of Sweden will be able to store a digital certificate proving they have been inoculated against Covid-19 on their mobile phone or access their certificate via an NFC sticker attached to their passport by the beginning of June, the Swedish government has announced... More
Care home pilots biometric digital health passport
Staff at the Warren Manor care facility in Blackpool in the UK are piloting a digital passport that enables them to verify their Covid-19 vaccination, test or recovery status when they arrive at their workplace by scanning their finger... More
Israel rolls out vaccine certification app
Israeli citizens who have received two doses of Covid-19 vaccine or recovered from the illness can now prove their status using a government-issued Green Pass vaccine certification app on their mobile devices... More
UBS forecasts widespread adoption of biometric payment cards
Biometric payment cards containing a built-in fingerprint sensor could generate more than US$5bn in global banking revenue and account for 15% of the market by 2026, according to a forecast by analysts at Swiss bank UBS... More
Estonia partners with World Health Organization for digital vaccine passport pilot
Estonia is to test digital vaccine passports that will enable residents to prove they have been inoculated against Covid-19 as part of a project to create a globally recognised electronic certification programme... More
Central Bank of Iran to introduce NFC mobile payments
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has announced plans to introduce NFC contactless payments in the country, enabling consumers to upload their bank card information to their mobile phone and use their device to make in-store purchases at the point of sale... More
Chinese consumers now make three mobile payments every day
Chinese consumers made an average of three mobile payments a day during 2020, while 98% of the Chinese population consider mobile payments to be their most frequently used transaction method, an increase of five percentage points on last year, a new survey reveals... More
Denmark and Sweden to introduce digital vaccine passports
The governments of Denmark and Sweden have both announced that they are to develop and introduce digital vaccine certificates that will enable residents to prove they have been inoculated against Covid-19... More
Covid-19 pandemic cuts demand for plastic cards
The total value of the global plastic cards market has fallen by US$3bn over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the number manufactured worldwide falling by 19.7% from 37.1bn in 2019 to 29.8bn in 2020, according to the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA)... More
Apple to let iPhone users unlock their smartphone while wearing a mask
Apple is to let Apple Watch users unlock their iPhone using Face ID while they are wearing a mask, without having to enter an additional passcode... More
FCA proposes increase in UK contactless spending limit
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing to increase the limit for single contactless payments in the country from £45 (US$62) to £100 (US$137) and the limit for cumulative contactless transactions from £130 (US$179) to £200 (US$274)... More
Survey reports on consumer attitudes to using mobile apps for transit ticketing
Nearly one in two Americans (46%) are most likely or definitely interested in mobile payment options for public transit ticketing “for a safer mass transit journey”, a survey of consumers in 28 countries around the world has found... More
American Airlines launches mobile health passport for passengers travelling to the USA
International passengers arriving at US airports on American Airlines flights can now verify that they have had a negative Covid-19 test before travelling via a digital health passport on their mobile phone... More
Seoul light rail system trials face recognition ticketing
Employees travelling on Seoul Metro’s Ui-Sinseol light rapid transit line in South Korea are testing a face recognition payment system that enables passengers to pay their fares without needing to tap a smartphone or card or remove their face mask... More
Global digital wallet spending to top $10tn in 2025
The total value of digital wallet transactions globally will reach more than US$10tn in 2025, according to Juniper Research, “with over 34% of mobile handsets set to use contactless payments in 2025, up from 11% in 2020.”... More
Vaccine credentials coalition to develop interoperable digital Covid-19 passport
A coalition of technology and healthcare providers in the US has launched an initiative to develop a solution that will enable individuals to store and access their Covid-19 vaccination records in their digital wallet “in a secure, verifiable and privacy preserving way”... More
UK government to issue parents with digital free school meal cards
UK parents whose children are eligible for free school meals will be able to receive digital vouchers they can use on their smartphone or tablet to buy food at participating retail outlets while schools remain closed during the country’s second lockdown, the UK government has announced... More
UK to trial digital Covid-19 immunity and vaccination passports
UK residents are to take part in a pilot of a digital immunity and vaccination passport that enables them to use their mobile phone to disclose their Covid-19 test results or vaccination status without revealing their identity... More
Kenya to combine cashless payments with Covid contact tracing on Matatu minibuses
Passengers using Matatu minibus services in Kenya will no longer be able to pay their fares with cash once a digital fare collection system commissioned by the country’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is rolled out... More