More than half (53%) of today’s shoppers have used a mobile contactless payment option for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a survey by USA-based Inmar Intelligence... More
Covid-19
More than 500m iPhone users have now activated Apple Pay
The number of iPhone users globally that have activated Apple Pay has grown by 66m over the past year, from 441m in September 2019 to 507m in September 2020, according to a study published by Loup Ventures... More
Saudi Arabia reports ‘phenomenal’ increase in NFC mobile payments
NFC mobile payments accounted for 25% of overall POS transaction volumes in Saudi Arabia in September, Saudi Payments reports... More
Six in ten Europeans abandon digital bank applications during onboarding
Nearly two-thirds of consumers in Europe (63%) have abandoned a digital bank application in the past year, compared with 40% in 2019, according to new research... More
NFC Forum reports on consumer attitudes and adoption trends across the world
Seven in ten consumers are confident with the security contactless cards/mobile wallets provide and 88% report a consistently positive user experience with NFC contactless technologies, a survey of consumers in nine countries around the world has found... More
Visa: Consumers have made an extra 500m touch-free payments in Europe since contactless limits were increased
Visa has processed 500m additional PIN-less, touch-free transactions since contactless payment limits were increased in 29 countries across Europe in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the card network reports... More
Six in ten US merchants now accept contactless payments
The percentage of merchants in the USA that now accept contactless payments has risen to 58% from 40% last year, while those accepting mobile payments from digital wallets has gone up to 56% from last year’s 44%, according to research released by the National Retail Federation (NRF)... More
University of New Mexico uses campus ID cards to combat spread of Covid-19
The University of New Mexico (UNM) in Albuquerque, USA, has introduced an ID scanning program at the entrances to its busiest campus buildings to collect contact information and improve the contact-tracing process during the Covid-19 pandemic... More
Digital wallet user base to increase to 4bn by 2024
The number of digital wallet users globally will increase from 2.3bn in 2019 to 4bn in 2024 and global non-cash transactions will grow to nearly 1.1tn in 2023 from 708.5bn in 2019, according to the World Payments Report 2020... More
HID Global adds employee IDs to Nymi biometric workplace wearables
PARTNER NEWS: Employers can now provide their staff with a wearable wristband that uses continuous biometric authentication to enable them to securely gain hands-free access to buildings, devices and computer networks throughout the working day... More
PBOC reports results of central bank digital currency pilot
More than 113,000 Chinese consumers have now used a digital wallet supporting “multiple payment methods, including barcode, facial recognition and tap-and-go transactions” to conduct a transaction using China’s new central bank digital currency, the People’s Bank of China has revealed. More
Pizzahacker rolls out QR self-serve ordering
Diners at the Pizzahacker restaurant in Mill Valley, California, can now use a self-serve feature to place their order on their mobile device by scanning a QR code and selecting what they want to eat and drink on the restaurant’s mobile-enabled ordering page... More
IDC: One in two wearables to include contactless payments support
Global shipments of wearable devices will reach a total of 396m units this year and increase to 637.1m in 2024, with the proportion of those offering support for contactless payments set to rise to nearly 50% by the end of the year, International Data Corp (IDC) predicts... More
First Bus enables Apple Pay Express Mode for contactless ticketing
Apple Pay users travelling on First Bus services in the UK can now pay for their fares with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch without having to authenticate their payment with Face ID or Touch ID... More
One in five Japanese consumers to make mobile payments in stores this year
The number of people in Japan who use their smartphone to make mobile payments at the point of sale will reach 23.9 million — 21.5% of the population — by the end of this year, up from 19.1 million in 2019, according to an eMarketer forecast... More
Marshall University transitions to mobile-only NFC ID cards for staff and students
Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, USA, has responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by switching to a mobile-only ID system, removing the need to issue physical cards or for students to visit the campus ID office in person to register for a card and have their photograph taken... More
Survey: Four in ten US and UK consumers ready to use QR codes for payments
The popularity of QR codes has “skyrocketed” in the USA and UK this year, with 53% of consumers saying they want to see QR codes used more broadly in future and 43% that they plan to use a QR code as a payment method soon, a new survey has revealed... More
Thailand tests NFC wristbands for tracking Covid-19 patients and at-risk groups
Staff in Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) are testing an NFC wristband that has been developed to track Covid-19 patients and people who are self-quarantining in a bid to control the spread of infection... More
Juniper forecasts ‘permanent shift’ to contactless ticketing
Mobile ticketing transaction volumes, including contactless, in-app and mobile messaging ticket purchases, will increase from 6.8bn transactions in 2020 to 16.9bn in 2022, heralding a permanent shift towards contactless ticketing, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
Steamship Authority introduces NFC ticketing on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard ferries
Passengers travelling on ferries between the US mainland and the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket can now pay for their tickets using Apple Wallet or Google Pay and authenticate their ticket on boarding by holding their iPhone, Apple Watch or Android device near an NFC-enabled ticket scanner... More