The European Union is to begin negotiating a proposal to enable travellers who require a visa to transit through — or make a short stay in countries within — the border-free Schengen area of Europe to apply for and store a digital version of the credential on their smartphone... More
Credentials
Singapore lets taxi and bus drivers store digital vocational licences on their smartphone
Bus, taxi and private hire car drivers as well as school bus attendants in Singapore can now add a digital version of their vocational licence to the country’s Singpass app on their smartphone and use it to verify their identity and licence status, gain access to restricted areas and earn loyalty points when purchasing fuel... More
Google Wallet begins to roll out in Japan
Google Wallet has launched in Japan, enabling users to store and use their credit, debit, transit and loyalty cards, boarding passes, tickets and other digital credentials on their Android NFC smartphone or Wear OS smartwatch... More
OECD seeks feedback on digital identity recommendations
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a draft recommendation for the implementation and governance of national and cross-border digital identity systems and is inviting comment on the document from government officials, civil society organisations, international bodies and interested citizens and stakeholders... More
Google Wallet goes live in Costa Rica
Google Wallet has launched in Costa Rica, enabling users to store and use their credit and debit cards, boarding passes, tickets and other digital credentials on their Android NFC smartphone, Wear OS smartwatch or Fitbit device... More
Aegean Airlines speeds up boarding with government digital ID
Passengers travelling on domestic flights operated by Aegean Airlines and its subsidiary Olympic Air in Greece can now verify their identity when boarding using government-issued digital ID credentials stored on their Apple or Android smartphone rather than a physical ID card or passport... More
Air Canada leverages NFC for contactless biometric boarding at Vancouver International Airport
Passengers travelling on select Air Canada flights between Vancouver and Winnipeg international airports can now opt to create a biometric digital ID on their NFC smartphone that they can then use to verify their identity with their face when travelling through the airports... More
OpenWallet Foundation announces 37 backers for open source digital wallet project
The Linux Foundation Europe’s initiative to build an open source engine that will support the development of interoperable digital wallets across use cases including digital identity, credential authentication and payments has gone live with the backing of 37 private, nonprofit, academic and government entities... More
Monash University introduces NFC student IDs
Australia’s Monash University has become the first in the country to let students and staff add a digital version of their ID card to their iPhone, Apple Watch or Android smartphone and then use their mobile credential “to complete any action that would have previously required a physical ID card”... More
MEPs approve draft legislative framework for European Digital Identity Wallet
The European Union’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee has approved a proposed update to the European Digital Identity Framework that will enable the issuance and usage of the EU’s European Digital Identity Wallet and enable EU citizens to store digital identity credentials on their smartphone... More
Google rolls out Android 14 developer preview with credentials manager and passkeys support
Google has released a developer preview of its Android 14 update that includes support for a credential manager API that allows app developers to simplify the sign-in interface and authentication process for end-users by aggregating multiple sign-in options... More
Samsung Wallet to go live in eight more markets
Samsung Wallet will soon go live in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, enabling users to store and use digital payment, loyalty, membership and identity cards, digital keys, boarding passes and other credentials on their compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone... More
Queensland to expand mobile driving licence pilot
Residents of Townsville in northern Queensland will soon be able to store and use digital versions of their driving licence, marine licence and photo ID cards on their smartphone when the Australian state launches the next phase of its Digital Licence app trial prior to a state-wide rollout due later this year... More
EU to begin large-scale European Digital Identity Wallet pilots for multiple use cases
The European Commission has selected four proposals for large-scale pilot programmes to test the European Digital Identity Wallet across multiple use cases, including in-store, online and cross-border payments, travel, ecommerce, access to services and credential verification... More
One in two Brazilians now store contactless credentials on their smartphone
More than half of the Brazilian population are now storing and using a digital version of their voter ID card (54%) or driving licence (51%) on their smartphone, while just over four in ten have a digital vaccination card (43%) and one in four have uploaded the recently launched digital Carta de Identidade Nacional national ID card (25%), according to a survey... More
IATA publishes standards to support rollout of contactless biometric ID for document-free international air travel
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published a set of industry standards for a mechanism that will enable international air passengers to pass through all airport processes using only contactless biometric recognition technology by generating verified digital travel credentials and sending them to destination authorities and airlines in advance of travel... More
Warsaw skyscraper gets contactless mobile access control
Employees of businesses with offices in the Skyliner building in the Polish capital of Warsaw can now get “touchless entry” to their workplace and shared amenities with a digital credential stored in an app on their Apple or Android smartphone... More
NFCW invites readers to showcase their contactless products and services at Contactless World Congress
Each of NFCW’s Contactless World Congress events in 2023 will include a supplier showcase session that will let readers discover the latest products and services from across the contactless ecosystem — just like they would when visiting the exhibition floor at a physical event... More
Samsung Wallet goes live in Qatar and South Africa
Samsung Wallet has gone live in Qatar and South Africa, enabling users to store and use their digital payment, loyalty, membership and identity cards, digital keys, boarding passes and other credentials on their compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone... More
Contactless World Congress to explore the future of contactless payments, credentials, ticketing and beyond in 2023
Contactless World Congress will dive deep into the future of contactless payments, ticketing and credentials in 2023 with a series of five live events that explore the very latest innovations in contactless technology from across the world... More