Böen Wines is to use NFC tags incorporated into all its bottle caps to let customers easily access information about where and how their wine was made, get advice on food pairings and “share their own experiences with Böen within the platform and via social media”... More
Mastercard enables luxury shoppers to purchase with confidence — Mastercard — “Consumers will be able to shop the exclusive Rodarte pieces at Fred Segal Sunset with the ability to scan a QR code on the garment’s tag to trace each step of the product journey. Consumers who purchase from Fred Segal’s online store can learn more about the product journey and verify authenticity by scanning the QR code when their package arrives at home.”
Amorim combats counterfeiting with NFC-enabled corks — The Spirits Business — “Leading cork producer Amorim has released a new range of bartop stoppers, which incorporate near field communication (NFC) technology to tackle counterfeiting… NFC-enabled phones will be able to access additional information such as serving and mixing suggestions, product information, promotional campaigns and competitions.”
The collaboration of six Nordic banks results in a joint KYC company — SEB Group — “The joint venture company is preparing for its first commercial launch in 2020. The company is autonomous and will initially offer KYC services to the market concerning large and medium-sized companies based in the Nordic region.”
Customer and cashier education, experience and communication at the point of sale (POS) are all key factors that need to be addressed to boost contactless payments adoption in the US and overcome the currently fragmented experience, according to the US Payments Forum... More
Asian communications group Singtel has opened a cashless, unmanned pop-up store that uses face recognition and personalization to let customers select, purchase and leave with high-value goods including new phones and accessories... More
NFC tags represent an “enormous growth opportunity” and are now “ready for the mainstream”, according to a new forecast by ABI Research which is available to download free of charge from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
US wedding planning and list specialist Zola says using NFC in its bricks and mortar pop-up store in New York City has helped to bring the showroom to life and been well received by its customers who use it to build their wedding gift lists... More
Convenience and not having to carry physical cash or cards are the two primary reasons behind the mass adoption of mobile payments in South Korea, where a new poll has found that 79.1% of consumers have used a mobile payments service at least once in the past six months... More
Swiss mountain sports equipment brand Mammut has launched a mobile app that uses NFC to support retailers that stock its products and provide “a new way of bringing emotional and interactive product information to the consumer”... More
Sports retailer Decathlon is using a combination of RFID tags and mobile payments to enable customers to use self-checkout kiosks at its newest store in Singapore without needing to scan the barcodes on the items they have placed in their shopping basket... More
Australian airline Qantas has begun testing a new service that lets passengers pre-enrol at home for its facial recognition-based digital boarding service by using the NFC functionality in their Android mobile phone to capture the photo stored in their passport’s security chip... More
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club is opening a new store in Dallas, Texas that will double as both a technology lab and a live retail store, enabling both customers and staff to test and make use of the latest developments in retail and payments technology... More
Rémy Cointreau is to integrate an NFC chip into the cork stopper of all the decanters produced by its Louis XIII luxury cognac brand to make it easy for buyers to register their purchase and become a member of the Louis XIII Society, a private club “where members can enjoy exclusive content, unique experiences and personalized services through their smartphones.”... More
Contactless payments usage has grown 30% in the UK over the past year to become the most popular card payment type for in-store transactions, Worldpay reports — and the growth is partly driven by an “astonishing” rise in consumer adoption of mobile payment services... More
Card-on-file EMV tokenization, where primary account numbers (PANs) stored in a card-on-file database are replaced with payment tokens that can be restricted to a specific retailer, offers online merchants a way to both increase security and create a near frictionless buying experience, Rambus explains in a new ebook which is available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
Enabling customers to scan items in the aisle as they shop and then check themselves out and complete the payment process all from their mobile phone holds multiple benefits for retailers aiming to improve the in-store experience, cut costs and increase revenues, a new white paper from Rambus explains... More
One in five organizations has experienced payments data theft over the past 12 months — ACI Worldwide — “36% of organizations believe they are at a greater risk of data breach than a year ago. 44% agreed with the view that: My company would not invest in fraud solutions that add friction to the customer experience.”
Grab and Samsung sign MOU to drive digital inclusion in south-east Asia — Samsung — “Grab and Samsung will work together on a wide range of initiatives to bring the benefits of technology, such as enhanced customer experiences and improved income opportunities, to millions of consumers and Grab driver-partners across south-east Asia… The two companies will also work together to expand into south-east Asia’s fragmented mobile payments ecosystem and provide a mobile payments solution that will serve the needs of consumers in south-east Asia.”
Mastercard establishes biometrics as the new normal for safer online shopping — Mastercard — “Consumers will have the capability to use biometrics, such as fingerprints or facial recognition, as a way to identify themselves when they shop and pay with Mastercard as of April 2019… This shift to biometrics is part of Mastercard’s new action plan to help banks, retailers and partners to prevent fraud and improve the consumer experience in the new digital environment. It also meets new regulatory requirements around Strong Customer Authentication set out by PSD2 and is aimed at ensuring a smoother consumer experience and reducing unjustified declines.”
