Merchants will soon be able to accept contactless payments directly on their iPhone using Apple’s Tap to Pay feature via the Square Point of Sale (POS) app without needing to connect their device to any additional hardware... More
Digital payments
Visa adds Tap to Phone contactless payment acceptance for taxi drivers in Hong Kong
Taxi drivers in Hong Kong can now accept contactless payments on a standard Android NFC smartphone using Visa’s Tap to Phone software point of sale (sPOS) solution... More
China pilots NFC devices that combine digital currency payments with student IDs
Students attending Hainan Lu Xun Middle School in the Chinese city of Sanya are the first in the country to trial a digital yuan hard wallet device that enables them to make payments to designated merchants on and off the school’s campus using China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) as well as verify their identity using NFC... More
Biometric remote mobile payments to be worth US$1.2tn globally by 2027
Total transaction values for remote mobile payments authorised using biometric authentication technologies such as face or fingerprint recognition worldwide will reach US$1.2tn by 2027 compared with US$332bn in 2022, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
San Antonio adds bike share passes to transit ticketing app
Transport users in San Antonio in Texas in the USA can now purchase, store and activate bike share passes as well as tickets for public transportation services across the city using a single multimodal mobility app... More
Six in ten Germans now make contactless payments
Six in ten consumers in Germany now make contactless payments with their smartphone or a contactless card (60%), an increase from 56% in 2021 and 47% in 2020, according to a survey conducted by Postbank... More
Galp opens contactless fuel station store in Lisbon
Iberian fuel station network Galp has opened its first contactless convenience store on a forecourt in Lisbon in Portugal, enabling customers to select food, snacks, beverages and non-perishable goods from the shelves and leave without needing to scan their purchases or wait in line to use a checkout... More
SunCash lets consumers in the Bahamas make CBDC payments with their face
Consumers in the Bahamas can now authorise in-store payments using the country’s Sand Dollar central bank digital currency (CBDC) from a SunCash mobile wallet with their face... More
Apple staff test Tap to Pay contactless payment acceptance feature for iPhone
Apple has begun testing its Tap to Pay software point of sale (sPOS) feature that enables merchants to accept contactless payments directly on their iPhone at its Apple Park Visitor Center in Cupertino in the US state of California... More
Mastercard to let consumers make card-free biometric payments in store with their face or palm
Mastercard has a launched a biometric checkout scheme that sets out standards and requirements for in-store biometric payment solutions enabling consumers to make contactless biometric payments with their face or palm and without needing to use a payment card or mobile device... More
Google launches multipurpose digital wallet with support for digital IDs, tickets and payment cards
Google is rolling out a digital wallet that will enable users to store, use and present digital identity documents and driving licences as well as payment cards, transit and event tickets, boarding and loyalty passes, health documents such as Covid-19 vaccination certificates, hotel keys and office badges on their Android smartphone or Wear OS smartwatch... More
EU accuses Apple of breaching competition law by restricting NFC chip access
The European Commission has sent an official statement of objections to Apple laying out the reasons why it believes the company has “abused its dominant position in markets for mobile wallets on iOS devices” and is restricting competition by limiting third-party access to its NFC chip technology... More
Apple to add support for NFC peer-to-peer payments?
Apple has added support for NFC peer-to-peer payments to its iOS 15.5 beta 2 release, enabling users to transfer money between iPhones with a tap, according to a tweet. ... More
PayPal and Alipay top digital wallet leaderboard
PayPal, followed by Alipay, are the top two digital wallet providers, with WeChat Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively, according to a Juniper Research Competitor Leaderboard report... More
BIS reports on CBDCs in emerging markets
Providing a cash-like digital means of payment, increasing private digital payment services, supporting financial inclusion and achieving greater payment system efficiency are among the key motivations driving initiatives to develop central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in emerging market economies around the world, according to a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report... More
PayPay lets new customers verify identity with their driving licence via NFC
Consumers in Japan setting up an account with mobile payments service provider PayPay can now verify their identity by scanning the NFC chip in their driving licence and uploading a selfie... More
Consumers in Malaysia get NFC top-up for contactless fare, toll and parking payments cards
Public transport users and motorists in Malaysia can now top up their physical Touch ’n Go prepaid contactless fare, toll and parking payments card directly from their NFC smartphone... More
US digital bank introduces contactless payments rings
Customers of US-based digital bank Quontic can now opt to order a contactless payments ring that they can link to their checking account and use to make purchases wherever contactless payments are accepted... More
Correos lets postal delivery staff in rural Spain accept contactless payments on Android devices
Postal delivery workers in rural Spain can now accept contactless payments on an Android NFC smartphone or tablet, enabling residents to pay for a range of goods and services as well as deposit and withdraw cash from their own home without needing to visit a bricks-and-mortar post office or bank... More
American Airlines Center in Dallas gets contactless food and drink stores
The American Airlines Center in Dallas in the US has opened the first of two contactless food and drink outlets that enable fans attending sports and entertainment events at the arena to walk in, select the snacks and refreshments they wish to purchase and pay for them without needing to scan them or use a checkout... More