Russian carrier MTS has selected Novacard, a Russia-based SIM and smart card supplier, as its TSM provider and will launch the new platform at the end of 2014... More
MTS picks Novacard for NFC in Russia
Infrastructure
Garanti to issue Gemalto NFC microSDs
Turkey’s Garanti bank is to begin issuing NFC microSDs to its customers during the second half of 2014, using hardware and back office technology provided by Gemalto and a microSD payment infrastructure supplied by MasterCard... More
MasterCard buys C-Sam
MasterCard has agreed to acquire NFC technology provider C-Sam... More
Two in three phones to come with NFC in 2018
NFC will be included in 64% of the mobile phones shipped in 2018, up from 18.2% in 2013, according to a new forecast from IHS Technology... More
Five UK banks to launch Zapp NFC and QR payments
The UK’s HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank are to provide their 18 million UK customers with the ability to make NFC and QR code payments from next year, using an online and in-store mobile payments service that integrates with the banks’ existing mobile apps. More
Tim Hortons launches NFC payments service using Host Card Emulation
North American coffee chain Tim Hortons has launched an NFC mobile payments service using Host Card Emulation (HCE) at 3,500 locations in Canada and 800 in the United States... More
SimplyTapp gets funding for HCE
SimplyTapp, the US startup which created Host Card Emulation, bypassing the need to use a carrier controlled SIM-based secure element in NFC transactions, has raised a Series A funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners... More
Federal Reserve reports on barriers to NFC adoption in the US
The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has published a summary of a June meeting of its Mobile Payments Industry Workgroup (MPIW) that sets out a number of reasons why NFC has not yet taken off in the US... More
Hong Kong banks agree NFC payment standards
The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) has issued Best Practice for NFC Mobile Payment in Hong Kong, a set of common standards and best practices that aims to help establish an interoperable, as well as safe and effective, NFC mobile payment infrastructure... More
Google gets around the carriers with Host Card Emulation for NFC payments
Google has introduced support for Host Card Emulation in Android 4.4 KitKat, enabling any Android NFC device to be used for mobile payments and other secure applications — without needing access to a secure element... More
Morpho opens Latin American TSM facility
ID technology provider Morpho has opened a TSM data centre in São Paulo, Brazil... More
MasterCard CEO: NFC should be seen as “a longer term effort”
MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga has suggested that NFC should be seen as a longer term effort, while acknowledging that some markets have adopted NFC much faster than others... More
Hungarian national NFC service enters pilot testing phase
The Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association, an alliance between mobile network operators Magyar Telekom, Vodafone and Telenor with MasterCard, OTP Bank and SuperShop, is launching a pilot to test a new NFC mobile payment solution in the country... More
NFC transport ticketing service to launch in Valencia
Mobile network operator Orange has partnered with Valencia’s department of infrastructure and transport to develop an NFC payment service for public transport in the region... More
Russian bank to launch NFC mobile wallet
Tinkoff Credit Systems is to launch an NFC mobile wallet service, developed by Russian mobile technology developer i-Free, that enables virtual MasterCard PayPass cards to be stored on embedded secure elements in Android NFC phones — avoiding the need to partner with a mobile network operator... More
UL gets EMVCo accreditation for mobile payments testing
UL has extended its testing services to include Application Activation User Interface (AAUI) and Proximity Payment System Environment (PPSE) testing, enabling payments technology providers to ensure their products adhere to EMVCo’s Contactless Mobile Payment Product Type Approval requirements... More
Hong Kong government reports on NFC payments plans
“The HKMA will work with the industry to promote a fully interoperable and versatile platform to enable Hong Kong to enter into a new era of diversified retail payments,” says Peter Pang, deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. More
Gemalto sees profit in TSM services
“Customers will only have one TSM. It’s like a billing system; if you’re in, it’s harder to get you out rather than if you fight to get in,” says Olivier Piou. “I think that we have a very good momentum.” More
Disney MyMagic+ sets a new bar for mobile wallet design
A new report from the NFC World team has found that Disney’s new MagicBand bracelet system provides unmissable lessons for anyone planning, implementing or supplying mobile wallet solutions. More
VeriFone and SK C&C team up for NFC wallets
POS maker VeriFone and Korea-based IT company SK C&C have announced they are working together to deploy mobile wallet solutions for “several large mobile network operators”... More