JetBlue Airways is to become the first major US domestic carrier to accept Apple Pay for onboard purchases such as food and drink... More
iOS
Facebook to test Bluetooth beacons in New York
Facebook has unveiled a new service called Place Tips that works with Bluetooth beacons, WiFi and GPS to show the social network’s iOS app users “useful and relevant” information about the places they visit... More
Spanish airline lets customers tap to add contactless card to app
Passengers can now add a payment card to Spanish low-cost airline Vueling’s app and use it to pay for flights, just by tapping a contactless credit card to their NFC phone... More
Pey equips merchants with Bitcoin POS terminals that support iBeacon, QR and NFC
Fifty merchants in the German city of Hannover have signed up to accept Bitcoin payments using a terminal supplied by startup Pey, that uses a combination of iBeacon, QR code and NFC technology. More
Kontakt.io puts on $1m beacon hunt at CES
Beacon solution provider Kontakt.io is hosting a Bluetooth-based treasure hunt with a million dollar prize at the CES in Las Vegas... More
Toshiba launches TransferJet dongle for iPhones
Toshiba has unveiled an add-on adapter for iOS devices that will enable users to transfer large data files such as movies and images from one device to the other using TransferJet, a high-speed short range contactless communications technology... More
Google Wallet adds Touch ID
The iOS version of Google Wallet now enables users to use Touch ID fingerprint verification for “secure and quick access” to the mobile wallet... More
Mobile payments platform Sixdots goes live with multiple banks in Belgium
Customers of nine banks representing 80% of the Belgian market can now make use of Sixdots, a mobile wallet service that uses a combination of QR codes and a six-digit PIN to make payments in stores, online and between friends... More
Square eyes global expansion
Square has updated its Register apps for iOS and Android to support 130 currencies and is in talks to bring its mPOS solution to Europe, TechCrunch reports... More
Motorola secures Android and Apple devices with smart keyfob
Motorola has unveiled Motorola Keylink, a US$24.99 smart keyfob that uses Bluetooth Low Energy to enable iOS and Android device owners to track down their smartphone or their keys if they misplace them... More
Korean banks partner with messaging giant for mobile banking service
Korean internet and messaging giant Daum Kakao has launched BankWalletKakao, a mobile wallet service provided in partnership with 16 Korean banks and Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearing Institute (KFTC)... More
Softcard to be on 100 phones by year’s end
US carrier joint venture Softcard’s NFC mobile payments service will be available on more than 100 devices by the end of the year... More
Watchdata launches wearables that support NFC payments
Singapore-based Watchdata Technologies has unveiled Sharkey, a wearable device that supports NFC payments and comes in two form factors — a smartwatch or a wristband... More
Google Wallet gets automatic top-ups
An new version of Google Wallet, now available for Android and iOS devices, offers additional ways to add money to a user’s account balance... More
Burger King to offer mobile orders and payments across the US
Burger King customers in the US will soon be able to order their meals ahead of arrival and pay for their orders using their mobile phone and a PayPal account... More
SIA offers Europeans instant P2P payments with Jiffy
Payment processor SIA has launched a peer-to-peer payments service that lets users send and receive money in real-time with their smartphone... More
Apple patent unlocks cars with BLE
A recently published Apple patent hints that the company is working on future CarPlay functionality that would allow users to lock and unlock car doors, start engines and perform other tasks using their iOS device and geofence technology... More
Survey finds US consumers willing to switch platforms to get Apple Pay
Almost half (45%) of US smartphone owners with non-iOS devices would be willing to switch to an iOS device in order to gain access to Apple Pay, a study from market research firm Lab42 has revealed... More
iOS 8.1 brings Apple Pay NFC payments to iPhone
Version 8.1 of iOS is now available for download, and brings with it the US consumer rollout of the Apple Pay mobile payments system... More
Hong Kong carrier SmarTone rolls out Bluetooth marketing platform to retailers
Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone has introduced ST Beacon, a marketing service that lets retailers send promotional messages to customers with an Android or iOS device using Bluetooth... More