Apple has included a new feature in iOS 8 that will allow shoppers to enter their payment details on an mcommerce site by simply scanning their credit card with the camera on their mobile device, 9to5Mac reports... More
iOS
iOS 8 to include location-based app promos
The latest edition of Apple’s iOS operating system, unveiled at WWDC this week, will provide a way for apps relevant to a user’s location to be promoted on their iPhone home screen, MacRumours reports... More
IEEE tests beacons
The IEEE is using Bluetooth beacons to guide visitors around the International Microwave Symposium being held this week in Tampa, Florida... More
Apple opens up Touch ID
The Touch ID fingerprint verification technology built into the iPhone 5S can now be used by third-party developers to secure their applications, Apple’s Craig Federighi announced at the company’s 2014 WorldWide Developers Conference (WWDC)... More
GE lets retailers send offers to shoppers via LED lighting
GE Lighting and US startup Bytelight have unveiled a marketing platform that lets merchants use LED lighting installed in and around their stores to send offers, directions to particular products and information services to shoppers, based on their precise location within a retail store... More
Apple begins mobile payments talks with retailers
Apple is holding talks with a number of upmarket US retailers to gauge how interested they would be in the iPhone maker introducing its own mobile payments service, according to 9to5Mac which cites “a source with direct knowledge of the talks”... More
Aurnhammer takes BLE on a New York pub crawl
Digital design agency Aurnhammer is using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons placed in bars and restaurants to guide participants to their next pub crawl destination — and provide them with sponsored rewards for taking part... More
Tim Hortons rolls out mobile barcode payments across Canada and USA
Canada-based coffee chain Tim Hortons has expanded its mobile payments service, first launched using host card emulation (HCE) technology in December 2013, with the introduction of barcode-based mobile payments across its outlets in the USA and Canada... More
McDonald’s launches Quick Mac mobile payments in Austria
McDonald’s Austria is rolling out a new mobile ordering and payments service that lets users place their orders on their mobile device and pay using PayPal, a credit card or a stored value Paybox account... More
McDonald’s World Cup app turns fast food into football match
McDonald’s is set to roll out a new campaign for the 2014 Fifa World Cup using an augmented reality app to turn packaging and tables into virtual football games... More
SF Soup to add iBeacons
San Francisco Soup Company, operator of 17 soup, salad and sandwich restaurants around the Bay Area, has selected mobile solutions provider Punchh to create a customised mobile guest rewards program... More
X-Men gets iBeacons promo
Twentieth Century Fox is to use Bluetooth beacons to promote the new X-Men: Days of Future Past movie to cinema-goers in Japan... More
OMsignal launches biometric clothing that tracks the wearer’s health and fitness with BLE
A Canadian startup has introduced a range of smart sports shirts that monitor the wearer’s heart rate, breathing and movement and then use Bluetooth LE to send the collected data to their smartphone for real time analysis. More
Brightwire: Apple signs mobile payments deal with China UnionPay
“Apple is likely to incorporate a near field communication (NFC) payment function in the next generation iPhone and has reached an agreement with China UnionPay on a mobile payment service,” investment newswire Brightwire reports, citing “a source close to the matter”... More
nTrust pilots Bluetooth payments in Canada
Canadian payments and money transfer provider nTrust has begun piloting a new mobile payments service that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons placed in stores to make wireless purchases... More
NFC for Access Control webinar: See it now on NFC World
NFC World’s “Tap to Pass: NFC for Access Control” webinar, featuring the latest consumer and administrator insights from multiple field trials, is now available to view online... More
GSMA upgrades NFC Badge validation for MWC 2014
The GSMA has partnered with nine carriers to add extra functionality to its NFC Badge service at Mobile World Congress 2014, eliminating the need for visitors to present photo ID onsite... More
iPhone users to get NFC badges at MWC
iPhone users will be able to participate in the NFC Experience at Mobile World Congress for the first time this year, courtesy of free NFC iPhone cases being made available by event sponsor Incipio that will provide support for NFC entry badges as well as a range of promotional offers and information services... More
Bankinter to launch HCE-based NFC payments
Spain’s Bankinter is to commercially launch an NFC mobile payments service that makes use of host card emulation (HCE) during the second or third quarter of 2014... More
Allure introduces smart home sensors with NFC and BLE
Smart home specialist Allure Energy has introduced new sensors that incorporate NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy, enabling both iOS and Android device users to have the temperature of individual rooms in their home adjusted to their preferences as they approach, enter or leave a particular room... More