Los Angeles Football Club fans attending matches at the Major League Soccer club’s Banc of California stadium are now able to use Apple’s new Express Card NFC functionality to gain access to the venue by simply tapping their iPhone or Apple Watch at entry turnstiles equipped with contactless readers... More
Apple has issued an apology to Chinese customers who were victims of a phishing scam that saw some Alipay and WeChat Pay customers lose funds stored in their mobile wallets... More
Google has extended the NFC capabilities of its Pixel smartphones with the addition of support for ‘NFC-F’ FeliCa NFC mobile payments in Japanese versions of its new Pixel 3 smartphones... More
PARTNER NEWS: HID Global is increasing investment in its NFC-based Trusted Tag brand protection service and expanding its network of solution providers around the world... More
Apple adds support for contactless student ID cards in Wallet — Apple — “Starting today, students at three universities are among the first to enjoy the convenience of using just their iPhone and Apple Watch to get around on and off campus. At Duke University and the Universities of Alabama and Oklahoma, students can now add their ID card to Apple Wallet and use it to pay quickly and easily for laundry, coffee or lunch, and even get into their dorms, the gym or the school library… Johns Hopkins, Santa Clara and Temple universities will bring the capability by the end of this school year.”
PARTNER NEWS: Apple’s latest iPhones, the XS and XS Max, carry an NXP 100VB27 NFC controller, according to a teardown published by iFixit... More
Apple’s just-published iOS 12 security guide has revealed a new feature which will see owners of the latest iPhones able to conduct some NFC transactions even when the device has all but shut down because the battery needs to be charged... More
Apple’s new iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR will be able to take advantage of an update to the company’s Core NFC specification to read NFC tags without the user first having to open an app, Apple has revealed... More
Apple Pay increasingly central to iPhone — Loup Ventures — “We estimate that Apple Pay now has over 252 million users, which equates to 31% of the active iPhone base… Adoption of Apple Pay continues to accelerate exponentially overseas compared to the US, with 85% of users being international vs 15% in the US… With the continued expansion into new markets and new partnerships with banks, we expect transaction growth of 200% over the next 12 months.”
Philadelphia Phillies and Aramark launch Apple Business Chat at Citizens Bank Park — Aramark — “With the ease of a text message, Philadelphia Phillies fans can now order beverages using their iPhone without missing a minute of on-field baseball action… Fans in designated sections of Citizens Bank Park will be able to use Apple Business Chat to place orders using their iPhone’s Messages app to have the menu items delivered directly to their seats, as part of a ground-breaking pilot program.”
Assa Abloy helps enable contactless student IDs in Apple Wallet — HID Global — PARTNER NEWS — “Assa Abloy, the global leader in door opening solutions, today announced the company is working to support mobile access capabilities for student IDs with Apple Wallet… Assa Abloy’s reader technology, combined with embedded HID technology in Assa Abloy locks, will be part of a broader technology solution that unlocks the possibilities for mobile student IDs on university campuses.”
Blackboard bringing contactless student IDs to Apple Wallet for campuses nationwide — Blackboard — “With Blackboard Mobile Credentials, student credentials in Apple Wallet offer secure access to facilities, residence halls and more, as well as payments for dining, laundry, vending and retail… The ability to add student IDs to Wallet will launch with Duke University, the University of Alabama, and the University of Oklahoma this fall. Johns Hopkins University, Santa Clara University and Temple University will bring the capability by end of year and it will expand to additional campuses in the future.”
Students at six US universities will be able to use their iPhone or Apple Watch to replace their student ID card from later this year, Apple has announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference. More
Apple is set to announce that iOS 12 will include “a significant change” to the iPhone’s NFC capabilities that “could pave the way for people to use iPhones for other security-sensitive interactions, from paying transit fares and opening car doors to verifying their identity in other ways”, according to a report in The Information... More
iPhone users are pestered to enroll in Apple Pay — Wall Street Journal — “Apple Inc is nagging iPhone users to enroll in its mobile payment service with a persistent red-circle badge. The strategy has worked with some, but is irritating others who say it is heavy-handed and exploits the tech giant’s clout in ways that could disadvantage rivals… Users who opt not to input credit card information for Apple Pay when setting up their phones now constantly see the red circle over their settings icon.”
Apple Pay arrives in Brazil, partnering with Itaú Unibanco — Reuters — “Apple Inc’s mobile payment platform Apple Pay arrived in Brazil on Wednesday with an exclusive partnership with Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, the country’s largest private lender. The bank said Apple Pay will be available during the 90-day exclusive period to Itaú’s roughly 1.2 million card holders who also own an iPhone 6 or higher. Under the terms of the partnership, Brazilian retailers such as GPA SA will offer discounts on purchases using Apple Pay.”
Using Apple Pay Express Card features in Beijing and Shanghai — Apple (translation) — “To use the Apple Pay Express Card feature in Beijing or Shanghai, you first need to set up an Apple Pay Transportation Card on your iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus or later, or Apple Watch Series 1, Apple Watch Series 2 or later… In Beijing, you can use transportation cards to pay for subways and buses. In Shanghai, you can use transportation cards to pay for subways, buses, ferries and Maglev trains.”
Bunq launches Apple Pay — De Telegraaf (translation) — “Apple Pay is officially not yet launched in the Netherlands by the American producer of the iPhone. However, Bunq found an opportunity to make Apple Pay available to Dutch users by launching an Italian and Spanish version of the internet bank… Dutch Bunq customers who put the new version of the app on the ‘Italy’ or ‘Spain’ region will then have Apple Pay at their disposal. They can then pay contactlessly in stores with their iPhone.”
Annual Apple Pay review: Adoptions jumps, but still a long way to go — Loup Ventures — “The number of banks globally that support Apple Pay increased in the past year by 41% to 2,707 banks. We believe there are 127m global active Apple Pay users, up from 62m a year ago. This represents 16% of the active iPhone base… Between 20% and 30% of US iPhone owners use Apple Pay. ~30% of new iPhones are activating Apple Pay.”
Australian smartphone sales grow in 2017 as users lock into platforms — Telsyte — “The increasing adoption in mobile contactless payments is starting to influence Australian’s banking decisions… Around one in five (22%) iPhone users claim they are more likely to bank with a provider if it supports Apple Pay. This figure increases to 32% per cent for those who are also using an Apple Watch.”