Australia doubles contactless transaction limit to A$200
The Australian payments industry has begun implementing an increase in the country’s contactless payments transaction limit, from A$100 (US$60) to A$200 (US$120)... More
iTnews
Translink to pilot NFC tags at Queensland bus stops
Public transportation agency Translink is exploring the use of NFC technology as a replacement for paper timetables at bus stops in the Australian state of Queensland, iTNews reports... More
Transport for NSW eyes face recognition for frictionless transit card payments
NSW looks to facial recognition as Opal card alternative — iTnews — “In the transport space we’ll use facial recognition technology to scan customers who’ve ‘opted in’ and linked their Opal account… No more gate barriers – just a smooth journey.”
Australian banks set to abandon Apple Pay boycott
The three ‘big four’ Australian banks that have held out on offering Apple Pay to their customers after losing a bid to force the iPhone maker to open up its NFC functionality could all now be set to adopt the service in the coming weeks... More
Sydney’s public transport operator integrates on-demand transit service into its ticketing system
First on-demand operator taps into Opal — iTnews — “Transport for NSW has expanded its OpalPay payment method to allow the first on-demand public transport operators to tap into the Opal card system… The payment method will now expand to on-demand public transport services operated by Transit Systems in Sydney’s Inner West. The on-demand service, which will launch new week, is the latest in a series of on-demand services now operating across Sydney and Newcastle.”
ANZ reports 156% increase in mobile payment volumes
ANZ sees dramatic uptake in digital wallet payments — iTnews — “ANZ Bank customers made almost A$600 million in mobile payments during the first half of fiscal year 2018… Customers completed more than 18.5m mobile payment transactions in the half, an increase of 156% on the previous corresponding period. ANZ said the transactions were made from mobile wallet services from Apple, Samsung, Google, Fitbit and Garmin, as well as the bank’s own Mobile Pay service.”
Australia’s next generation payments platform goes live
Australia’s new payments platform goes live — ITNews — “The NPP [New Payments Platform] works like a ‘secure set of rails’ between banks so they can send payment messages in real time to each other via the Reserve Bank. The platform allows services to run on top of the NPP — like Bpay’s Osko, which is the first so-called overlay service to arrive on the platform. Osko lets consumers transfer money to someone via their mobile phone number or email address in real-time, 24/7. It also enables them to send a 280-character description with their payment.”
NFC transport payments to pilot in Adelaide
Commuters in Adelaide, Australia will begin trialing NFC mobile and contactless card payments for transportation in 2017, according to tender documents issued by South Australia’s Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) and seen by ITNews... More
NAB tests NFC payments
National Australia Bank is testing a new service that uses NFC, QR codes, SMS and email to allow customers to make mobile payments in stores as well as to send and receive funds, ITNews reports... More
Westpac to run internal NFC trial
Westpac has become the latest of Australia’s big four banks to trial contactless mobile phone payment technology... More