Singapore trials in-car contactless biometric border checks

Diagram showing Singapore's automated in-car contactless biometric border system

Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is trialling a contactless biometric immigration clearance system that enables travellers arriving in the country from Malaysia by car to scan their passport and verify their identity with a face and iris scan without needing to leave their vehicle... More







What's New in Payments

McDonald’s to roll out self-service kiosks across the US

McDonald’s to add self-order kiosks to 1,000 stores each quarter — CNBC — “McDonald’s will upgrade 1,000 stores with kiosk and mobile order technology every quarter for the next eight to nine quarters. International markets like Canada, Australia and the UK are already fully integrated with kiosk service and mobile ordering. McDonald’s has also been exploring delivery in the US in an attempt to meet customer demand and changes in how consumers want to get their food.”


What's New in Payments

Shake Shack rolls back its cashless store plans

Shake Shack first quarter 2018 earnings call — Shake Shack — “Some of the things we’ve clearly seen is that our guests do often want to pay with cash. In the first rollout at Astor Place, we did not accept cash at all. And there are people who have told us very clearly, ‘We want to pay with cash’. So in this next phase, we’re going to go ahead and have cashiers as well as kiosks.”


What's New in Payments

Burger bar to let customers order and pay by face in California

Cali Group demonstrates face based loyalty program pilot in its restaurant operating division — Cali Group — “The kiosks use NEC’s NeoFace facial recognition software to identify registered customers and pull up their loyalty accounts and order preferences… Also in 2018, the platform will be used to allow customers to pay using their faces.”


What's New in Payments

Samsung integrates Hong Kong’s Octopus card into Samsung Pay

Samsung teams up with Octopus to launch exclusively the first “Smart Octopus” in Samsung Pay — Octopus Holdings — “Smart Octopus in Samsung Pay will enable NFC payment at all Octopus acceptance points, covering public transport as well as over 21,000 retail outlets, online shopping, recreational facilities, vending machines, self-service kiosks; plus the use of parking and access control facilities at residential or commercial premises.”


What's New in Payments

Shake Shack to open cashless kiosk in New York

Shake Shack to open cashless, kiosk-only location in New York City — CNBC — “Located in Astor Place, this Shake Shack won’t have a cashier’s counter. Instead, guests will use digital kiosks or their mobile phones to place orders. Manning these kiosks will be “hospitality champs,” Shake Shack employees who specialize in making customers’ time in the restaurant as seamless and enjoyable as possible.”


Alipay uses face verification to unlock delivery boxes

Alibaba testing face recognition technology — AsiaOne — “An army of specially equipped kiosks have been installed across five locations at Shanghai’s financial district of Lujiazui, with cameras scanning people’s faces to verify their identities… Users need to subscribe to a service embedded in the Alipay digital wallet, which gives the app the green light to capture their personal information to confirm their identity”.


NFC World

Galeries Lafayette opens NFC digital showrooms for handbags

An NFC digital showroom station at Galeries Lafayette

French department store chain Galeries Lafayette has added a digital showroom for leather goods at its La Rochelle and Cannes stores, allowing shoppers to place handbags that interest them on a dedicated table where NFC tags attached to the products are used to bring up information, options and checkout details... More


What's New in Payments

McDonald’s to roll out mobile order and pay in 20,000 restaurants this year

McDonalds

McDonald’s will launch its mobile order and pay service in 20,000 restaurants in “some of our largest markets including the US” by the end of 2017, with the fast food giant aiming to enhance its digital capabilities and the use of technology to “dramatically elevate the customer experience” and “unlock meaningful growth and increase guest counts”... More


NFC World

Carnival unveils NFC and BLE wearable for cruise ship passengers

Ocean Medallion

Holidaymakers aboard Carnival Corporation cruise ships will soon be given an NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) enabled wearable device, designed by the man behind Disney’s MagicBand, that will let them access a range of next generation services including boarding without checking in, unlocking rooms, accessing personalised entertainment, ordering food and making payments. More




Vein recognition market to grow 27% a year

The global vein recognition biometrics market in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27.83% from 2014-2019, research firm Technavio predicts... More