The bank and mobile network operator plan to follow the introduction of the Unicom Merchants Bank mobile wallet service in Shanghai with a national rollout that could ultimately make the service available to all 43 million of the bank’s credit card customers. More
The NFC World team has identified ten pressure points that suggest the arrival of mobile payments will result in a fundamental change in the overall cost of processing payments and the way in which merchants transaction fees are calculated — and we’d like to hear from anyone who is working on ways to use mobile technology to cut the cost of processing transactions at the point of sale. More
“As early as next year, customers with NFC-enabled smartphones will be able to leave their wallets at home and pay for a morning coffee, an evening out with friends, or groceries, with their handset,” says the carrier’s head of strategy and business development. More
Denmark’s four mobile network operators have formed a joint venture company to introduce mobile payments and a three phase rollout programme that will “eventually” evolve to include support for NFC. More
Drinks distributor Suntory is promoting the launch of Pepsi Special in Japan via NFC tags placed on two Tokyo railway lines that offer travellers the chance to win free samples and access information about the new “fat-busting” soda drink. More
For the Australian launch of the latest edition of the best selling video game franchise, Microsoft has run an NFC-based scavenger hunt that saw limited edition prints being awarded to the first person to tap or scan in at each of 400 out-of-home advertising billboards located around Sydney and Melbourne. More
The sale suggests that Apple’s interest in acquiring Authentec lies with the company’s innovative combined fingerprint and NFC solution, which is not part of the division being acquired by Inside Secure, and will lead to renewed speculation that Apple will include NFC in future iPhones and other devices. More
The prepaid card specialist’s 84 financial institution clients will be able to provide customers with mobile wallets based on DeviceFidelity’s Moneto platform, which uses NFC-enabled cases and microSD cards to add mobile payments capabilities to Apple iPhone and Android devices. More
The new Android 4.2 Jelly Bean mobile phone and tablet reference devices make use of a Broadcom NFC controller chip instead of the NXP chips Google used in earlier models. Broadcom has also contributed its NFC software stack to the Android Open Source Project. More
In the November edition of Mobile Wallet Outlook, the monthly trends bulletin for subscribers to The Mobile Wallet Report, the NFC World team examines the role US merchants plan to play in mobile payments and how the move to mobile is creating new opportunities for alternative players to define the bank account of the future. More
Cardholders can use V.me at 23 merchants today to make payments online by entering just a username and password. In-store payment capabilities are expected to be added in 2013. More
The new NFC solution is designed to offer the same user experience — and the same level of security — whether a shopper is presenting a merchant with a physical card or making a remote ecommerce or mcommerce transaction. More
“As the number of NFC-equipped handsets grows, this technology becomes attractive for advertisers looking for a way to bridge the offline print world with the online digital world and boost consumer engagement,” says the magazine publisher’s Declan Boyle. “It’s immediate, measurable, dynamic and a low-cost platform with flexible distribution.” More
Canadian athlete Simon Whitfield has completed Canada’s first NFC transaction, at a Tim Hortons coffee shop, and customers of the bank and mobile network operator can now order an NFC-enabled Rogers SIM ahead of the full commercial launch of the new mobile payments service on 16 November. More
The bank is partnering with PCCW Mobile, MasterCard, Gemalto and Samsung Electronics to introduce Hong Kong’s first NFC service in mid-2013. More
The world’s largest mobile network operator is to begin its mobile payments rollout in February 2013 and will stock a range of NFC phones supplied by eight handset manufacturers. More
The new CredenSE products can be used as an external secure element in NFC phones as well as to add NFC functionality to both smartphones and feature phones, without the need for a separate signal booster. More
“The consumer benefits of contactless payments are obvious,” says Christian Wirtz, m-commerce director for Vodafone Group. “The potential of mobile to transform existing industries — such as financial services, retail and transport — is enormous.” More
The mobile commerce joint venture between UK carriers EE, O2 and Vodafone is to be called Weve and will initially focus on mobile advertising solutions, with NFC payments to follow later. More
“With the availability of the VaultSecure IC, smartphone manufacturers, mobile network operators and other trusted third parties can co-own the SE and install, personalize and administer their own open- or closed-loop payment, access control, transit, loyalty or other secure applets,” says Inside’s Pierre Garnier. More