Students at an additional 12 US universities will be able to use their iPhone or Apple Watch “to get into dorms, buy lunch and more” in the coming school year, Apple has announced... More
Apple expands NFC student IDs to 12 more universities
NFC
DIG puts premium wines on blockchain NFC authentication platform
Chinese buyers of premium wines are now able to verify the authenticity of their purchase using the Wine Traceability Platform (WTP), a blockchain-based NFC service designed to protect Chinese consumers against the growing problem of fake wines... More
NFC mobile payments to account for ‘just 1.6%’ of in-store transactions this year
Payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay will be used by US consumers to make transactions valued at a total of US$78.6bn this year, representing 1.6% of all US brick-and-mortar retail sales, according to a new forecast from 451 Research... More
POC adds NFC chips to bike helmets
Sports equipment maker POC has included NFC chips in two new cycling helmets “to aid user safety and protection” in the case of injury, Endurance Business reports... More
DHL tracks temperature-sensitive medical supplies with NFC
New logistics technologies introduced at DHL Global Chicago hub — Healthcare Packaging — “Using near field communication (NFC) technology, sensors log in-transit ambient environmental temperature conditions during shipping, functioning at temperatures between -40 and +60 degrees Celsius. The sensors allow uploading of temperature data directly to the DHL mobile app and LifeTrack web portal, making them cost effective and easy to use without the need for specific scanners or devices… DHL has seen a 40% increase in operational capabilities using these scanners.”
ShipChain to use NFC to track temperature-sensitive shipments on the blockchain
ShipChain and GTX Corp launch global NFC blockchain shipment tracking solution — ShipChain — “The NFC tags provide real-time temperature sensing and data logging across the supply chain necessary with transportation of perishables; food, drinks, pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive products that can be negatively affected by conditions in transit. These built-in security measures can prevent the distribution of contaminated supplies in the marketplace and unauthorised modification of data logs, allowing brands, retailers, distributors, and freight forwarders to verify shipment quality.”
Kobelli to use NFC to track diamonds on the blockchain
Diamond jewellery maker Kobelli is to use a blockchain-based NFC platform to provide its customers with a way to securely verify the authenticity of their purchases... More
Saudi Arabia combines NFC, QR and faster payments to speed move to cashless society
Saudi Payments, Saudi Arabia’s national payments infrastructure operator, is to use a combination of NFC and contactless payments, a new faster payments system and the introduction of a common QR code platform to reduce the use of cash and speed up its move towards a cashless society, managing director Ziad Al Yousef has told NFCW... More
Samsung Pay reports 80% increase in registered users in Brazil
Samsung Pay celebrates three years in Brazil with great results — Samsung (translation) — “The excellent results of the last 12 months indicate growth of 50% and increase of more than 100% in registered cards. In addition, the monthly number of active users increased by 80% and the number of transactions grew by more than 260% in the same period.”
ING lets Turkish businesses accept Mastercard payments on NFC mobile phones
Turning smartphones into mobile points of sale — ING — “Turkish small business owners can now use their smartphones to securely accept payments from customers following a pilot by ING and Mastercard. The ‘Tap on Phone’ application allows business owners to use their Android smartphone, tablet or other smart devices as mobile points of sale (POS), replacing the traditional cash register or electronic POS terminal… Any Android-based smartphone or tablet can be transformed into a mobile POS with the ‘Tap on Phone’ app and an activated near-field communication.”
Amorim adds NFC to cork bottle stoppers
Amorim combats counterfeiting with NFC-enabled corks — The Spirits Business — “Leading cork producer Amorim has released a new range of bartop stoppers, which incorporate near field communication (NFC) technology to tackle counterfeiting… NFC-enabled phones will be able to access additional information such as serving and mixing suggestions, product information, promotional campaigns and competitions.”
LG Pay goes live in the US with NFC and mag stripe mobile payments
LG has launched its LG Pay mobile payments service in the US, enabling owners of its G8 ThinQ smartphone to make payments via NFC in stores equipped with a contactless POS terminal — and in stores with a magnetic stripe terminal using Wireless Magnetic Communication (WMC)... More
Qualcomm to include NFC in entry-level smartphone platform
New Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform raises the bar for mass market devices — Qualcomm — “The Qualcomm 215 Mobile Platform debuts the following ‘firsts’ in the 2-series: 64-bit CPU, Dual-ISP, supports up to 13MP photo capture, support for Full HD (1080p) video capture, support for HD+ resolution display, hexagon DSP for audio and sensor processing, support for Dual SIM with Dual VoLTE, EVS voice calls, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, support for NFC payments on Android.”
Telekom Slovenije launches mobile wallet that supports NFC, QR, P2P, bill splitting and transit ticketing payments
Telekom Slovenije launches the Valu smart wallet — Telekom Slovenije — “Valu smart wallet is available in Slovenia as a mobile app from 13 June, and combines in one place mobile payment services, transfer of funds between users, splitting the bill, as well as identification and use of local infrastructure services, such as purchasing Slovenian Railways train tickets… Valu also supports payments with a QR code (on Android and iOS devices) or NFC technology (Android devices).”
Maybank lets merchants accept contactless payments on their NFC phones
Maybank aims 10,000 device acceptance for Tap2Phone — The Star Online — “The payment solution enables small businesses to accept card payments from customers via the app on their mobile phones, without the need for a point-of-sale terminal… The Tap2Phone service accepts all contactless payments for transactions of RM250 [US$60.42] and below… Tap2Phone is supported by the latest Android-based smartphones equipped with near-field communication and trusted execution environment technologies.”
Greater Anglia lets train passengers use NFC phones to top up travel cards
Dramatic increase in Smart Card use — Greater Anglia — “We’ve upgraded our Greater Anglia app so that if you have an Android phone, you can hold your Smart Card against it and it will automatically transfer the products you have bought from the website or app, onto your Smart Card… We’ve also enabled staff phones to be able to instantly check the validity of Smart Cards. So passengers can use their card with confidence, and at the same time the systems we have introduced will help to detect and prevent fraud.”
POS terminals that support 23 different QR, contactless and NFC payments services roll out in Singapore
Unified cashless payment system rolled out at 500 hawker stalls across Singapore — The Straits Times — “The solution, provided by Nets, unifies payments from 23 providers, so dining customers can use different cashless payment options at a single payment terminal at a food outlet. This also saves hawkers the hassle of dealing with multiple e-payment firms. These include e-wallets like Singtel Dash and GrabPay, transport cards EZ-Link and Nets FlashPay, and credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard.”
Paris begins contactless transit card rollout
The first of a new range of contactless transit cards and passes are now being made available in Paris, enabling bus, tram and metro users to begin replacing cardboard tickets with contactless alternatives... More
Eagle Creek lets luggage owners share their stories via NFC
Eagle Creek debuts NFC-connected luggage — Mobile Marketer — “Travellers can see a personalised dashboard that shows all the places they’ve travelled, along [with] a leaderboard that ranks their mileage against the other owners of its line of Caldera luggage. Eagle Creek also provides a lost-and-found feature to help people locate misplaced bags, warranty registration features and detailed product information and videos. Caldera owners also can share information about their trips with their friends, family and followers on major social media platforms.”
Apple Pay goes live in 13 new European countries
Apple Pay is now live in Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia... More