Commuters in the greater Paris region will be able to use their NFC mobile phone to store Navigo transit passes and T+ prepaid ticket books from September 2019... More
Members of the Cool Chain Association (CCA) have completed a pilot test of an NFC-based solution to the problem of how to monitor refrigerated fresh produce in transit to ensure it has been maintained at the correct temperature and will still have a good shelf life when it arrives in stores... More
STMicroelectronics joins Car Connectivity Consortium — STMicroelectronics — “As a leading long-time, trusted supplier to the top players in both the smartphone and automotive industries, ST shares an interest in the mission of the CCC, which aims to make it possible and hassle-free to simply connect and ride… ST’s technology portfolio features many segments well suited to automotive connectivity and the aims of the CCC, including ST25 NFC readers, ST33 Secure Elements, STA12 Accordo infotainment processors, STA13 Telemaco vehicle processors, and Stellar vehicle gateway/domain microcontrollers.”
Ticketek contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch go live — TEG — “Ticketek, the Australian leader in ticketing, announced today [that] Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane is Australia’s first sport and entertainment stadium to offer convenient and fast contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch… Contactless tickets on iPhone and Apple Watch will be rolled out to further venues across Australia in the coming months.”
Portland-Vancouver’s Hop Fastpass becomes first transit fare card in North America on iPhone — TriMet — “Starting today, riders in the Portland-Vancouver region can add a Hop Fastpass card to Apple Wallet and use their iPhone and Apple Watch to ride TriMet, C-Tran and Portland Streetcar.”
ABN Amro to launch Forcefield — ABN Amro — “The platform can communicate with physical trade inventories through the Internet of Things, sensors and near field communication chips. As a result, the inventories, which are often collateral for loans, can be monitored very effectively, which will lead to more secure physical handling processes and a reduction of costs.”
Apple Pay launches in Hungary and Luxembourg — MacRumors — “In Luxembourg, BGL BNP Paribas is currently the sole bank supporting Apple’s digital wallet, while OTP Bank is supporting Apple Pay in Hungary… The expansion within Europe follows the launch of Apple Pay in Iceland earlier this month. Elsewhere, regional banks in The Netherlands and Portugal have teased that Apple’s contactless payment system is ‘coming soon’.”
Hungarian bank Erste has upgraded its Erste MobilePay application for Android phones to include NFC functionality, enabling customers to use their phones for contactless payment... More
Mexico’s central bank Banxico has begun trials of its cashless QR and NFC Cobro Digital (CoDi) electronic payment system with employees of financial institutions including BBVA Bancomer, Citibanamex, Santander, Banorte, Banregio and Fincomun... More
Kenyan social enterprise Food for Education is speeding up the rollout of its Tap2Eat NFC cash replacement system for subsidised school meals following a successful pilot in three primary schools in Nairobi involving 150 students... More
NFC tags represent an “enormous growth opportunity” and are now “ready for the mainstream”, according to a new forecast by ABI Research which is available to download free of charge from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
Familiarity with mobile payments could help to drive adoption of contactless cards in the US but could in turn move those that have already adopted mobile payments back to physical methods of payment, according to a new issue of Auriemma Research’s Mobile Pay Tracker... More
Brazilian transit operator MetroRio, which runs the Rio de Janeiro Metro, has begun the rollout of contactless payments in partnership with Visa, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco and Cielo, becoming the first transit operator in the world to use the new Visa Secure Access Module (SAM) technology as part of the project... More
Android Q won’t have Android Beam — Techradar — “Android Beam, the NFC sharing method where you put two phones back to back to transfer photos, videos, and other files, is nowhere to be found in the ongoing Android Q beta… At Google IO, we found out that it’s not coming back, either, according to the reps we talked to who are working on Android updates.”
Samsung has unveiled a vertical TV which works as a standard TV in horizontal mode but as a mirror of a user’s phone when in vertical mode, thanks to NFC functionality... More
Swiss FinTech brand Armillion has unveiled the ultimate in wearable technology: a contactless payment bracelet that’s decorated with 252 cut diamonds, costs more than £60,000 (US$78,362) and can be used for purchases of up to £1m (US$1.3m)... More
Insurance company Reliance General Insurance is using NFC tags on screens at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport to enable travellers to quickly and easily make a last-minute travel insurance purchase... More
The rollout of contactless cards in the US should have an overall positive influence on NFC mobile payments adoption in the US, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston — but both consumers and merchants have ongoing adoption issues that remain to be resolved... More
Standard Chartered has become the first bank in Singapore to offer customers the ability to use its mobile banking app to apply for loans and credit cards — and, if approved, have a digital version of their new credit card instantly provisioned to their Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay digital wallet so they can make payments... More
Belgian bank KBC has reported on the take-up of the non-banking services such as car parking and transit ticketing that it has been adding to its mobile banking app since launching it last summer... More