Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken want to support Apple Pay in 2019 — Heise Online (translation) — “Like the savings banks, the Volksbanks offer their customers their own app for contactless payment transactions in the retail sector. However, it is only available for Android because Apple has not released the NFC interface of the iPhone for such applications. The German savings banks had demanded that Apple should open its NFC functionality to banking apps as recently as the end of 2018, but have now dropped this requirement.”
NFC
Apple Pay to charge Slovak banks 0.2% transaction fee
Apple is to charge participating banks a 0.2% transaction fee when its Apple Pay service launches in Slovakia later this year, according to local newspaper Hospodárske Noviny... More
Hyundai replaces car keys with smartphone app and NFC
Hyundai Motor Group is enabling drivers to access their car and start the engine using a smartphone app and NFC instead of a physical key... More
NFC Forum bridges the gap between QR mobile payments services and NFC devices
The NFC Forum has released a new candidate specification that makes it easy for mobile payments services based on QR codes to add NFC functionality, giving “payment service providers and consumers the opportunity to take advantage of the simple and secure NFC-based payment solutions already in use worldwide.”... More
Visa’s SAM makes metro turnstiles contactless
Visa and payments hardware specialist Planeta Informatica have come up with an easy way to add contactless payments at public transit turnstiles... More
NXP opens doors in China with RocketXS NFC electronic locks
NXP drives convenience in Chinese Access Market with ‘RocketXS’ — NXP — PARTNER NEWS — “The RocketXS solution allows a quick and reliable unlocking via fingerprint, Bluetooth Low Energy and NFC. It also takes convenience and security to the next level as all NFC cards in a user’s wallet (phone) can be set as a door key. This means that the real key is hidden and only the user himself knows which one is right and thus increases the difficulty of break-ins and hacking.”
NXP adds support for FeliCa to NFC phones
PARTNER NEWS: NXP is adding support for FeliCa, the Japanese variant of NFC, to its NFC chipsets, beginning with a new PN81 series... More
Apple Pay goes live in Saudi Arabia and Czech Republic
Apple Pay rolling out in Czech Republic and Saudi Arabia — MacRumors — “In Czech Republic, users have so far reported successfully adding cards to their mobile wallets from Air Bank, Moneta Money Bank, Ceska Sporitelna, and payments company Twisto. .. In Saudi Arabia, Apple’s regional Apple Pay website has gone live and lists Visa and Mastercard support for Al Rajhi Bank, NCB, Mada, Riyad Bank, Alinma Bank, and Bank Aljazira.”
NXP powers NFC payments in Sony Wena smart watch strap
PARTNER NEWS: Sony’s Wena watch strap, launched in the UK this week and designed to bring smartwatch features to traditional mechanical timepieces, uses NFC hardware and the mWallet 2GO full service mobile wallet platform from NXP to power its contactless payments feature... More
Belgian banks roll out mobile payments app that supports both NFC and QR codes
A mobile payments app that supports contactless payment via NFC and both static and dynamic QR codes has been launched in Belgium... More
NXP and Identiv announce breakthrough in NFC tag pricing
PARTNER NEWS: A new NFC tag inlay, jointly developed by NXP and Identiv, is now available to order at an “unrivalled” price of US$0.05 per unit, “enabling a new generation of smart products across a wide range of end markets where NFC may have been previously considered price prohibitive.”... More
NFC puck enables one-touch logon to WiFi networks
A stylish wooden puck incorporating an NFC tag that allows iPhones as well as Android devices to log onto a WiFi network with a single tap has been launched by New Jersey-based Ten One Design... More
Researchers unveil waterproof NFC sweat sensor
Wearable patch measures sweat in extreme environments — Physics World — “The wearable device, which does not need a battery or wireless technology, can collect real-time data on sweat loss, sweat rate, chloride concentration and skin temperature. This data can then be read by tapping it with a smartphone equipped with near field communications technology.”
Researchers build NFC antennas into smart fabrics
Smart fabrics made possible by new metal deposition technique — Imperial College London — “Imperial researchers have devised a way to deposit metals onto fabrics and used it to insert sensors and batteries into these materials… The technique could be used to incorporate batteries, wireless technologies and sensors into fabrics like paper and cotton textiles… For example, they created silver coil antennas on paper, which can be used for data and power transmission in wireless devices such as Oyster cards and contactless payment systems.”
New PCI standard to let merchants accept dongle-free contactless payments on smartphones and tablets
PCI SPoC and Contactless standards: What to expect in 2019 — PCI Security Standards Council — “The aim is to develop security requirements for solutions that enable a merchant’s COTS [Commercial off-the-shelf] device to accept contactless payments without the need for a dongle or other type of peripheral reader by leveraging the native NFC capabilities inherent to a COTS phone or tablet.”
Discover adds support for Garmin Pay
Discover cardmembers can now make payments on the move with Garmin Pay — Discover — “Garmin Pay, which is powered by FitPay, is available on Garmin’s latest active lifestyle smartwatches… Discover cardmembers can use Garmin Pay at any merchant retail location that accepts both Discover and contactless Near Field Communication (NFC) transactions. Once a payment card is added to Garmin’s virtual wallet — which can be done through the Garmin Connect mobile app — users can tap and pay with just a few quick touches.”
Public Transport Victoria begins NFC ticketing pilot in Melbourne
Victorians to trial Android-based public transport payment — ZDNet — “Mobile Myki allows passengers to buy a Myki, top up, and touch on and off using their Android smartphone. Passengers will be able to buy full fare, concession, child, and senior mobile Mykis using both Myki money and Myki pass. Auto top-up will also be available.”
Louis Vuitton unveils luxury NFC smartwatch
Louis Vuitton’s new Wear OS luxury smartwatch fully revealed — PhoneArena — “Besides the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100 processor, the newest platform for smartwatches, Louis Vuitton Tambour Horizon sports a 1.2-inch circular Amoled display (390 x 390 pixels resolution), 1GB RAM and 8GB internal memory… The smartwatch comes with NFC (near field communication) technology that will allow users to make payments on the fly using Google Pay.”
Lydia lets friends make NFC payments from shared expense accounts
Lydia launches shared accounts for its mobile payment app — Techcrunch — “When you create a shared account, each user can top up the account using other Lydia sub-accounts, a traditional bank account that you have already connected to the app or a debit card… Once the account is up and running, anybody can spend money. You can generate a virtual card, add it to Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, and associate it with the shared account. If you’re on a ski trip and buying raclette cheese for your group of friends, you can then pay with your phone and debit the shared account.”
Luxochain to use NFC and the blockchain to guarantee the authenticity of luxury goods
Luxochain combats counterfeiting with launch of authentication and tracking service of luxury goods on the blockchain — Luxochain — “At the stage of manufacture, all authentic luxury products will be fitted with an invisible and encrypted serial number (a Block ID). The ID is associated with a token that is uniquely identifiable, to which luxury brands will register on the blockchain. Once inputted, the information can never be altered from the outside. Certifying authenticity at the point of sale using blockchain technology, customers can scan the code and ascertain the authenticity of the product.”