The Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (GDRTA) in the US state of Ohio has launched a reusable physical smartcard to enable passengers without a smartphone to make capped contactless fare payments using its Tapp Pay account-based ticketing service... More
Payments
Emirates NBD rewards customers for adopting contactless payments
Customers of Emirates NBD bank in the United Arab Emirates can now earn entries to a prize draw for luxury items whenever they make a contactless payment with their credit or debit card, mobile wallet or payments-enabled wearable device... More
Russia to create digital ruble prototype by December
The Central Bank of Russia will build a prototype central bank digital currency (CBDC) by December 2021 using a two-tier structural model unveiled by bank representatives at a press conference... More
Fidesmo Pay launches in Russia
EXHIBITOR NEWS: Fidesmo is rolling out its Fidesmo Pay wearable payments service in Russia with support from eight of the country’s leading banks, enabling their customers to upload their bank cards to NFC-enabled wearables and use them to make contactless payments... More
Google promotes mobile payments in the US with $30 Spring Challenge
Google Pay users in the US can now earn a US$30 reward by completing actions including making NFC tap-to-pay transactions, paying or referring friends, and redeeming cashback offers during a 10-day promotion... More
Forecast: 1.4bn consumers will be using face recognition to authenticate payments by 2025
The number of consumers using software-based facial recognition to authenticate payments worldwide will reach 1.4 billion by 2025, up from 671 million in 2020, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
Long Island University rolls out NFC digital ID cards for students and staff
Students and staff at Long Island University in New York State in the US can now gain entry to campus facilities and make purchases at on-campus food outlets and other stores by tapping a digital identity card stored on their NFC-enabled Apple or Android device... More
Patent shows how Apple Pay could automatically select a card based on the user’s location
Apple Pay users could be able to make contactless payments and other transactions with merchants or transit providers without having to manually select the correct payment, rewards or transit card or other digital credential from within their mobile wallet... More
Visa reports 1bn extra contactless transactions in Europe since payment limit rises
Visa has processed 1bn additional PIN-less, touch-free payments since 29 countries across Europe increased contactless transaction limits in response to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, the card network reports... More
More than 100m Americans to make an in-store mobile payment in 2021
The number of American consumers using their smartphone to make in-store mobile payments will reach 101.2 million in 2021 following a 29% increase in usage during 2020, according to an eMarketer forecast... More
Chinese banks roll out digital yuan wallets
Customers of all six state-owned Chinese banks can now apply for test versions of the banks’ digital yuan wallets as the country rolls out the next phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot programme in the city of Changsha... More
GSMA reports ‘dramatic acceleration’ in mobile money transactions
The number of registered mobile money accounts globally grew by 13% in 2020 to reach a total of more than 1.2bn, according to research by the GSMA... More
Thai and Vietnamese central banks roll out cross-border QR payments
The Bank of Thailand and the State Bank of Vietnam have launched an interoperable cross-border payments system that will enable Thai visitors to Vietnam and Vietnamese visitors to Thailand to make QR code-based payments for goods and services using their mobile banking app... More
Afterpay launches virtual card for ‘buy now, pay later’ in-store purchases
Consumers in Australia can now make payments for in-store purchases using a digital card issued by buy now, pay later (BNPL) service Afterpay that lets them automatically pay for their purchases in four equal instalments... More
Visa settles first transaction in digital currency
Visa has become the first major payments network to settle a transaction with an issuing or acquiring partner by exchanging funds in digital currency rather than in traditional fiat currency... More
Apple Pay goes live in South Africa
Apple Pay has rolled out in South Africa with support for Visa cards issued by Absa and Discovery Bank and for Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards issued by Nedbank... More
Sydney integrates digital Opal card with rideshare services
Commuters in Sydney, Australia, will soon be able to use a digital version of their Opal transit card to pay for taxi fares and rideshare services and earn credit towards the cost of public transportation services they then transfer to... More
European Central Bank reports growth in demand for cash during pandemic
The total value of euro banknotes in circulation rose during the Covid-19 pandemic from €1.3tn (US$1.5tn) at the end of 2019 to €1.4tn (US$1.7tn) at the end of 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) reports... More
Delhi Metro lets passengers top up their transit cards at fare gates
Passengers travelling on Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) services in India can now top up their contactless AutoPe DMRC transit cards at the network’s automatic fare collection gates... More
Apple to use iris biometrics for virtual reality payments?
Apple may incorporate iris scanning functionality in a forthcoming head-mounted display (HMD) mixed-reality headset that will enable users to authenticate their identity when using Apple Pay to make payments via the “mostly virtual reality device”, according to MacRumors... More