Tencent-backed WeBank and Ant-backed MyBank are conducting “preliminary work under the guidance of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC)” in order to integrate the digital yuan wallet into their payment and banking services, according to a China Securities report... More
American Express cardholders can now receive detailed digital receipts for their card transactions to identify and check their purchases from larger retailers via the company’s app or website... More
Passengers travelling from Ottawa’s Rideau Station can now purchase single-ride adult fares on the Canadian capital’s light rail transit network by tapping to pay with their credit card or mobile wallet at a pilot touchless entry gate... More
Biometric payment cards containing a built-in fingerprint sensor could generate more than US$5bn in global banking revenue and account for 15% of the market by 2026, according to a forecast by analysts at Swiss bank UBS... More
Chinese consumers taking part in the large-scale testing of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Beijing over the Chinese New Year period are trialling a biometric ‘hard wallet’ card developed by the Postal Savings Bank of China... More
Estonia is to test digital vaccine passports that will enable residents to prove they have been inoculated against Covid-19 as part of a project to create a globally recognised electronic certification programme... More
The Green Leaves+ shop-and-go store in the Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel in Japan is piloting a biometrics-enabled checkout-free service that allows customers to enter the store by verifying their identity with just their face and a swipe of their palm... More
US supermarket chain Kroger is to pilot its first all self-checkout grocery store in Dallas, Texas, enabling customers to scan and pay for their purchases without needing to go through a cashier-staffed checkout lane... More
More than four-fifths of the world’s central banks (86%) are engaged in “some form of work” on a central bank digital currency (CBDC), up from “about one third” in 2019, according to a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) survey... More
At least eight major banks, including Hong Kong-based China CITIC Bank, have now introduced or are in the process of introducing digital wallets that support China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), according to local media reports... More
Employees travelling on Seoul Metro’s Ui-Sinseol light rapid transit line in South Korea are testing a face recognition payment system that enables passengers to pay their fares without needing to tap a smartphone or card or remove their face mask... More
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is to follow its pilots of NFC-based contactless digital currency payments with the distribution of a further 20m digital yuan (US$3.1m) in a third ‘red envelope’ lottery to be held in the city of Shenzhen... More
China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) has revealed plans to develop a universal digital payments network (UDPN) based on standardised procedures for international transfers and payments with and between central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)... More
A coalition of technology and healthcare providers in the US has launched an initiative to develop a solution that will enable individuals to store and access their Covid-19 vaccination records in their digital wallet “in a secure, verifiable and privacy preserving way”... More
UK residents are to take part in a pilot of a digital immunity and vaccination passport that enables them to use their mobile phone to disclose their Covid-19 test results or vaccination status without revealing their identity... More
The Agricultural Bank of China has launched pilot ATMs that enable customers in Shenzhen to deposit and withdraw money in the form of digital yuan, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has expanded its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot to include a contactless ‘hard wallet’ and NFC wearables that enable consumers to make in-store and transit fare payments with their digital yuan... More
KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: Collectible coin grading company Collectors Universe is deploying two million NFC tags to enable collectors and dealers to authenticate rare and valuable coins and banknotes... More
Netherlands-based seed potato supplier HZPC is piloting smart delivery bags that use an integrated NFC chip to enable customers to download information about the potatoes a bag contains with a tap of their smartphone... More
As many as 2.5m biometric payment cards will be issued during 2021, according to an ABI Research forecast, with more than 20 biometric payment card pilots already underway across the globe... More
