Mobile payments provider Powa Technologies has acquired Hong Kong-based MPayMe for US$75m and signed up Taiwan Mobile to offer its PowaTag mobile payments platform... More
Platform
BlackBerry wins NFC provisioning deal in Canada
Enstream, the NFC platform provider set up by Canadian carriers Bell, Rogers and Telus, has selected BlackBerry to provide it with a secure platform that financial institutions will be able to use to provision payment card data onto consumers’ NFC phones... More
Alibaba launches mobile payments and services platform
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has unveiled Mashang Tao, a new platform that lets brands and merchants create QR codes that can be used to make purchases in stores, online and from printed advertisements, as well as provide a range of value-added services to consumers... More
PrePay Solutions to offer HCE payments
PrePay Solutions (PPS), a prepaid card program manager jointly owned by MasterCard and Edenred, has partnered with NFC specialist Proxama to provide its clients the ability to offer host card emulation-based NFC services to their customers... More
Charity raises funds via NFC wristbands
Special care baby charity Bliss is using NFC wristbands to make it easier for supporters to generate donations from people they meet... More
PayPal CEO joins Facebook as head of messaging products
PayPal CEO David Marcus is leaving the online payments provider at the end of June to take up a new role at Facebook, as vice president of messaging products — prompting speculation that he will oversee building ecommerce and payments capabilities into the social network... More
HID to demo BLE for access control
HID Global is to show a version of its Seos digital keys platform that works with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) at IFSEC 2014 next week... More
App that turns off debit cards sees massive usage surge after Target breach
Usage of mobile banking technology provider Malauzai Software’s debit card on/off service, which allows customers of its financial institution clients to use their mobile phone to activate and deactivate their debit card on the go, has increased 850% in the last six months, the company reports... More
iKaaz takes mobile payments to Kenya
Bangalore-based iKaaz is to expand its NFC payments platform to Kenya... More
South Shore Line introduces mobile ticketing for Chicago commuters
Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) has partnered with mobile ticketing provider Bytemark to provide travellers on the South Shore Line with a way to purchase and store train tickets on their mobile device... More
Edgetech to offer acoustic mobile payments in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe-based banking solutions provider Edgetech Solutions is preparing to launch a new mobile payment service that uses sound-based communication technology from NearBytes to let people make payments in stores with their phones... More
Top London shopping street installs beacons in 100 stores
One hundred retailers with stores on London’s upmarket Regent Street, one of the city’s busiest shopping locations, have installed Bluetooth Low Energy beacons that trigger personalized offers and communications for shoppers who have downloaded a mobile app developed by landowner The Crown Estate... More
French retailer uses PowaTag to create 10,000 virtual shops, major UK chains to follow
French fashion retailer Comptoir des Cotonniers is using a platform developed by Powa Technologies to turn posters, billboards, magazines, cafe table tops, postcards, flyers and clothing into ‘virtual boutiques’ that let consumers order and pay for goods with their mobile phone... More
GE lets retailers send offers to shoppers via LED lighting
GE Lighting and US startup Bytelight have unveiled a marketing platform that lets merchants use LED lighting installed in and around their stores to send offers, directions to particular products and information services to shoppers, based on their precise location within a retail store... More
Bitcoin gets Facebook transfers
US startup QuickCoin is making it possible for Facebook users to send Bitcoins to friends from within the social networking platform... More
Meadowhall shopping centre provides special offers via Bluetooth LE
Meadowhall Shopping Centre in Sheffield, UK is to use iBeacon technology to gamify a shopping event, with brands providing offers, discounts, pampering freebies and prize giveaways. Participating retailers include Krispy Kreme, Hotel Chocolat, Cath Kidston and House of Fraser. More
Groupon lets merchants redeem vouchers via BLE
Prepaid voucher provider Groupon has launched an iPad-based point-of-sale terminal that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to let merchants “instantly recognize their Groupon customers as they enter their business, seamlessly redeem Groupons and save time and money.”... More
Yoyo raises US$5m for mobile payments at universities
UK-based mobile payments, loyalty and rewards startup Yoyo has raised US$5m to expand its service... More
Sberbank to launch HCE payments in Russia
Russia’s Sberbank, Europe’s third largest bank with more than 100million customers, has begun piloting NFC payments in Moscow using embedded secure elements... More
US sports venues to get interactive displays
Sports venue display provider Access Sports Media is to use Blue Bite’s mTag platform to add NFC, QR, SMS and geofencing capabilities to its more than 20,000 displays in 200 US sports venues... More