A case study that details the lessons learned by mobile network operator China Unicom when implementing mobile couponing and loyalty solutions in the Chinese market is now available to download from the NFC World+ Knowledge Centre... More
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Azerbaijan to get universal mobile payment system
A new mobile payments system is to begin undergoing tests in Azerbaijan this month, according to Azernews... More
Wi-Fi Alliance polishes HaLow for IoT connectivity
The Wi-Fi Alliance is extending its support for the internet of things (IoT) market with a new brand name for products incorporating low power, long range IEEE 802.11ah technology... More
Facebook bots to enable Messenger commerce
Facebook has given some developers access to an as yet unannounced Chat SDK that allows them to build interactive experiences and “bots” in Messenger for shopping, booking travel and more, according to TechCrunch... More
MasterCard and Samsung enable grocery payments at the fridge
US consumers will soon be able to place grocery orders with online grocer FreshDirect and supermarket chain ShopRite by entering the items they wish to purchase into a touchscreen built into Samsung’s new Family Hub refrigerator. More
Yapi Kredi launches HCE mobile payments in Turkey
Customers of Turkish bank Yapi Kredi can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using a Yapi Kredi Wallet that enables purchases to be made at any contactless terminal with a tap of an Android NFC device... More
UK contactless spending volumes rise sharply following increase in transaction limit
Contactless transaction volumes have risen sharply since the UK transaction limit increased from £20 (US$30) to £30 (US$46) in September 2015, research from Barclaycard reveals. Service stations, pubs and bars, supermarkets and fast food outlets have seen the biggest increases. More
More than 10m consumers sign up for PayPal One Touch
More than 10m consumers have now opted in to PayPal’s One Touch mobile payments solution... More
Target to launch its own mobile payment service?
US retail giant Target is in the early stages of developing its own mobile payment service... More
Samsung Pay to launch in China with China UnionPay
Samsung has partnered with China UnionPay to bring its Samsung Pay mobile payments service to China in early 2016. The announcement comes as Apple reveals that it has also partnered with the bank card organisation to bring Apple Pay to Chinese consumers next year. More
Apple Pay to go live in China in early 2016
Apple Pay will launch in China in early 2016 through a partnership with bank card association China UnionPay and with support from 15 of the country’s banks... More
Four in ten US consumers have made a mobile payment
43% of US consumers have used a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet or smartwatch to make an in-store purchase, up from 36% last year, research from location-based mobile platform Retale shows... More
Android Pay to launch in Australia, adds in-app payments in US
Google will launch its Android Pay mobile payment service across Australia in the first half of 2016 with support from several of the country’s major financial institutions, including ANZ, Westpac, Bank of Melbourne, Bank of South Australia, Bendigo Bank, Cuscal, ING Direct, Macquarie Bank and St George. The mobile payment service has also enabled in-app payments in the US. More
NFC stickers enable in-store mobile payments in Zimbabwe
Customers of mobile network operator Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe can now make in-store purchases by tapping NFC stickers affixed to their mobile devices at the point of sale, with funds automatically deducted from their EcoCash mobile money account... More
Half of consumers expect to be making mobile and wearable payments by 2018
Half of consumers in mature markets including North America, Japan and parts of Western Europe expect to be using smartphones or wearables to make payments by 2018, research from Gartner shows... More
UnionPay launches HCE mobile payments with Beijing banks
Customers of more than 20 commercial banks in Beijing can now make host card emulation (HCE) based mobile payments using a new service launched by bankcard association UnionPay... More
Alipay expands across Europe with Wirecard
Chinese consumers can now make purchases using QR code-based mobile payments service Alipay at European retailers that incorporate barcode payment functionality provided by Wirecard... More
Samsung Pay users can win tickets to see Usher
Shoppers who activate Samsung Pay at one of nearly 50 US malls will have the chance to win two round-trip tickets to Los Angeles for an exclusive performance and private New Year’s Eve party featuring American popstar Usher... More
28% of UK shoppers prefer contactless
More than a quarter of UK shoppers (28%) prefer contactless payments because they are easier and 29% prefer paying via contactless because it’s speedy, research from mobile network operator EE shows... More
Samsung Pay adds gift card support in the US
Samsung Pay has added support for gift cards in the US, letting users store, pay with and share gift cards through the mobile payments service... More