Lithuanian supermarket chain IKI has opened its second contactless convenience store in the capital Vilnius, enabling customers to check in at the store door by tapping their payment card, mobile wallet or retailer’s app, select the products they want and pay for their purchases without needing to scan them, by tapping their payment card as they leave... More
The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple a patent for an “electronic device including palm biometric sensor layer” that would enable users to unlock a device and authenticate other interactions on a smartphone, smartwatch or other wearable by verifying their identity with their palm... More
Researchers at North Carolina State University in the USA have developed and tested a technique for integrating low-cost wearable devices such as motion sensors into clothing by embroidering patches containing yarns that draw energy from a wearer’s movements onto standard fabric or already existing garments... More
UK supermarket chain Tesco is to open three hybrid stores that give customers the option of choosing a checkout-free, automated shopping experience, an unattended self-checkout station or a conventional, manned checkout... More
Airports in the USA and elsewhere around the world could soon begin testing biometric access control cards that use a built-in fingerprint sensor to verify the identity of employees or other authorised cardholders at points of entry to secure areas... More
Merchants across the US will soon be able to accept biometric payments authenticated by a customer’s fingerprint using a point-of-sale (POS) solution launched by payment processing provider Green Payments... More
Supermarket chain Aldi is trialling its first checkout-free contactless store in continental Europe in the Dutch city of Utrecht, enabling customers to enter the store by scanning an app, selecting items from the shelves and then leaving without needing to scan their purchases or use a conventional checkout... More
The US Patent and Trademark Office has granted Apple a patent for an “electronic device having sealed button biometric sensing system” that would enable users to unlock a device, authorise transactions and access apps by verifying their identity with their fingerprint on a wearable device such as an Apple Watch... More
The number of checkout-free contactless stores around the world increased from 87 in 2020 to 252 in 2021 and will rise by more than 90% a year to exceed 12,000 by the end of 2027, according to Retail Banking Research (RBR)... More
Iberian fuel station network Galp has opened its first contactless convenience store on a forecourt in Lisbon in Portugal, enabling customers to select food, snacks, beverages and non-perishable goods from the shelves and leave without needing to scan their purchases or wait in line to use a checkout... More
Fans attending baseball matches at Fenway Park in Boston in the USA can now purchase food and drink at two outlets in the Boston Red Sox stadium using AI-powered contactless point of sale technology... More
Customers using Armoire clothing rental store in Seattle in the US can now collect and return fashion items by simply picking them up or leaving them on a table in the store... More
Researchers based at Northwestern University in the US have developed ‘flying microchips’ or microfliers the size of a grain of sand that incorporate micro-sensors and use NFC to harvest ambient energy and transfer data to a smartphone, tablet or computer... More
Banks in India, Poland, Iraq, Mexico, Lebanon and Egypt are among those set to trial biometric payment cards that enable customers to authenticate contactless payments with their fingerprints... More
France-based supermarket chain Carrefour has opened its first contactless convenience store in Paris that allows customers to walk in, select the items they wish to purchase and pay for them without needing to register or check in at the entrance, download an app or scan their purchases with their mobile device or at a checkout... More
Two US stores owned by retail giant Albertsons are trialling a self-checkout shopping trolley that enables customers to select and scan items while they shop, compare products and receive personalised recommendations via an on-cart screen, and pay for their purchases by inserting or tapping their payments card without visiting a checkout... More
UK supermarket chain Tesco has opened its first checkout-free store in central London, enabling customers to check in at the store entrance with a smartphone app, select the products they want and leave without needing to scan their purchases or pay for them at the checkout... More
Portuguese supermarket chain Continente has opened its first autonomous cashierless store in Lisbon, enabling customers to use a QR code generated in the company’s Labs app to access the shop and automatically pay for their purchases from their mobile phone without needing to scan their goods or use a checkout... More
Customers at a supermarket in the German city of Cologne owned by retail giant Rewe will soon be able to enter the store by scanning a QR code, selecting the items they wish to buy and paying for them from their mobile phone without needing to scan their purchases or use a checkout... More
NFC labels attached to disposable insulin pens are enabling diabetes patients who self-administer regular insulin injections to ensure that they adhere to their therapy plans as well as receiving interactive guidance and assistance with their treatment... More
