Nearly half of all UK consumers with a tablet or smartphone (46%) now use mobile devices as their primary tool for telecoms purchase decision making, 39% for insurance and 33% for retail, according to new research from location ad platform xAd and call measurement technology provider Telmetrics... More
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British Banking Association reports on UK’s banking ‘revolution’
Mobile and internet banking in the UK is now being used for transactions worth nearly £1bn a day and totalling £6.4bn a week, up from £5.8bn last year, according to an industry-wide report on how mobile technology is changing the banking industry from the British Banking Association and Ernst & Young... More
Nigerian farmers use NFC to access seed and fertilizer subsidies
“In some parts of the developed world, NFC can sometimes be a solution looking for a problem but we’ve got plenty of problems here in Africa and it is an ideal solution for quite a few of them,” says mobile money expert Susie Lonie. More
Android L to offer wide range of new features for mobile payments and commerce
The next generation of Android, unveiled at the Google I/O developer conference, will offer mobile payments, banking and commerce providers a wide range of new functions... More
Mahana uses BLE to help hotels improve customer service
Hospitality technology startup Mahana has introduced a customer service platform that gives hotel and casino staff a way to improve customer service by accessing guest information on the go... More
5.5bn people to use biometric security by 2019
There will be 5.5 billion users of mobile and wearable biometric technology around the world by 2019, according to a new report from Goode Intelligence... More
Chili’s adds table kiosks
Restaurant chain Chili’s Grill & Bar is installing 45,000 Ziosk tabletop tablets in 823 outlets across the US, enabling customers to browse the menu, place orders, leave feedback, access entertainment services and pay from their table, using an integrated card reader... More
Samsung Tab S gets finger ID
Samsung has launched the Galaxy Tab S, a new Android tablet that is available in 10.5 inch and 8.4 inch versions... More
Bendigo Bank launches QR code mobile payments in Australia
Australia’s Bendigo Bank has partnered with Samsung to rollout Redy, a mobile payments service that lets shoppers make payments and receive rewards by scanning a QR code generated by a merchant’s tablet-based POS terminal... 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
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
Samsung to add biometrics to more devices
Samsung is to include biometric sensors in tablets and low-end mobile phones, delegates at the company’s 2014 Investors Forum in Hong Kong have heard... More
Famoco’s NFC tablet finds a home on buses
Lisbon-based contactless ticketing provider Card4B is to offer Famoco’s FX 100 Android NFC tablet to public transportation operators for ticket validation applications on board buses and other services and, later, for topping up travel passes in retail outlets. More
Kiroco launches NFC jewellery, scoops award
UK-based Kiroco has won the Best Innovation of The Year award at London’s Wearable Technology Conference and Expo for a range of interactive jewellery that allows a recipient to tap an NFC phone to see text, video and photo messages uploaded by the sender... More
HP adds NFC printers
HP has added the HP Officejet Pro 8630 and 8620 to its range of printers that support NFC, enabling users to tap their NFC phone or tablet to a printer to start a print job... More
Flypay raises £1m to develop NFC and QR based restaurant payment app
Flypay has raised £1 million from mobile payment specialist Entree Capital to further develop its restaurant-based mobile payment app, which uses NFC and QR codes to enable consumers to pay at their table at participating restaurants including UK-based chains Wahaca and Burrito Mama... More
Sony adds wearable, Xperia tablet, phones and accessories with NFC
Sony Mobile has launched a smart wristband, two new Xperia smartphones, an Xperia tablet and a range of accessories, all featuring NFC, at MWC 2014... More
Toughshield adds rugged tablet
Rugged device maker Toughshield has announced a waterproof 7-inch tablet with NFC... More
Canon adds NFC camera
Camera maker Canon has added the NFC-enabled Powershot SX700 HS digital camera to its line of three NFC cameras announced at CES 2014... More
Visa certifies OTI NFC add-on
OTI has received Visa certification for its Wave NFC add-on, a device that plugs into the audio jack of a smartphone, tablet or PC to enable NFC payments... More