News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: Banks deploy OTP cards • Qantas expands next generation check-in • Visa and Gap tie coupons to purchasing • iPhone users max their cards • Subway picks Facecash • Nokia retrieves Symbian • Mobile coupons gain ground • Barclays reports contactless stats • and more… More
NTT Docomo is set to make the switch to NFC standard technology in 2013, according to a report in Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun... More
The mobile network operator, 49.5% owned by the Sri Lankan government, is to launch a wide range of services using an NFC platform developed by Sony FeliCa. More
A total of thirteen cities have responded to the French government’s call for proposals for three to five more cities to receive funding to run large scale NFC field trials similar to the Cityzi project running in Nice, according to Le Journal du Net... More
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: Czech mobile payments • Akbank pushes contactless • Visa opens up • The rich love a bargain • Germany moves to contactless ID • mFoundy’s mobile banking guarantee • Amsterdam shops to refuse cash • Starbucks expands 2D payments • M-Pesa adds supermarkets • WiFi goes P2P • and more… More
The NFC Test Zone announced in December 2009 by leading Russian mobile network operators is now set to go live in November, eMoney News reports, with a ticketing pilot on the Moscow rail-air link operated by Aeroexpress... More
A new research report by Sarah Clark, editor of NFC World, sets out the latest thinking on how to develop successful NFC business models and explains the options available to mobile network operators, handset manufacturers, financial institutions, third party service providers — and their potential customers. More
A new standalone NFC device from Toppan Printing is set to go into mass production next year with a target price of under US$25. Shaped like a thick bank card and incorporating a display and input keys, it can store and display prepaid funds, coupons, loyalty membership details, transport and entertainment tickets and advertising. More
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: Caen bids for NFC • Sprint adds mobile wallet • Vivotech’s Dubai deal • Microsoft tags retailers • Mobile payments boost banks • Paying cash keeps you slim • NCR buys into mobile barcodes More
China’s second largest mobile network operator is preparing to launch commercial NFC services in four cities from next month, according to reports in the Chinese media. Commuters in Beijing will be able to make payments using either an NFC phone or an add-on to their existing phone. More
HID Global has introduced a new embedded reader platform which is designed to make it easy for solutions providers to develop services that combine both closed and open loop payment schemes as well as leading transport ticketing technologies and protocols... More
News in brief from the NFC world and beyond: Mass transit aims for contactless standard • O2’s location-based ads • Mobile barcode usage up 700% • RF-SIM supplier set for IPO • Proximity advertising to net $6bn in 2015 • UK leads US in coupon interest • and more… More
KT, Korea’s second largest mobile network operator, is to launch a commercial NFC service at the end of October using a new NFC phone made by Samsung. The SHW-A170K feature phone is to be followed with a range of Android NFC phones and KT predicts that, by 2015, NFC phones will account for 47% of sales. More
Dutch card and application lifecycle management provider Bell ID has partnered with NFC specialist Vivotech to provide integrated Trusted Service Manager (TSM) solutions for NFC service providers... More
Transport for London (TfL) will have converted all London buses to enable them to accept payment for fares via contactless bank cards by early 2012 and will complete conversion of the London Underground network by the end of that year, according to a report by regional TV news programme London Tonight... More
Participants in a new pilot programme can pay for their travel on the Lexington Avenue subway line in New York, on the New Jersey Path system and multiple bus lines in New York and New Jersey with a contactless Visa card or an NFC-enabled mobile phone. More
Stade de France, the 81,000 seater home to France’s international football and rugby fixtures, cup finals, music concerts and other events, has signed a deal with mobile network operator Orange that will see NFC ticketing introduced at the stadium from 2011... More
Christian Estrosi, the French Minister for Industry and the Mayor of Nice, has announced details of twelve NFC and RFID projects which are to share in €4.5 million of funding from the French government... More
Despite pressure from regulators to drop its RF SIM technology, China’s largest mobile network operator says it will continue to push ahead with its RF SIM deployment while, at the same time, also exploring options for delivering solutions compatible with the NFC technology being adopted by Chinese banks. More
NXP has joined forces with Ericsson, Gemalto, Oberthur Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Venyon and Vivotech to form an industry group that aims to develop a new generation of NFC-based transport ticketing services. More