This tech nonprofit Is trying to help homeless people get IDs — Motherboard — “Mini City distributed 500 NFC-enabled wristbands — similar to FitBits or Nike FuelBands — to expand its services to Atlanta’s homeless. Each wearable holds an identifier number given to homeless citizens when they begin the process of obtaining a government ID. Users unlock Mini City’s app by tapping the wristband on a tablet at Salvation Army and other nonprofits like ReStart Atlanta — allowing them to book shelter beds, find nearby employment and medical resources, and check the status of their ID applications.”
Wristbands
KBC to pilot multiple wearable payments options
Belgian bank KBC is inviting customers to take part in a year-long wearable payments pilot, with each being offered the choice of testing an NFC-enabled ring, keyfob, wristband or watch... More
GlobalPlatform adds financial configuration that makes it easier to add payment, access control and transport ticketing applications to wearables
GlobalPlatform enhances secure element deployment for payment-enabled wearables — GlobalPlatform — “Wearables such as smart rings and smart wristbands are bridging the gap between simple cards and feature-rich smartphones by enabling consumers to pay, unlock and travel with a tap,” comments Gil Bernabeu, technical director of GlobalPlatform. “This new configuration standardizes all of this, saving implementers time and money, increasing revenue opportunities and enriching the experience for consumers.”
Danske Bank begins wearable payments pilot
Danske Bank testing new wearable payment solution — Danske Bank — “FastPay is Danske Bank’s new payment solution that lets you wear your payment chip in a wristband, on a keyring or on your watchstrap so that you can make contactless payments without having to reach for your card.”
Manchester City equips soccer fans with NFC wristbands
Leading UK football club Manchester City has released an NFC wristband that focuses on delivering team news and stats to fans... More
Amex tests wearable payments at the US Open
American Express backs card members and fans with innovative benefits at the 2018 US Open Tennis Championships — American Express — “To enhance the overall end-to-end fan experience, American Express will launch new services such as the Amex Band, a contactless payment wristband that allows eligible Card Members to pay for purchases and unlock unique benefits with a tap of the band.”
Handelsbanken pilots waterproof payments wristbands
Handelsbanken, BankAxept and Evry launch contactless payment from micro bank cards in wristbands — Evry — “This micro bank card makes paying for small purchases quicker and simpler than any other solution currently available to customers. You can, for example, have this small waterproof card in a wristband on the beach so you can buy an ice cream as soon as you get out of the water without having to first fetch your wallet or mobile. We therefore think many people will like this solution and will use it on a day-to-day basis.”
Football fans use contactless for one in two transactions at World Cup stadiums
Visa data shows one fifth of purchases at 2018 Fifa World Cup use contactless technology — Visa — “Visa, the official payment services partner of Fifa, today released an analysis of foreign travellers’ spending during opening days of 2018 Fifa World Cup. The results found that in the 11 Russian host cities of the tournament, approximately one in every five (17%) purchases with Visa used contactless payment technology, including smartphones, bracelets and rings. In the stadiums themselves, the share of contactless payments was 54%, inclusive of purchases made by fans from Russia and abroad.”
Dubai’s Atlantis resort installs blockchain-based payments system for guests
Atlantis resort rolls out blockchain-based guest payment solution — ITP.net — “The new payment system gives guests at Atlantis either a wristband or a digital wallet to charge all their services during their stay. Details of every transaction are recorded in Lucid Pay, so that in the event of any dispute, both parties are able to see exactly what was charged for. Visibility into transactions will also help in combating fraud.”
Brazilian fintech Trigg offers wearable payments bracelet to cardholders
Trigg launches a bracelet that works like a credit card — Visa Brazil (Translation) — “The bracelet is elastic silicone, waterproof and was designed for an audience that wants a payment method that speeds up the shopping process and can be used during sports activities, while enjoying a swim on the beach, paying for a manicure or even while enjoying a show, without worrying about needing a physical wallet.”
White paper sets out how fashion brands can add payments, loyalty, ticketing and more to wearable devices
Fashion brands looking to include payments capabilities in their wearable devices need solutions that are pre-certified, inexpensive, easy to implement and offer the wearer the ability to quickly and easily add their choice of payment, transit, loyalty and identity cards throughout the lifetime of their watch or fashion accessory, wearables platform provider Fidesmo explains in a new white paper which is now available to download free of charge from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More
STMicroelectronics unveils all-in-one NFC module for wearable payments
PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has launched a new NFC payments module which is designed to overcome the space and cost constraints faced by wearable devices makers by integrating a miniaturized contactless radio booster with a secure microcontroller in a 4mm by 4mm package... More
M-Pesa rolls out contactless tags and wristbands for faster mobile money transactions in stores
Safaricom extends M-Pesa 1Tap — Safaricom — “Following successful trials over the last four months in Nakuru, Safaricom has today announced the availability of M-Pesa 1Tap in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret and Nyeri… To make a payment, a merchant will key in the payment amount into their device, tap the customer tag, and the customer will then key in their pin on their phone to validate the payment. This cuts down the steps involved from more than eight steps using the M-Pesa tool on SIM cards to just one step for the customer.”
A guide to tokenization — The essential enabler for expanding the world of commerce
Tokenization is an essential enabler for a larger and more complex commerce world as the Internet of Things (IoT) propels payments to a range of new devices, says Proxama’s vice president of product marketing and product management for payments solutions... More
No need to schlep wallet, keys at Universal’s new water park
No need to schlep wallet, keys at Universal’s new water park — The Associated Press — “Universal is debuting a new wristband that can pay for food, open lockers, trigger special effects, set spending limits on the kids and, most importantly, eliminate waiting in lines by sending alerts when it’s your turn for a ride… Unlike Disney’s wristbands, Universal’s Tapu Tapu wristbands have screens on which visitors can get text alerts or see images, and they also vibrate.”
Safaricom’s NFC powered M-Pesa 1 Tap payments solution is now official
Safaricom’s NFC powered M-Pesa 1 Tap payments solution is now official — Techweez — “Payment has been simplified because you will only need to have a card or the NFC sticker on your phone or the wristband. So far, M-Pesa 1 Tap already has over 13,000 customers who were signed up within a week in Nakuru.”
Wearable payments platform to be tested on three continents
A digital cash service allowing consumers — including those without bank accounts — to load money onto a range of wearable items and make contactless payments in retail outlets will roll out across “eight or nine countries” in North America, Europe and Africa from April 2017... More
Wristbands for contactless payments given away at MWC
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and Spain’s CaixaBank have distributed prepaid wristbands to visitors to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona which let them make contactless payments... More
Barclaycard adds contactless payments to watches and fashion jewellery
Barclaycard’s bPay contactless payment technology is to be embedded into a range of high street jewellery and watch brands across the UK through new partnerships with fashion jewellery retailer DCK Group and payment technology provider for the watches and jewellery industry Tappy Technologies... More
White paper presents contactless success stories from around the world
A 15-page white paper that presents the success stories of contactless implementations in payment, transport and events from around the world is now available to download from the NFC World Knowledge Centre... More