Developers in Austria have produced an ultra-thin paper piano with a miniature NFC chip that connects the device to a companion mobile app, enabling a user to play a tune on it via their smartphone... More
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Apple digital room keys go live at Hyatt hotels
Apple users staying at six Hyatt hotels in the US can now use a digital key stored in Wallet to unlock their room and gain access to lifts, gyms, pools and other secured areas with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch and without needing to open an app or handle a plastic key card... More
JR East launches contactless coffee shop with AI-powered robot barista
Rail passengers at Tokyo and Yokohama stations in Japan can now order, collect and pay for coffee made by a six-armed AI-powered robot barista — known as Ella — at a fully automated contactless coffee shop... More
Apple files patent applications for sharing passes, accounts and credentials between devices
Apple has filed a series of patent applications relating to the sharing and use of secure credentials such as tickets, passes, accounts and payments card information that includes proposed methods and systems for provisioning such credentials to second user devices... More
More than half of Asia Pacific consumers make digital payments at least once a week
Nine in 10 consumers in the Asia Pacific region have used mobile payment apps at least once during the past 12 months, while more than half have used digital payment methods at least once a week and a sixth have made a digital payment for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (15%), according to research published by Kaspersky... More
Majority of Europeans would be happy with contactless transaction limits of up to €150
The majority of European consumers would feel comfortable with contactless transaction limits of up to €150 (US$169), three times the current European Union limit of €50 (US$56), according to Payments Europe research... More
Singapore rewards transit users for open loop contactless fare payments
Passengers travelling on public transport services in Singapore can now participate in a game to earn reward points for making open loop contactless fare payments by tapping their bank card or mobile wallet on an onboard reader or station gate... More
JFK International Airport gets contactless grab-and-go convenience store
Passengers using Terminal 4 at New York’s JFK International Airport in New York can now purchase food and beverages from a contactless grab-and-go convenience store without needing to scan their purchases or use a checkout... More
Google Pay goes live in Israel
Google Pay has launched in Israel with support for cards issued by the country’s major banks and payments card issuers... More
Eurostar begins biometric ticketing pilot
Passengers travelling on Eurostar rail services from London’s St Pancras International station to continental Europe will be able to complete pre-departure ticket and passport checks before they arrive at the terminus via biometric face recognition technology, enabling them to board the train using face verification alone... More
Sydney to trial multimodal Mobility-as-a-Service app with subscription options
Transport for NSW is to pilot a Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) app in Sydney, Australia, that will enable passengers to plan, book and pay for journeys across both private and public transport services and opt to purchase a prepaid multimodal mobility plan... More
NFC digital car keys go live for Android users
Android users with a Samsung Galaxy 21 or Google Pixel 6 series smartphone can now lock, unlock and start compatible vehicles using an NFC digital car key stored on their mobile device... More
More than 67m contactless POS terminals shipped in 2020
Annual shipments of NFC-ready POS terminals reached 67.2m units globally in 2020, bringing the total number to 140.5m or 68% of all POS terminals worldwide, according to Berg Insight... More
Sainsbury’s lets customers ‘just walk out’ of contactless store in London
Customers using a Sainsbury’s contactless convenience store in London can now take the products they want to purchase from the shelves and charge their purchases to their credit or debit card without needing to scan them with their smartphone or visit a checkout by using a new feature on the UK retailer’s SmartShop app... More
New South Wales to roll out ‘whole-of-government’ digital identity wallet in 2022
The state government of New South Wales in Australia is to expand its digital ID system and enable citizens to store, display and renew a wider range of identity documents and other personal credentials including digital versions of their birth certificate, educational qualifications, seniors card and vocational licences in a digital wallet on their mobile device... More
Carrefour opens its first contactless store in Paris
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
Westpac expands dynamic CVVs to Android phones
Customers of Australia’s Westpac bank with an Android smartphone will soon be able to make payments using a digital card secured by a dynamic card verification code (CVC) that changes every 24 hours... More
UAE launches blockchain postage stamp with NFC authentication
Emirates Post Group is issuing a set of four “crypto stamps” in both physical and blockchain-enabled digital form that purchasers can authenticate by scanning an NFC chip embedded in the physical version with their smartphone... More
Paradies Lagardère expands mobile self-checkout to airport stores across the US and Canada
Customers at Paradies Lagardère retail outlets at 20 additional airports across the US and Canada can now scan and pay for the products they select with their own mobile device without needing to visit a checkout... More
Japanese banks gear up to test digital currency
A consortium of more than 70 leading banks, financial services providers and other businesses in Japan is to conduct a series of proof of concept (PoC) trials of a digital currency supported by commercial banks across a range of specific use cases with the aim of rolling the currency out by the end of the 2022 fiscal year... More