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
Customers at two Ikea outlets in Brisbane, Australia, can now use their mobile device to scan the products they want to buy while they shop and then pay on their way out without needing to unload and reload their shopping cart at the checkout... More
Apple is delaying the release of the feature that will enable users to store digital identity documents such as their driving licence in Wallet until “early 2022”, updates to its iOS15 and watchOS 8 web pages reveal... More
Engineers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) in the US have used extended-range NFC to produce a battery-free smart fabric that could enable items of clothing to communicate with each other and with nearby electronic devices at distances of “more than four feet”... More
Consumers in the Berkshires region of western Massachusetts in the US will soon be able to make in-store and online purchases and carry out person-to-person transactions using a digital version of the BerkShares local currency... More
The British Standards Institute (BSI) has launched a digital object identification (DOI) system that enables users to access information about individual building products and verify their origin and identity at every stage of the supply chain and construction process by scanning an NFC/RFID tag or QR code... More
Researchers at the University of Arizona in the US have developed an ultra-thin NFC sensor that could be directly attached to human bone and enable physicians to monitor a patient’s bone health and healing from fractures and other traumatic injuries... More
Customers using a combined Starbucks Pickup and Amazon Go outlet in Manhattan, New York City, can now collect beverages purchased via the Starbucks app and then opt to enter a checkout-free “contactless market” and lounge area by scanning an “in-store code” in their Amazon Shopping app or their credit card... More
Passengers travelling on train services in England will soon be able to make contactless fare payments with their debit or credit card at more than 700 railway stations across the North and Midlands... More
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published a white paper that explores potential technical and design options for issuing and distributing retail central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and proposes a two-tier system as “one possible design” for a digital HK dollar or e-HKD... More
The NFC Forum has launched a series of graphics incorporating a Wayfinding Mark that can be displayed on NFC connected products, labels, devices and other locations in order to show consumers exactly where and how to tap with their NFC-enabled device to ensure “optimal connectivity”... More
Nearly three quarters of airline passengers (73%) say they are willing to share their biometric data in order to speed up airport processes and reduce queuing at security, border control and boarding gates, according to an International Air Transport Association (IATA) survey... More
Consumers across Africa will soon be able to use Nigeria-based payment services provider Paga Group’s mobile apps to authenticate in-store and person-to-person contactless payments using ultrasonic data-over-sound proximity verification technology... More
Consumers purchasing beer, wine and spirits at outlets operated by Dan Murphy’s in Australia can now get product information and read customer reviews about specific products by tapping an NFC shelf label with their smartphone... More
More than 488,000 consumers in Nigeria have downloaded an eNaira digital wallet and conducted transactions worth a total of 62m naira (US$151,000) in the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) since its launch in October, according to a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spokesman... More
Memorandums of agreement between Apple and some of the US states due to offer digital identity documents in Wallet reveal that the states are required to cover the cost of systems for issuing the digital credentials and that Apple retains control over when the service launches, which devices are compatible with it and the right to review and approve how it is marketed... More
More than nine in ten transit agencies (92%) are planning to introduce new mobile and contactless fare payment solutions to help support a return to pre-pandemic passenger levels, a survey has found... More
UK consumers who purchase pre-owned luxury watches from online auction site eBay can now authenticate their purchase via an NFC chip embedded in a certification card issued with the watch... More
Mercedes drivers in the UK and Germany will soon be able to authorise in-car payments for goods and services using a fingerprint sensor in their vehicle’s dashboard... More
PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has added two new Type 2 NFC tag chips to its ST25TN series that support privacy features such as digital signatures and are suitable for high-volume use cases including consumer engagement, brand protection and access control... More