NFC TimesThe premier source for news, analysis and commentary on
Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

More than half of credit card transactions at Australian supermarket chain Coles are contactless, and the merchant hit the milestone just over six months after rolling out contactless terminals across its more than 700 supermarkets.

NFC tag supplier Identive announced it has received orders for 4 million NFC tags to support a retail project in France and a payment and banking project in Africa.

Karsten Ottenberg, who played a key role in companies launching NFC technology the past 10 years, has resigned as CEO of Germany-based Giesecke & Devrient, a major smart card vendor and trusted service manager.

Five banks in Taiwan are expected to receive approval from regulators by next month that would allow them to issue mobile credit cards that could be downloaded over the air to SIM cards in NFC phones.

Video game retailer Codemasters Japan is rolling out NFC-enabled tags on game packages in Codemasters Japan retail outlets, Australia-based NFC tag marketing company Tapit has announced.

Japan’s Sony Corp. is producing millions of NFC tags for the company’s consumer electronics devices and accessories, following the introduction by Sony of its NFC-based One-touch connectivity feature, a representative told NFC Times.

Germany-based Giesecke & Devrient is cutting 400 jobs in its mobile security unit, with all the cuts planned for Europe.

A recently released consumer survey by U.S.-based outdoor media company CBS Outdoor and UK-based consumer research company Kantar Media found that only 8% of the survey’s respondents were aware of NFC, up from 6% the preceding year.

Singaporean mobile operator StarHub has added an NFC movie-ticketing service to its SmartWallet, although the telco has added few services since launching the wallet last August.

U.S.-based ABI Research has increased its projection of NFC-enabled phone and tablet shipments to 270 million this year, up by about 15% from earlier projections, the firm told NFC Times.

In about two weeks, Transport for London expects to record its one-millionth ride paid for by contactless bank cards, and the authority says it’s on track to hit its deadline for launching open-loop fare collection on the rest of its transit network, including the busy London Underground, by the end of the year.

Israel-based contactless and NFC vendor On Track Innovations today reported revenue fell by 22% in 2012 to US$40 million, and losses widened to $17.4 million for the year.