HEADLINE NEWS

OTI to Supply Contactless and NFC Readers for Gasoline Stations in North America

Israel-based contactless and NFC vendor On Track Innovations announced Monday it had received an order for 30,000 readers for point-of-sale terminals at retail gasoline stations in North America.

Taxis in Major U.S. Cities to Get NFC-Enabled Video Ads

Riders in 5,000 taxicabs in the U.S. would be able to tap on NFC tags on video advertising screens to download apps, brand information, coupons, maps, music and videos, according to technology suppliers that have equipped the taxis for potential advertising campaigns.

Analyst: Banks Have More to Fear from Cloud-Based Technologies Than NFC

Banks have much more to fear from cloud-based mobile payment than from NFC, even if mobile operators control the secure elements that hold the banks’ payment applications.

GSMA Proposes Global Standard for NFC-Enabled Loyalty and Couponing–Using SIM Cards

May 10 2013 (All day)

The GSMA mobile operator trade group is proposing a global standard for how point-of-sale terminals talk to NFC-enabled mobile wallets to enable consumers to redeem coupons and rewards.

Taiwanese Bank Gets Approval for NFC-Enabled Credit Cards; Okay for Other Banks Expected

Taiwanese banking regulators, as expected, have approved the first bank to issue mobile credit cards that could be downloaded over the air to SIM cards.

UK Retailer Marks & Spencer Sees Growing Use of Contactless

Marks & Spencer, one of the UK’s largest retailers, announced today it had rolled out contactless payment to 644 of its UK stores and said 14% of its card transactions under £20 (US$30.97) are contactless.

Identive Reports Growing NFC Business; Blames Flat Sales, Losses, on U.S. Budget Cuts

U.S.-based Identive Group reported growing NFC and smart card reader business, but fell back into the red during for the first quarter, a loss it largely blamed on U.S. federal government budget cuts.

German Bank and Telco Hold Small NFC Trial; Larger Launches Planned in Country This Year

As Germany gears up for NFC, German bank Dortmunder Volksbank along with Telefónica (O2) Germany have launched a small pilot putting a credit application onto SIM cards in Western Germany.

Cashless Technology Company Announces Rollout of Isis SmartTap on Vending Machines

Vending technology company USA Technologies plans to integrate the SmartTap mobile-commerce software into all of the company’s nearly 100,000 NFC-enabled terminals on vending machines nationwide.

Infineon Introduces New Embedded Secure Element, Hoping to Tap Growing Market

Germany-based Infineon Technologies today introduced a new embedded secure element, targeting the growing market for chips that handset makers are including in their NFC-enabled devices.

Vendor Group: NFC Secure Element Market to Grow by Two-Thirds This Year

Smart card vendor association Eurosmart has substantially increased its estimate for NFC secure element shipments for 2012–by 50% to 150 million units–and forecasts that secure element shipments will grow by another 67% in 2013 to 250 million units.

Gemalto Reveals Some Details of MCX Deal; Vendor Will Earn Fees for Transactions

France-based smart card and security vendor Gemalto will operate the mobile-payment platform for U.S. merchant group MCX, earning a fee for every transaction, in addition to what appears to be a hosting fee it says is worth tens of millions.

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London Oyster Card Chief: NFC Not Ready for Fast-Paced Fare Payment

LONDON – The head of London’s large Oyster card program expressed frustration with the pace of development of NFC, complaining the technology isn’t ready for London transit riders to use to pay fares.

UK Bus Operator Trials NFC Tickets with Orange UK

Mobile operator Orange UK and bus company Stagecoach have launched a small transit ticketing trial, which they say could lead to a national rollout next year.

VeriFone, Equinox Announce Deal with PayPal for POS Terminal Support; NFC Possible Later

May 24 2012 (All day)

Point-of-sale terminal supplier VeriFone is the second major POS terminal vendor to announce a deal to support PayPal’s in-store payment system in its devices.

Transport for London Blames Complexities for Missing Olympics Deadline for Open-Loop Payment

Transport for London has confirmed it will miss its deadline for accepting open-loop credit and debit card payments on London buses in time for the start of the Summer Olympics.

NFC Trial at French Airport to Test SIM-Based Security Passes

May 24 2012 (All day)

Fifty passengers at French regional airport Toulouse-Blagnac will test an application that puts a security pass to access airport facilities on SIM cards in BlackBerry NFC phones.

ZTE: Europe is Next Target for NFC Phones

China-based phone maker ZTE indicated it will be targeting Europe with its NFC phones, although it did not specify models or release dates.

Intel: ‘NFC Not a Passing Fancy;’ Chip Giant Prepares to Push NFC in Phones and Other Devices

All handsets based on chip giant Intel’s current smartphone reference device will carry embedded secure elements in addition to supporting applications on SIM cards.

Payment Schemes Pick Up Pace of NFC Phone Certifications

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide appear to be stepping up the pace of NFC phone certifications as they gear up for the launch of more mobile-payment rollouts this year.

Canadian Telco and Bank Announce Plans for NFC Payment Launch

Canada’s largest mobile operator, Rogers Communications, and one of the country’s largest card issuers, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, today announced plans to launch NFC mobile payments later this year.

Isis Names First Set of Merchants for Trials in Two Cities

The Isis joint venture announced its first set of merchants for the planned trials of its NFC mobile wallet this summer in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas.

Samsung to Embed Secure Element in Galaxy S III, Other NFC Phones

May 14 2012 (All day)

Samsung Electronics and NXP Semiconductors have confirmed that Samsung’s next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S III, will sport an embedded secure chip, in addition to supporting applications on SIM cards.

American Express Onboard for Isis Two-City Launch

American Express and Isis have announced that AmEx plans to participate in the two large NFC pilots Isis plans to launch this summer in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Austin, Texas.

HTC Steps Up NFC Phone Presence with Three High-End Handsets

May 10 2012 (All day)

New Orleans – Phone maker HTC is displaying three high-end NFC phones at the International CTIA Wireless show in New Orleans, including its Droid Incredible 4G LTE, destined for U.S.

MasterCard Unveils Wallet Offer; Expands PayPass Name to Online Transactions

NEW ORLEANS – MasterCard today announced its answer to Visa’s digital wallet and other wallets planned by competitors, introducing its PayPass Wallet Services.

MasterCard Announces NFC Device Certifications; New NFC Mark

May 9 2012 (All day)

MasterCard has announced certifications for 17 NFC phones as well as its own mark that handset makers could display on device packaging, advertisements or even on the devices themselves, showing the phone is able to do contactless payments with MasterCard PayPass.

Samsung Unveils Galaxy S III, Supporting NFC Payments and Enhanced P2P

May 4 2012 (All day)

Samsung Electronics has introduced its much-anticipated Galaxy S III, which, as expected, will support NFC for mobile payment, along with an enhanced version of Google’s Android Beam peer-to-peer pairing-and-sharing feature.

Barnes & Noble First E-Reader Seller to Disclose Plans for NFC Support

In a first for an e-reader seller, the CEO of bookstore chain Barnes & Noble said the company plans to include NFC chips in its Nook e-readers, which he said could make the connection between the devices and the company’s physical stores.

Airline to Introduce NFC App Following Successful Sticker Launch

May 3 2012 (All day)

Scandinavian Airlines plans to introduce an NFC application for frequent flyers as early as this summer, enabling those with Android NFC phones to tap for a faster flow through check-in, security screening and boarding.

Report: Google and PayPal Challenge UK Joint Venture Plans

Google and PayPal have reportedly expressed concerns to European antitrust regulators, saying they fear that if major UK mobile operators are allowed to form their proposed NFC mobile-commerce joint venture, they would have too much power to control secure elements in NFC phones, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

Telefónica UK Launches O2 Wallet; Promises NFC Later in 2012

Telefónica UK, known as O2, launched its long anticipated O2 Wallet today, offering text-based money transfers and online product searches and purchasing, but no NFC yet.

Wentker Departs Visa; Bains Leaves GSM Association

Dave Wentker, considered the No. 2 man in Visa Inc.’s mobile-payment unit and a former vice chairman of the NFC Forum, has left the payment network after more than 15 years, NFC Times has learned.

Oberthur Gets Telco Group TSM Contract but Loses Key French Bank

France-based Oberthur Technologies has won a key contract to serve as trusted service manager for France Telecom-Orange group, but lost a TSM contract with big French bank BNP Paribas, NFC Times has learned.

Google Puts Wallet Phone on Sale Directly to U.S. Consumers

Apr 25 2012 (All day)

Google has put an unlocked version of its Galaxy Nexus Android phone on sale for GSM networks in the United States, which would open up the Google Wallet to customers of AT&T and T-Mobile.

Inside Sees Fall in First Quarter Sales, Share Price

NFC and contactless chip supplier Inside Secure reported revenue fell by 12% during the first quarter to just over $34 million, with its ID and banking chip units accounting for the declines.

Barclaycard Seeks More M-Payment Users with Stickers Despite Its NFC Project

Despite the coming availability of more NFC phones from its partner Orange and the opening up of its prepaid mobile-payment application to funding from other issuers, UK-based Barclaycard has decided it needs more exposure for its contactless m-payment service.