HEADLINE NEWS

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.

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.

Inside Reports NFC Revenue Down Sharply in First Quarter; Some Recovery Expected in Q2

France-based chip supplier Inside Secure today reported a sharp decline in its revenue in the first quarter from its NFC chips, blaming the situation on excess inventories of NFC chips on hand by its main customer BlackBerry.

Australian Supermarket Chain Sees Fast Take-Up of Contactless Payment

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.

Reality Show Tag Trial Seeks to Demo Smart Posters as Ad Medium

A small group of advertising agency staffers will be able to tap their NFC phones on smart posters in New York and Los Angeles starting next week to view videos clips of a reality TV show and link to the show’s Facebook page, according to UK-based NFC application provider Proxama.

The trial follows a similar project in May, in which about 20 ad agency personnel and media buyers could tap 10 to 20 movie posters in London advertising the forthcoming film, X-Men: First Class, to view a preview clip and link to the film’s Facebook page.

The U.S. project involves the VH1 cable television network and its reality TV show Basketball Wives, which in typical reality show fashion follows lives of the spouses, ex-spouses, girlfriends and ex-girlfriends of NBA basketball players.

NFC tags will be embedded in a limited number of outdoor posters advertising the show in New York and Los Angeles, which people with NFC phones would be able to tap to view trailers and link to the show’s Facebook page. The trial is expected to launch next Monday.

As with the X-Men project, Outdoor advertising agency Posterscope and its Hyperspace arm are involved in the new trial, along with Nokia, which will distribute its C7 NFC smartphone, known as the Astound in the United States, to a limited number of ad agents and related personnel. Proxama also offers a data management and reporting tool, in addition to its tag-reading application, for the project. The vendor has an agreement with Nokia to collaborate on development of these types of applications.

While consumers with the Astound, sold through T-Mobile USA, and Google’s Nexus S, along with other standard NFC phones, would be able to tap the posters for the content, the project is not intended for the general public.

“We’re using it as a demonstrator and to showcase to advertising agencies in the U.S.,” Graham Tricker, head of operations at Proxama told NFC Times.

The firm hopes to sell the advertising agencies on NFC smart posters as a medium to deliver ads from merchants and other advertisers.