Latest News

Smartphone Chip Supplier Broadcom Introduces First Combo Wireless Chip with NFC

U.S.-based chip maker Broadcom, whose Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combination wireless chips are found in such popular smartphones as the Samsung Galaxy S III and Apple iPhone 5, has announced NFC support for one of its next wireless combo chips.

Transport for London to Begin Open-Loop Fare Collection This Week

Transport for London plans to begin allowing riders to use contactless bank cards to pay fares on buses later this week, according to a report.

Tag Supplier Enables Data Analytics with New Content Management Platform

Data analytics continue to be a growing focus of the business case for brands as they consider rolling out NFC tag campaigns, and it’s key to the new NFC marketing platform launched by Identive Group.

Qualcomm Enters NFC Market; Plans to Integrate Chip with Market-Leading Processors

U.S.-based Qualcomm, the world’s largest supplier of processor chips to smartphone makers, has entered the NFC market–a move that could substantially expand the availability of NFC-enabled smartphones.

China Mobile Announces NFC SIM and Mobile-Wallet Plans at Developers Conference

Dec 5 2012

China Mobile today officially unveiled its plans for introducing NFC SIM cards and a mobile wallet, which it intends to launch early next year, to enable retail payment, transit ticketing and other applications.

Spain’s La Caixa Bank to Roll Out Contactless Stickers

Large Spanish retail bank, La Caixa, plans to begin distributing 200,000 contactless stickers this month, deciding not to wait for NFC commercial launches to start its mobile-payment rollout.

Inside Secure Completes Acquisition of AuthenTec Embedded Security Unit

France-based chip supplier Inside Secure announced today it has completed its acquisition of the AuthenTec Embedded Security Solutions unit for $41.6 million in cash.

Globe Telecom Plans to Expand GCash Mobile-Money Service to Physical Point of Sale

Nov 30 2012

Globe Telecom of the Philippines is planning to expand its GCash funds-transfer and bill-payment service to the physical point of sale, and has launched a project that puts a closed-loop GCash payment application onto microSD cards.

Gemalto Announces TSM Contract with Telecom Italia, as Italy Gears Up for NFC

France-based Gemalto has announced its trusted service management contract with Telecom Italia, as Italy's largest telecom gears up for the launch of its NFC mobile wallet.

Qualcomm Takes Seat on Board of NFC Forum as Major Chip Makers Push Forward on NFC

U.S.-based Qualcomm has joined the NFC Forum as a sponsor member, which gives it a seat on the board of the standards and trade organization.

Indian Cinema Lets Users Tap to Launch Mobile Services

More than 200 users tapped tags in smart posters and other displays at a movie theater in Mumbai, India, and about a third of them downloaded the cinema chain’s app over a six-week period, according to the wireless marketing company that ran the campaign.

China Unicom and Merchants Bank Announce Plans for NFC Payments Launch

Dec 3 2012

China’s No. 2 mobile operator China Unicom, along with China Merchants Bank, today announced plans to launch an NFC payments service next month in Shanghai.

Two Board Members Resign as OTI Agrees to Special Shareholders Meeting in Proxy Fight

Nov 26 2012

Two members of the board of Israel-based On Track Innovations have resigned, following pressure from dissident shareholders seeking to capture control of the board of the financially struggling contactless and NFC supplier.

Vodafone Plans NFC Payments Service in Australia

Vodafone is the first mobile operator in Australia to disclose plans for a commercial NFC payment launch, though it has not announced a target date for when it plans to launch the service.

Nintendo Releases NFC-Enabled Wii U; Broadcom Supplies NFC Chip

Nintendo has released its much-anticipated Wii U gaming console with NFC technology, enabling the game maker to incorporate physical objects into game play, in addition to possible support in the future for contactless payment for digital content.

As Google Readies New Wallet Version, Sprint Gears Up with ‘Open’ Approach

As Google readies the launch of the next version of its wallet, expected to feature the addition of a physical payment card, other mobile-commerce players, including Google Wallet partner Sprint, are gearing up with their own offers.

OTI Faces Takeover Attempt by Dissident Shareholders

The second-largest shareholder of Israel-based contactless and NFC vendor On Track Innovations is keeping up the pressure as he and his allies wage a battle for control of the company against its board and co-founder, Oded Bashan.

Isis Trial Snapshot: Telcos Issue NFC SIMs, but Transactions Still Scarce

It's been nearly a month since the launch of the large Isis Mobile Wallet trial in Austin, Texas, and Salt Lake City, Utah, and so far merchants are reporting limited use of Isis by consumers, interviews by NFC Times have found.

Inside Seeks to Broaden Customer Base with Acquisition of AuthenTec Security Unit

France-based chip supplier Inside Secure has agreed to acquire the Embedded Security Solutions unit of U.S.-based AuthenTec, which designs software and hardware products used for digital rights management, virtual private networks and other network security.

Google Drops NXP in Favor of Broadcom for NFC Stack, Latest Nexus Devices

Nov 19 2012

Google has chosen U.S.-based Broadcom as its NFC chip supplier for its new Nexus 4 smartphone and Nexus 10 tablet and has incorporated Broadcom’s NFC software stack in its new Android 4.2 operating system running on the devices.

European Commission Approves Proposed ARM Joint Venture with Gemalto and G&D

European antitrust regulators have approved a planned joint venture by UK-based chip designer ARM and smart card and security companies Gemalto and Giesecke & Devrient.

Austrian Telco to End Paybox NFC Project; Had Sought to Establish New Payment Brand

Nov 19 2012

Austrian mobile operator A1 has pulled the plug on its plans to introduce its own payment brand at the physical point of sale, disclosing it would end an eight-month “trial” of the service by the end of the year.

Morpho Buys ABnote European Operations to Build Card, TSM Business

Smart card and ID security company Morpho hopes to increase its EMV bank card business, as well as expand its trusted service management unit, with its acquisition of the European personalization and card manufacturing operations of American Banknote Corp.

Vendor Group Projects Nearly 100 Million Secure Elements in 2012; Forecasts Growth to Double Next Year

Apr 29 2013

PARIS, France – Smart card vendor association Eurosmart estimates the industry will have shipped nearly 100 million NFC-enabled SIM cards and embedded secure elements by the end of 2012–a figure it projects will double in 2013.

MasterCard Trials Online Payments Secured on NFC Phones

PARIS, France – MasterCard Worldwide and ING bank have launched a trial in the Netherlands enabling bank staffers to shop on the Web and then make online payments with a PayPass application stored on a secure element in their NFC phones.

HEADLINE NEWS

Australian Transit Agency to Launch Mobility-as-a-Service Trial as It Pursues Long-Term MaaS Strategy

Plans by Transport for New South Wales, Australia’s largest transit agency, to launch a trial enabling users to plan, book and pay for multimodal rides is the next step toward the agency’s long-ter

Updated: U.S. Transit Agency Seeks to Reduce–Though Not Eliminate–Cash Acceptance with New Fare-Collection System

Updated: The Spokane Transit Authority in Washington state confirmed that its new fare-collection system will include contactless open-loop payments–with a beta test planned for next October, a spokesman told NFC Times' sister publication Mobility Payments.

UK Government Seeks to Bring London-Style Contactless Fare Payments System to Other Regions

The UK government’s plan to equip 700 rail stations over the next three years to accept contactless open-loop payments is a major initiative, as it seeks to replicate the success of London’s contactless pay-as-you go fare payments system elsewhere in the country–a goal that has proved elusive in the past.

More Cities in Finland Expected to Move to Open-Loop Fare Payments

A fourth city in Finland is beginning to roll out contactless open-loop payments, with “more in the pipeline,” according to one supplier on the project, making the Nordic country one of the latest hotspots for the technology.

Moscow Metro Expands Test of ‘Virtual Troika’ in Pays Wallets, as It Continues to Develop Digital-Payments Services

Moscow Metro is recruiting more users to test its “Virtual Troika” card in two NFC wallets, those supporting Google Pay and Samsung Pay, as one of the world’s largest subway operators continues to seek more ways for its customers to pay for rides.

Ohio Transit Agency Expects Significant Revenue Loss as it Builds Equity with Fare Capping

The Central Ohio Transit Authority, or COTA, officially launched its new digital-payments service Monday, including a fare-capping feature that the agency estimates will cost it $1.8 million per year in lost fare revenue, the agency confirmed to Mobility Payments.

Special Report: Interest Grows in ‘White-Label EMV’ for Closed-Loop Transit Cards

As more transit agencies introduce open-loop fare payments, interest is starting to grow in use of white-label EMV cards that agencies can issue in place of proprietary closed-loop cards for riders who don’t have bank cards or don’t want to use them to pay fares.

Swedish Transit Agency Launches Express Mode Feature for Apple Pay, though Most Ticketing Still with Barcode-Based App

Skånetrafiken, the transit agency serving one of Sweden’s largest counties, announced today it has expanded its contactless open-loop payments service to include the Express Mode feature for Apple Pay.

Major Bus Operators in Hong Kong Now Accepting Open-Loop Payments–Adding More Competition for Octopus

Two more bus operators in Hong Kong on Saturday launched acceptance of open-loop contactless fare payments, with both also accepting QR code-based mobile ticketing–as the near ubiquitous closed-loop Octopus card continues to see more competition.

Moscow Metro Launches Full Rollout of ‘Face Pay;’ Largest Biometric Payments Service of Its Kind

Touting it as the largest rollout of biometric payments in the world, Moscow Metro launched its high-profile “Face Pay” service Friday, as expected, and predicted that 10% to 15% would regularly us

Indonesian Capital Seeks to Expand to Multimodal Fare Collection and MaaS

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, whose metropolitan area is home to more than 30 million people, is notorious for its stifling traffic congestion. In response, the government metro and light-rail networks and now it is funding an expansion of the fare-collection system to enable more multimodal payments and to build a mobility-as-a-service platform.

Exclusive: NFC Wallets Grow as Share of Contactless Fare Payments and Not Only Because of Covid

Transit agencies that have rolled out open-loop contactless payments are seeing growing use of NFC wallets to pay fares, as Covid-wary passengers see convenience in tapping their phones or wearables to pay.