Latest News

NXP Notes NFC Design Wins for 200 Smartphone and Tablet Models

NXP Semiconductors said that 200 smartphone and tablet models are in the pipeline carrying its NFC chips–with about 40% of them either already in production or “moving toward production over the (next) few quarters.”

French Retailers Try Out NFC for Loyalty Program and ID for Home-Shopping Application

Jul 23 2012

Retailers in Paris have launched a pair of pilots with an NFC option, one for loyalty and the other to identify customers when they pick up purchases after shopping online at home.

Dutch Telcos and Banks Drop Plans for NFC Joint Venture

Jul 20 2012

Dutch mobile operators and banks have decided not to form a joint venture to roll out NFC services together, saying “developments in the market” were responsible for ending the deal that was nearly three years in the making.

Turkcell Continues Branded NFC Phone Program, Introduces Tags

Turkey’s largest operator, Turkcell, has introduced its third self-branded NFC phone, a model made by Chinese supplier ZTE, and for the first time is including its own NFC tag in the box.

Consortium Misses Deadline for Singapore NFC Launch; Project Tests Government-Led Approach

Aug 3 2012

The high-profile commercial launch of NFC mobile payment planned for Singapore has fallen behind schedule, NFC Times has learned.

Telefónica and Visa Expand Payments Partnership in Europe

Mobile operator Telefónica group and Visa Europe have expanded their payments partnership to Telefónica’s European operations, marking the third tie-up between a major European mobile operator group and international payment network this year.

Survey: Security Concerns Continue to Create Consumer Resistance to Mobile Payments

While awareness of NFC mobile payments is fairly strong, only a little more than one in 10 respondents to a recent survey by UK-based market research firm YouGov said it was likely they would start to use mobile wallets or NFC in the next two years.

Smart Card Maker Morpho Acquires TSM Cassis International

Jul 6 2012

Smart card and ID security company Morpho has signed an agreement to acquire Singapore-based trusted service manager Cassis International, putting another major TSM platform into the hands of a smart card supplier, NFC Times has learned.

Deutsche Telekom Plans Move into Payments Market with NFC Phones and PayPass

Deutsche Telekom intends to make its move into the payments market at the physical point of sale in direct competition with banks, with an NFC payments commercial launch planned in Poland this year, before later expanding to Germany and other European countries.

MasterCard and Deutsche Telekom to Partner on NFC Payments

Jul 2 2012

MasterCard Worldwide and Germany-based Deutsche Telekom group have signed a partnership agreement that will help the telco launch a prepaid PayPass application for its planned NFC mobile wallet, NFC Times has learned.

AT&T Seeks to Offer Range of NFC Services; Plans to Hire TSM

U.S. mobile operator AT&T is seeking to offer other NFC services besides payments when it launches its mobile wallet—services that could include transit and event ticketing, digital door keys for offices, homes and hotel rooms and airline boarding passes, NFC Times has learned.

RIM Chides Samsung for Using Nonstandard NFC Technology in Tags

Jun 29 2012

Samsung Electronics' high-profile launch of branded NFC tags in the U.S. uses nonstandard technology, NFC Times has learned.

Google Introduces Two NFC Devices; Wallet Changes Expected

Google announced two new NFC-enabled devices and enhancements to its Android Beam peer-to-peer feature during the opening keynote address today of its Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco.

China Mobile Signs Deal with Payment Network UnionPay to Cooperate on Mobile Payment

China’s giant mobile operator, China Mobile, and the country's big domestic payment network, China UnionPay, have signed an agreement to cooperate on mobile payment, including using SIM cards in NFC phones.

Microsoft Signals Support for SIMs with Its NFC-Enabled Wallet for Windows Phone 8

Microsoft has unveiled its NFC-enabled mobile wallet, as part of its planned Windows Phone 8 operating system, which the software giant introduced today at its Windows Phone Summit in San Francisco.

Taiwanese Bank to Launch PayPass on microSDs in HTC NFC Phone

Jun 18 2012

Handset maker HTC and Cathay United Bank of Taiwan, among other parties, are expected to announce plans to launch an NFC mobile-payment project putting a MasterCard PayPass credit application on microSD cards that can run in a full NFC phone model from HTC.

Visa Europe to Send Out Olympics Phone Next Week in Prep for Games

Jun 18 2012

LONDON – Visa Europe will begin sending out its designated Olympics phone, the Samsung Galaxy S III, to executives with European banks, mobile operators and retailers, along with athletes, starting next week, in preparation for the start of the games next month, according to Mary Carol Harris, vice president for mobile at the payment network.

Samsung Introduces Branded NFC Tags Targeted at U.S. Market

Samsung Electronics is the latest­–and largest–smartphone maker to introduce its own branded NFC tags, with its launch of TecTiles programmable tags.

Giesecke & Devrient Latest to License Mifare Technology for NFC SIMs

Jun 14 2012

Germany-based Giesecke & Devrient is the latest major smart card vendor to license Mifare technology from NXP Semiconductors, enabling G&D to put the transit fare-payment technology

Apple Unveils Digital Wallet for Next Mobile OS; No Word on NFC Yet

Jun 12 2012

In what could be the first step by Apple toward launching a full mobile wallet, Apple today unveiled Passbook, an application built into its next mobile operating system, iOS 6, which the company introduced at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

Identive to Restructure; Keeps NFC Products Intact

Jun 12 2012

Identive Group, a secure ID and NFC tag and reader maker, has announced it will cut 11% of its global workforce as part of restructuring expected to save up to $5 million this year.

Sprint Plans to Launch NFC Mobile Wallet as U.S. Wallet War Continues to Heat Up

No. 3 U.S. mobile carrier Sprint is planning to launch its own NFC mobile wallet as early as this summer, NFC Times has learned, as the mobile wallet war in the United States continues to heat up.

Paying to Play: Planned Isis Fees Rankle Some Issuers

One or more issuers are privately complaining about fees that the Isis joint venture is seeking to charge to host their payment applications in the Isis Wallet, NFC Times has learned.

TSM Startup Hires Former Microsoft NFC Expert, Pushes 'Neutrality' Theme

U.S.-based Sequent Software hopes the addition of two NFC industry veterans, including a former NFC expert at Microsoft, will help it compete for trusted service management contracts with the top three global smart card vendors.

Discover Financial’s Emerging Payments Chief Departs for Barclaycard

Jun 18 2012

Farhan Ahmad, who headed U.S.-based Discover Financial Services’ prepaid and emerging payments units, including its nascent NFC and contactless programs, has left Discover for UK-based issuer Barclaycard, NFC Times has learned.

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.