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.

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.

Survey Says Most Consumers Not Waiting for Mobile Wallets

A survey conducted for consumer electronics shopping and review site Retrevo showed that only a little more than one in five respondents said they wanted NFC and a mobile wallet on their next mobile phone, while 53% said they were not interested and 26% didn't know what NFC or a mobile wallet was.

The results of the unscientific survey, which polled more than 1,000 people in June, were released this week. A Retrevo spokeswoman told NFC Times that the company hires a third-party survey firm to find people for its studies, which the firm conducts online. 

The survey results indicate security concerns might be one thing standing in the way of consumers’ embrace of NFC, though oddly enough, the results found respondents trusted Google and Apple more than they did Visa or MasterCard to provide a wallet. Mobile operators came in even lower on the trust question.

According to Silicon Valley-based Retrevo, the survey found that 36% of all phone owners “trusted” Google to provide a mobile wallet, 33% said they had most faith in Apple to offer one, but only 32% said they would trust a wallet from Visa, MasterCard or American Express. Even fewer, 26%, gave the nod to AT&T, Verizon or their cell phone carrier.

A breakdown of the data, however, showed that iPhone users were much more likely to trust Apple to provide the wallet, 61%, while 46% of Android phone users would trust Google to offer a wallet on their phones.

IPhone owners also would be more willing to adopt NFC and mobile wallets in their next phone, with 40% saying they were waiting for mobile-wallet capability in the future, compared with 24% of Android phone owners.

Google last month unveiled its NFC wallet, designed to run on the search giant’s Android operating system. Apple is not expected to offer a mobile wallet or even an NFC phone this year.

Among respondents with all types of phones, 28% of 18-to-35 year olds said they would be interested in NFC, the highest among any age group. Others in the group said they were unsure or were not interested. But fully three quarters of respondents over 50 said they were not interested in NFC, according to Retrevo. More male respondents, 27%, said they wanted to use NFC on their phones to make purchases than women, at 15%.