Latest News

Canadian Telco Rogers to Launch NFC Service This Month with Bank, BlackBerrys

Canada’s largest mobile operator, Rogers Communications, and one of the country’s largest card issuers, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, will launch an NFC-based mobile-payment service Nov. 16, with plans to expand the service early next year.

Hong Kong Bank and Telco Announce Plans for NFC Rollout

One of Hong Kong’s largest banks and a major telco have announced plans to commercially launch NFC payments during the first half of 2013, putting a MasterCard PayPass credit application onto SIM cards issued by PCCW mobile.

Inside Secure Introduces First Secure Element, as It Seeks to Stay Competitive

NFC chip supplier Inside Secure has introduced its first embedded secure element, a key product that it hopes will help it stay competitive with much larger rivals.

Microsoft Launches Windows Phone 8; NXP to Supply NFC Software Stack

Microsoft officially launched its Windows Phone 8 operating system with built-in NFC support Monday, with the first phones supporting the platform shipping this week.

Vendors Announce TSM, Mobile-Wallet Supply Deals with Vodafone

Vendors announced Monday they are supplying UK-based Vodafone Group with trusted service management services and mobile-wallet software, respectively, as the UK-based telco gears up for NFC commercial launches.

Italian Bank Launches NFC Trial; Plans NFC and Remote Payment App

Italy’s Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, or BNL, has launched an NFC trial in Rome, with plans to expand to both online and offline mobile payments and loyalty.

PayPal: Google at Disadvantage in Rolling Out Mobile Wallet

PayPal has an advantage over another big Internet player, Google, in rolling out payments at the physical point of sale because it already has tens of millions of payments customers on file with billions in their accounts “ready to spend,” contends Don Kingsborough, PayPal’s vice president for retail and prepaid products.

NXP Reports NFC Chip Business Grew by 30% in Third Quarter

NXP Semiconductors’ NFC chip revenue grew by about 30% in the third quarter, compared with the previous quarter, and sales approached $70 million, according to the Netherlands-based semiconductor supplier.

Gemalto CEO Predicts Substantial TSM Revenue in 2014; Agrees Mobile Payments Will Take Time

Gemalto CEO Olivier Piou predicted the France-based vendor would begin to see substantial recurring revenue from its trusted service management business starting in 2014 as mobile payment starts to roll out globally over the next three to five years.

China Mobile Plans Commercial NFC Launch in 2013

China Mobile reportedly plans to sell 10 million 3G NFC phones next year and to sign up 3 million users, according to a presentation by the telco’s vice general manager for e-commerce Wednesday at the NFC & Mobile Money Summit.

Telecom Italia launches Multiapplication NFC Trial

Telecom Italia has launched a multiapplication NFC trial, enabling 1,000 users to make retail payments, to pay for bus, tram, metro and train tickets and taxi fares and redeem coupons and discount vouchers.

Google to Introduce New Version of Wallet Next Month; iPhone App Possible

Oct 24 2012

UPDATE: LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Google plans to announce a new version of its Google Wallet by mid-November, which would include a greater role for offers and expansion of the platform to other devices, including a possible app for the iPhone, NFC Times has learned. END UPDATE.

Vivotech Ends Operations as Sequent Buys Remaining Software Business

U.S.-based startup Sequent has acquired what appears to be the remaining operational assets of former contactless reader and NFC software vendor Vivotech, purchasing Vivotech’s software unit.

Google to Make Wallet Announcement; Deals with Opposition from Visa, Big Banks, to Cloud Model

Oct 22 2012

Google is expected to make a major announcement next week related to its Google Wallet, NFC Times has learned.

GSMA Names New NFC Point Man as It Seeks to Clear Way for Telco Rollouts

The GSM Association has named its new point man for NFC, Pierre Combelles, vice president for open innovation at France Telecom-Orange group, the GSMA told NFC Times.

T-Mobile Poland Launches NFC Wallet with Polbank; More Applications Planned

Oct 21 2012

T-Mobile in Poland, as expected, today unveiled its planned NFC commercial service, planning to launch before the end of the month with a credit application issued by Polbank EFG that supports MasterCard PayPass.

Isis Releases Long-Awaited Launch Date for Two-City Trial

The Isis joint venture has finally released a launch date for its much-anticipated two-city NFC trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 22.

MasterCard Plans to Expand PayPass in United Arab Emirates as Telcos Gear up for NFC

MasterCard Worldwide announced today it is working with large Middle Eastern acquirer Network International to install PayPass terminals in 1,000 stores in the United Arab Emirates, including in coffee shops, fast-food restaurants, family diners, cinemas, general retailers and convenience stores.

Orange Poland Unveils Plans for NFC Payments Service; T-Mobile to Follow This Week

Oct 16 2012

Polish mobile operators Orange and T-Mobile this week are unveiling their NFC services, which will focus on contactless payment supporting MasterCard PayPass.

Japan’s DoCoMo to Support PayPass for Roaming Customers but isn’t Finished with FeliCa

Oct 12 2012

Japan’s largest telco, NTT DoCoMo, has begun to make a key piece of its strategy for NFC known, announcing deals with MasterCard Worldwide and South Korea’s KT Corp. to enable subscribers to make payments when they roam in other countries.

Vodafone Italy to Launch Branded Payment Application as Part of NFC Rollout

Vodafone Italia is the latest operator to disclose plans to launch its own payment application, with its announcement Tuesday that it will commercially launch NFC in 2013, starting with a trial this month in Milan.

Australia’s ANZ Bank Launches Small NFC Trial as Contactless Acceptance Continues to Roll Out

ANZ bank plans to launch a second trial of contactless-mobile payment, a small employee pilot that will put the bank’s payment application onto SIM cards for use with NFC-enabled Samsung Galaxy S III Android phones.

Turkcell to Expand Mobile Wallet to non-NFC Payments after ‘Slow’ NFC Adoption

Oct 9 2012

Turkish mobile operator Turkcell, one of the first telcos to commercially launch NFC, is introducing a new mobile wallet that includes a PayPal-like service enabling consumers to pay for purchases by entering their phone numbers on point-of-sale terminals.

Tesco Looks at NFC and Contactless ‘Intensively’ but Remains in Wait-and-See Mode

While giant UK retailer Tesco is following NFC and contactless payment “intensively” and continues to trial contactless acceptance in more than 30 stores, it has not yet committed to rolling out the technology, in part because of security concerns among customers, said one of Tesco’s mobile chiefs.

NFC Forum Adopts Key Specification for Certification Testing Program

The NFC Forum has adopted a key missing piece of its specifications program, which will enable more thorough testing to avoid interoperability problems.

Deals

California Issues Notice of Intent to Award Contracts to Vendors for Planned Statewide Open-Loop Payments Rollout

California state officials have released a list of seven bidders it intends to award contracts to for the supply of core technology for the state’s ambitious plan to help more than 300 transit agencies roll out open-loop fare payments statewide.

Moscow to Test Mobility-as-a-Service Platform that will Include Use of Contactless Payments

The Moscow Department of Transport has announced it is launching a test of its planned “MultiTransport” mobility-as-a-service platform, which will enable users to plan and pay for rides on the Moscow Metro and other public transit, along with taxis. The city said it is planning to add other transport modes, including car-share and bike and scooter rental.

Vietnam Bus Operator Launches Contactless Open-Loop Payments in Small Rollout; Backers Hope Other Transport Modes Will Follow

A commercial bus company serving Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, has launched contactless open-loop payments on board its new electronic buses, and reports say officials and bankers would like to see contactless EMV payments expanded to other modes of transport.

Moscow Metro Sees Modest Take-Up in Use of Face Pay So Far; Repeats Prediction that Up to 15% of Regular Riders Will Use Service

Moscow Metro has 45,000 users for its Face Pay service since launching its rollout of facial recognition fare-payments in mid-October, the transit agency said today, in releasing more details about how the service works.

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.

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

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.

Features

Panel: Closed-Loop Payments Expected to Remain an Option for Years to Come Despite Growth of Open Loop

By: 
Dan Balaban

While the trend today is for more transit agencies to introduce open-loop fare payments, closed-loop cards, either in physical form or dematerialized on smartphones and wearables, will be with us for many years to come–though perhaps in a reduced role. That’s according to a recent panel discussion at the Mobility Payments Asia Pacific 2021 conference.

Cubic’s MaaS Point Man: Control of MaaS Apps by VC-Funded Start-Ups Coming to an End; Whim App Chief: Not So Fast

By: 
Dan Balaban

Andy Taylor, senior director, global strategy for Cubic Transportation Systems contended that the MaaS market is at a crossroads and could fail if it doesn’t change course, including putting cities and public agencies firmly in the “driving seat” of MaaS apps.

In-Depth: As Covid-19 Causes Transit Ridership to Plummet, Third-Party Mobile-Ticketing Vendors Hope to Help Bring Riders Back

By: 
Dan Balaban

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – As the Covid-19 crisis sows fear among mass transit customers and causes ridership on buses, trains and trams to crash, there is heightened interest in mobile ticketing and other electronic fare payments as a way to ease the concerns and help coax wary riders to return.  

Analysis: Apple Chips Away at Fortress Europe with Another Major Bank Planning to Join Apple Pay

By: 
Dan Balaban

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – With Switzerland’s No. 2 bank, Credit Suisse, expected to participate in Apple Pay, the U.S.-based tech giant continues to chip away at resistance among major European banks to joining its digital payments service.

U.S. Football Sees NFC-Enabled E-Tickets as way to Cut Fraud, Market to Fans

By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – With the National Football League kicking off its season in a few weeks in the U.S., fans will be using NFC, QR codes and perhaps ultrasonic signals on their mobile devices, in addition to tapping contactless-enabled paper tickets, to attend football games and other events at all 31 NFL stadiums.

In-Depth: As U.S. Lags in Contactless Payments, are Issuers Ready to Roll Out Dual-Interface EMV Cards?

By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Most issuers in the U.S. have so far held back from rolling out contactless or dual-interface cards, but merchant acceptance has been quietly building over the past few years, despite some large U.S. retailers balking at accepting contactless cards and NFC-enabled devices.

In-Depth: Can Contactless Cards Succeed in U.S. Where NFC Mobile Wallets Have Failed?

By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Payments industry backers suggest that U.S. banks could have an incentive to begin contactless rollouts soon, but in the absence of deadlines from the major payments networks, which are rapidly approaching in other markets, there's no guarantee of rollouts in the U.S. on the horizon.

How Mobile Wallets, Payments Wearables, Tokenization Fared the Past Year, and Where They Stand Now

By: 
Dan Balaban

NFC TIMES Exclusive – As the digital payments ecosystem moves into 2018, it is dealing with many of the same unfulfilled promises, works in progress and unfinished business as in 2017.

U.S. Merchant Apps Square Off Against NFC ‘Pays’ Wallets: The Retailer Perspective

By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive – As more U.S. merchants launch their own payments apps, some seem positioned to offer serious competition to Apple Pay and the other NFC “Pays” wallets.

Backers Look to Range of Devices for Contextual Commerce, Though Fragmentation Will Pose Challenges

By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Promoters of contextual commerce are looking to a range of connected devices, including smart appliances and such home hubs as Alexa–along with a host of mobile devices–to enable consumers to pay in almost every context. But many challenges remain for what could become a “very disjointed” array of payment options, experts say.