HEADLINE NEWS

Orange Group NFC Veteran Barnaud Departs for Wallet Vendor C-SAM

U.S.-based mobile-wallet provider C-SAM has hired Vincent Barnaud, the long-serving contactless services head at France Telecom-Orange group.

Telco and Bank in Brazil to Launch NFC Pilot; Rollout to Follow

Mobile operator TIM Brasil and Banco Bradesco have disclosed plans for an NFC trial that they say would enable users to pay for purchases at contactless point-of-sale terminals by tapping their Motorola or LG Electronics NFC phones, with the funds deducted from their debit accounts.

Taiwanese Telco and Banks Announce Plans for NFC-Payment Projects

May 29 2013 (All day)

Taiwan’s largest mobile operator, Chunghwa Telecom, and four banks announced plans today to launch NFC mobile payment, likely starting with Cathay United Bank and a six-month pilot.

Isis Gears Up for National Launch Despite Challenges Ahead

The Isis joint venture continues to gear up for a nationwide launch of its NFC-enabled Isis Mobile Wallet this year and has been in discussions with major U.S. banks along with merchants, NFC Times has learned.

MasterCard Prepares to Offer PayPass on Embedded Chips in Samsung NFC Phones

MasterCard Worldwide is the latest payment scheme to work with Samsung Electronics, with plans to soon offer its PayPass application for embedded chips in new Samsung NFC phones, NFC Times has learned.

UK Taxis Get NFC Tags for Promo Campaign; NFC Dynamic Screens to Play at French Sporting Event

Samsung Electronics, along with Australia-based NFC marketing firm Tapit, UK-based out-of-home advertising company Chiel and terminal vendor VeriFone are rolling out NFC stickers to 80 taxis in the UK, as part of a promotional campaign for musician Robbie Williams’ upcoming Samsung-sponsored tour.

Visa Europe: Contactless Transactions to Continue to Grow Rapidly in 2013

Consumers in Europe did 19 million transactions with Visa-branded contactless bank cards in March, up by nearly 50% from December, announced Visa Europe Tuesday, which predicts monthly transactions will increase to 52 million by the end of 2013.

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.

Royal Bank of Canada and Bell Mobility Announce Plans for NFC Launch

May 14 2013 (All day)

Canada’s largest bank and one of its three major mobile operators have announced plans to commercially launch NFC payments by the end of the year, following a trial this summer.

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.

Italy: Telecom Italia Launches Large NFC Trial; Likely a Prelude to Rollout

Milan, Italy
Scope: 
Trial
Launch: 
Oct 2012
Main Application: 
Payment, transit ticketing
Mobile Operator: 
Telecom Italia
Service Provider (application): 
Intesa Sanpaolo (credit application)
Service Provider (application): 
Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (transit ticketing)
Merchants: 
1,000
Users: 
1,000
NFC Handsets: 
Samsung Galaxy mini 2 (likely)
TSM*: 
N/A
Secure Element: 
SIM
Other Vendors: 
Kinetic (outdoor multimedia), Logital (integration), NXP Semiconductors (NFC phone chip).

The trial enables 1,000 users to make retail payments, pay for bus, tram, metro and train tickets, as well as taxi fares, and to redeem coupons and discount vouchers. The trial also enables users to tap NFC tags for information discovery at museums and other cultural points of interest in the city.

NFC Times Take: 

The telco, which stores the secure applications on SIM cards, timed the announcement of the trial to coincide with the GSM Association's NFC & Mobile Money Summit, held in October in Milan. Franco Bernabè, Telecom Italia’s chairman and CEO and current chairman of the GSMA, spoke at the event. The GSMA is pushing a SIM-centric approach to NFC, of which Telecom Italia is happy to oblige. The trial is seen as a prelude to an NFC commercial launch by the telco.

* Trusted Service Manager: Defined loosely to include companies or other organizations securely distributing, provisioning and managing applications, generally over the air, on secure elements in NFC mobile phones; or licensing their platforms for this purpose.
 
Last update: Oct. 2012

N/A: Not available or not applicable.