Top Stories

While Interest is Growing in Going Cashless in U.S., Few Agencies have Accomplished the Feat So Far
Germany’s Largest Transit Operator Continues with Large Open-Loop Pilot on Buses; No Decision Yet on Rollout
Fairtiq App Sees Rising Usage as Covid-Era Riders Demand More ‘Touchless’ and PAYG Fare Options
Apple's Digital Driver’s License Initiative Not Only One Progressing in U.S.
More Top Stories
While Interest is Growing in Going Cashless in U.S., Few Agencies have Accomplished the Feat So Far
Published: Sep 16 2021
The Greater Dayton RTA, which this month stopped accepting paper passes and tickets, will hit its Nov. 1 deadline to go completely cashless on board its vehicles, an agency representative confirmed to Mobility Payments.
Germany’s Largest Transit Operator Continues with Large Open-Loop Pilot on Buses; No Decision Yet on Rollout
Published: Sep 12 2021
Germany’s largest transit operator, BVG, said its pilot of contactless EMV payments extends to all of its nearly 1,500 buses, and the company has eliminated cash acceptance on board the vehicles, a spokesman confirmed to Mobility Payments. But officials in Berlin have not yet decided whether to make the contactless payments service permanent, he added.
Fairtiq App Sees Rising Usage as Covid-Era Riders Demand More ‘Touchless’ and PAYG Fare Options
Published: Sep 12 2021
Switzerland-based start-up Fairtiq said transactions for its fare-payments technology have more than double since February, as Covid-wary riders continue to seek what they consider to be more hygienic payments methods, as well as more pay-as-you-go options.
Apple's Digital Driver’s License Initiative Not Only One Progressing in U.S.
Published: Sep 3 2021
NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Eight U.S. states will soon allow residents to store a digital version of their driver’s license or state identification card in the Apple Wallet, the tech giant announced, noting that the Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, will accept the digital ID at airport security checkpoints and lanes. 

NFC Confidential

Apple Joins Conference Circuit and Hype Happens; And is Apple Pay Cash a Threat to Banks?

Published: Oct 26 2017

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight –LAS VEGAS: Perhaps to both preserve its mystique and avoid leaks, Apple has scrupulously avoided speaking or exhibiting at trade shows and conferences over the years.

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Features

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

Published: Aug 8 2021
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.

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

Published: May 18 2020
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.  

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

Published: Apr 24 2019
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.

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

Published: Aug 15 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Jul 30 2018
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.

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

Published: Jun 19 2018
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.

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

Published: Jan 11 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Jan 2 2018
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.

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

Published: Dec 1 2017
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

Feature: How Do Mobile Payments Fit into an Omnichannel World?

Published: Nov 10 2017
By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – As retailers and payments services providers increasingly try to connect and track consumer transactions across online and in-store channels, mobile payments must function as part of an omnichannel payments ecosystem, say industry observers.

Read more »
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More features...

Headline News

‘No Way We were Going to Ask for Half a Billion Dollars…’

Published: Sep 3 2021

Unlike other major transit agencies in the U.S., which have spent hundreds of millions of dollars replacing or upgrading their fare-collection systems, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has taken a different approach.

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UK Bus Operator Go-Ahead Reports Cash Usage has Plummeted Because of Covid, While Contactless Transactions have Surged

Published: Sep 1 2021

The Go-Ahead Group, one of the big five privately owned public bus operators in the UK, said today it has seen cash usage on board the nearly 3,000 buses it runs in England outside of London fall to 23% of transactions, down from 53% three years ago.

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Transit Operator Arriva Launches MaaS App in Netherlands; Hints at Expansion to Other European Countries

Published: Aug 30 2021

Arriva, one of the largest private transit operators in Europe, has launched a mobility-as-a-service app in the Netherlands, using white-label software from Israel-based trip-planning app provider

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Cal-ITP: Agencies in California Could Hold ‘Several More’ Open-Loop Fare Payments Pilots

Published: Aug 20 2021

The California Integrated Travel Project, or Cal-ITP, is “on track to have at least several more” open-loop pilots or demonstration projects, a spokeswoman for the program told Mobility Payments.

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Exclusive: Australia’s Transport for New South Wales Sees ‘Significant Increase’ in Use of Mobile Wallets by Riders

Published: Aug 16 2021

Mobile wallets now make up more than half of all contactless payments for Transport for New South Wales, Australia’s largest transit agency, the agency confirmed to Mobility Payments.

Read more »
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Start-Up Aims to Encourage More Taxi Drivers to Accept Bank Cards for Fares in Turkey

Published: Aug 13 2021

A Turkish start-up hopes to entice more taxi drivers to accept contactless credit and debit cards using SoftPOS terminals on Android smartphones, under a scheme being rolled out by the local fintec

Read more »
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Moscow Metro Launches Test of Facial Recognition Fare Payments Ahead of Rollout; Agency Says Masks Can Slow Verification

Published: Aug 8 2021

Moscow Metro announced that it is officially testing facial recognition-based fare payments at turnstiles, with plans to roll out the technology by the end of the year.

Read more »
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Major Transit Agency to Test Virtual Closed-Loop Cards with Google Pay

Published: Aug 8 2021
Aug 8 2021

Moscow Metro is launching a trial of a virtual version of its closed-loop Troika card that will be added to the Google Pay wallet, the agency announced Wednesday.

Read more »
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WMATA in D.C. Rolling Out New Terminals but has No Immediate Plans to Support Open Loop

Published: Aug 8 2021

The Washington (D.C.) Metropolitan Area Transit Authority last month started to replace 1,200 aging fare gates for its 91-station metro system and starting next year will do the same with 20-plus year-old fareboxes on board 1,500 buses, including upgraded readers for its closed-loop SmarTrip cards.

Read more »
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Visa Touts Growth in Contactless, Continues to Push Open-Loop Payments

Published: Aug 2 2021

Visa reported this week that contactless payments continued to climb as a percentage of all face-to-face transactions with its brand, mainly at retail, and among the uses the network is continuing to push for contactless is to pay for transit fares.

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MaaS Global CEO: Transit Agencies Should Not Control MaaS Platforms

Published: Jul 28 2021

Sampo Hietanen, founder and CEO of Finland-based MaaS Global, agrees with most other industry experts that public transit should form the “core” of the mobility services on offer in any MaaS app or platform. But he contends that it would be a mistake for the agency itself to control the platform.

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Case Study: German City First to Go Live with Check-in/be-out System in Country

Published: Jul 26 2021

Despite the growing popularity of contactless, NFC and QR-code technologies for electronic fare-collection, some transit agencies are experimenting with other technologies to collect fares.

Read more »
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Home

Worldwide Project Database

New Zealand

New Zealand: New Zealand JV Launches SIM-Based Wallet After Delay,...
The Semble joint venture, formerly known as TSM NZ, is made up of the countr
New Zealand: Second Major Banks Announces Plans to Launch Mobile...
ANZ plans to add HCE-based wallet and payments to its goMoney mobile-banking
New Zealand: Westpac Launches HCE Trial, Plans Commercial Launch in...
The 40-person trial among staffers and some customers puts a MasterCar

Netherlands

Netherlands: Rabobank First Dutch Bank to Launch NFC Commercially;...
Rabobank is putting its debit application on embedded chips in two older Samsung NFC devices, shunni

Hungary

Hungary: Magyar Telekom Launches Commercial NFC Service
The launch is the first commercial NFC service i

U.S.

U.S.: With Apple Pay Launch Imminent–a Rundown of Key Participants and...
Apple is launching its mobile-payments platform, Apple Pay, Oct.

Taiwan

Taiwan: Chunghwa Telecom First to Market with NFC Launch, but...
Chunghwa Telecom’s NFC-enabled Easy Hami Wallet enables users to tap to pay with MasterCard PayPass credit cards issued by four of the...

Spain

UPDATE: Spain: Bankinter Launches HCE Service, Predicts 30,000 Users in...
Mid-tier Spanish bank Bankinter finally launched its cloud-based payments using its own host-card emulation-based system, which it...

Switzerland

UPDATED: Switzerland: Shared NFC Wallet to be Deployed by Three Telcos...
Switzerland’s other two major telcos, Orange and Sunrise, are expected to launch the

Germany

Germany: No. 3 Telco Launches Wallet and Payments Application,...
Germany’s No.
More recent updates...

Features Section

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

Published: Aug 8 2021
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: May 18 2020
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.  

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Apr 24 2019
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Aug 15 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Jul 30 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Jun 19 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Jan 11 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Jan 2 2018
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

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

Published: Dec 1 2017
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.

Read more »
TAGS:

Feature: How Do Mobile Payments Fit into an Omnichannel World?

Published: Nov 10 2017
By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – As retailers and payments services providers increasingly try to connect and track consumer transactions across online and in-store channels, mobile payments must function as part of an omnichannel payments ecosystem, say industry observers.

Read more »
TAGS:
More features...