Top Stories

Moscow Metro Plans Rollout of ‘Face Pay’ Technology for Fare Collection
Stockholm Transit Agency Launches Open-Loop Fare Payments for Multimodal Rides
Case Study: Amsterdam Transit Operator Seeks to Go Nearly 100% Digital for Ticketing to Cut Costs and Enhance Service
Google Announces Plans to Enable Public Transit Ticketing in Maps App along with Rollout of Parking Fare Payments
More Top Stories
Moscow Metro Plans Rollout of ‘Face Pay’ Technology for Fare Collection
Published: Mar 4 2021
NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – The Moscow Metro plans to roll out facial-recognition technology at every station by the end of 2021 to enable customers to pay fares, officials say. The project, while delayed, would be the largest of its kind globally.
Stockholm Transit Agency Launches Open-Loop Fare Payments for Multimodal Rides
Published: Feb 28 2021
NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Stockholm Public Transport, or SL, the city-owned company that oversees major public transport in the city, is the latest agency in Europe to launch open-loop fare collection, offering multimodal rides with a tap of a contactless EMV bank card or NFC device.
Case Study: Amsterdam Transit Operator Seeks to Go Nearly 100% Digital for Ticketing to Cut Costs and Enhance Service
Published: Feb 23 2021
NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – GVB, Amsterdam’s largest public transit operator, says it seeks to replace an aging closed-loop fare card system and go to open-loop and other digital tokens with the planned rollout of its new account-based ticketing system.
Google Announces Plans to Enable Public Transit Ticketing in Maps App along with Rollout of Parking Fare Payments
Published: Feb 18 2021
NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Google has announced plans to launch public transit ticketing for more than 80 cities globally in coming weeks from its trip-planning Maps app and also to enable users to buy virtual closed-loop fare cards–starting with the Clipper card in the San Francisco Bay Area–directly from the app. That’s in addition to enabling payments for parking in more than 400 U.S. cities.

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

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 »
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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 »
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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 »
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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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IoT Payments Backers Say Devices Will Range from the Familiar to the Far-Fetched

Published: Nov 1 2017
By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – With the buzz around the Internet of Things growing ever stronger, the payments ecosystem is determined not to be left out.

Read more »
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More features...

Headline News

UPDATED: U.S. Federal Government Awards Grants to Help Transit Agencies Roll Out Contactless Payments and Mobile Ticketing

Published: Feb 16 2021
Feb 18 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – U.S. public transit agencies have been keen to remove cash and paper tickets from their buses and trains and to keep more distance between customers and agency staffers because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now they are getting a new boost from the U.S. federal government in the form of grant funds to enable them to enhance contactless and mobile payments systems, among other measures.

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German Transit Agency Plans to Complete Open-Loop Rollout on Buses and Trains This Quarter, Expand to Other Mobility Later

Published: Feb 8 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – German transit agency SWB Bus and Bahn plans to fully roll out its contactless EMV fare payments service BONNsmart to its bus and train lines by the end of the first quarter, after launching a pilot last fall, confirmed a spokesman, who added that plans call for eventually expanding the contactless service to payments for parking and such micromobility modes as e-scooters.

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Large Private U.S. Bus Company Latest to Adopt Mobile Ticketing in Covid Era

Published: Feb 4 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Academy Bus, a large private commuter and charter bus company serving the U.S. East Coast, has launched its first mobile-ticketing service with the SilverPass app, enabling commuters to purchase digital tickets with credit cards or employer benefit cards.

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LA Transit Authority Introduces Virtual TAP Card on Android, Complementing Earlier Launch with Apple

Published: Feb 1 2021
Feb 2 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro, has followed through with plans to offer Android NFC phone users a way to pay fares with the agency’s TAP closed-loop fare card.

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Penetration Rates for Contactless Payments Saw Strong Growth in 2020, including in U.S., Say Networks

Published: Jan 29 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – The CEOs of both Visa and Mastercard in their respective earnings calls yesterday confirmed that contactless payments continued to grow as a share of all face-to-face card payments, with consumer fears of handling cash building on already strong growth trends for the technology.

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Moscow Metro Sees Continued Growth in Open-Loop Transactions Despite Fall in Ridership from Covid

Published: Jan 28 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – The Moscow Metro saw a large increase in contactless open-loop transactions in 2020, despite a sharp fall in ridership because of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Roman Latypov, a first deputy CEO for the transit agency.

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Visa Increases Support for Analog Watches and Other Passive Wearables

Published: Jan 21 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Visa is supporting another provisioning company, Sweden-based Fidesmo, to deliver and manage Visa-generated tokens to passive wearables, such as analog designer watches, keyrings and bracelets. The move, which follows Visa’s support in recent months for at least one other provisioning company serving an analog watchmaker, promises to expand use of payments wearables to more issuers, markets and devices.  

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U.S. Transit Agency in Pennsylvania Latest to Launch Mobile and Smart Card Ticketing with SaaS Platform

Published: Jan 18 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – A mid-tier U.S. transit agency in Pennsylvania is the latest to introduce mobile ticketing with an option for riders to use smart cards to pay for fares, using a software-as-a-service ticketing platform from a start-up.

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New York’s MTA Hits OMNY Milestone as Contactless EMV Transactions Continue to Grow

Published: Jan 5 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority has recorded more than 35 million contactless transactions since it launched its OMNY open-loop fare payments service in May of 2019, and usage continues to increase.

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Milan Transit Operator Plans to Give Contactless EMV Fare Payments Larger Role, Including Use with Planned MaaS Platform

Published: Jan 3 2021

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Milan’s public transit operator, Azienda Trasporti Milanesi, or ATM, which began accepting contactless credit and debit cards on its four-line metro in 2018, has begun to expand the EMV payments service to buses. But the agency has much larger plans for the technology.

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Boston Transit Authority Makes Aggressive Move to Eliminate Cash in Planned Fare-Collection System

Published: Dec 27 2020

NFC TIMES EXCLUSIVE Insight – The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or MBTA, in Boston plans to completely do away with cash fare payments on its various transport modes when it rolls out its massive new fare-collection system, an MBTA official told attendees during a recent virtual conference.

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Israel Launches Nationwide Mobile-Ticketing Scheme; Moovit, Others Provide Apps

Published: Dec 23 2020

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – Israel this week launched a nationwide mobile-ticketing system, enabling riders to pay for trips on buses and later on railways, with the charges assessed at the end of each month.

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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

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:

IoT Payments Backers Say Devices Will Range from the Familiar to the Far-Fetched

Published: Nov 1 2017
By: 
K.N. Smith

NFC TIMES Exclusive Insight – With the buzz around the Internet of Things growing ever stronger, the payments ecosystem is determined not to be left out.

Read more »
TAGS:
More features...