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Dan Balaban's blog

Licensing, Not Security, Drives New Transit ‘Standard’

Published: Feb 5 2010

The vendor group planning to launch a contactless transit-ticketing offer to compete with world-dominating Mifare technology is selling its initiative as a much-needed move to open standards and one that also provides security transit operators can trust.

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How Apple Will Likely Implement NFC Mobile Payments; Hint: TSMs Need Not Apply

Published: Sep 2 2014

UPDATED: There’s little doubt now that Apple will support NFC and mobile payments in its next iPhone. The remaining question is exactly how it will do so.

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IPhone NFC Buzz Grows Louder, Though Remains within Realm of Speculation

Published: May 21 2014

There is no confirmation yet that Apple will adopt NFC for the forthcoming iPhone 6, but sources have told NFC Times they believe there is substance to the rumors that Cupertino is finally ready to adopt the technology this year.

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Although Banks are Looking Keenly at HCE, NFC SIM Not Dead Yet

Published: Apr 17 2014

NFC Times Exclusive: While banks gearing up for NFC launches are keenly interested in host-card emulation, as this week’s NFC Times story about planned NFC launches in France notes, a number of banks in France and elsewhere do not plan to wait until HCE is mature enough for commercial rollouts.

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Telcos, SIM Vendors Live with HCE; MasterCard Grows Silent on Google Waiver, Weve Deal

Published: Mar 24 2014

With Google’s strong push behind host-card emulation and endorsements from Visa and MasterCard Worldwide, mobile operators, SIM vendors and TSMs are resigned to living with the technology, even publicly supporting it–up to a point.

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Backing by Visa Promises Big Boost to HCE, but Many Banks Expected to Stick with Secure Elements for Now

Published: Feb 19 2014

Visa seems to be developing a habit of taking a dig at mobile operators right before their showcase event, the Mobile World Congress, which starts next week in Barcelona.

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MCX Deal with Paydiant Leaves Gemalto in Limbo

Published: Feb 14 2014

The announcement Wednesday by U.S. merchant group MCX that it is working with U.S. vendor Paydiant for its planned QR-code based mobile-payments service raises doubts of just what role remains for France-based Gemalto.

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Despite HCE Buzz, Expect Lots of Secure Elements in 2014

Published: Dec 13 2013

Despite the buzz around host-card emulation, or HCE, which allows for payment and other NFC applications on contactless card terminals without the need for secure elements, expect plenty of embedded secure elements and NFC SIMs to be shipped in 2014.

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CapOne Keen on HCE; OTI Wave Attachment

Published: Nov 27 2013

NFC Times Exclusive: When Capital One dropped out of the Isis trial in September, some people thought the issuer–one of the largest in the U.S.­–would be back, perhaps after it waited to see if Isis would actually take off.

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Isis Technology May be Ready This Year, But Effective National Launch is 2014

Published: Nov 14 2013

NFC Times Exclusive: Isis made good on its pledge to go nationwide before the end of the year with its announcement of its national launch today, after Verizon made version 2.0 of the Isis Mobile Wallet live on Google Play yesterday. That followed AT&T and T-Mobile USA, which had earlier made the new wallet app available.

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HEADLINE NEWS

Australian Transit Agency to Launch Mobility-as-a-Service Trial as It Pursues Long-Term MaaS Strategy

Published: Dec 9 2021

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

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Updated: U.S. Transit Agency Seeks to Reduce–Though Not Eliminate–Cash Acceptance with New Fare-Collection System

Published: Dec 9 2021

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.

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UK Government Seeks to Bring London-Style Contactless Fare Payments System to Other Regions

Published: Nov 30 2021

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.

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More Cities in Finland Expected to Move to Open-Loop Fare Payments

Published: Nov 16 2021

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.

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Moscow Metro Expands Test of ‘Virtual Troika’ in Pays Wallets, as It Continues to Develop Digital-Payments Services

Published: Nov 16 2021

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.

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Ohio Transit Agency Expects Significant Revenue Loss as it Builds Equity with Fare Capping

Published: Nov 16 2021

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.

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Special Report: Interest Grows in ‘White-Label EMV’ for Closed-Loop Transit Cards

Published: Nov 2 2021

As more transit agencies introduce open-loop fare payments, interest is starting to grow in use of white-label EMV cards that agencies can issue in place of proprietary closed-loop cards for riders who don’t have bank cards or don’t want to use them to pay fares.

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Swedish Transit Agency Launches Express Mode Feature for Apple Pay, though Most Ticketing Still with Barcode-Based App

Published: Oct 28 2021

Skånetrafiken, the transit agency serving one of Sweden’s largest counties, announced today it has expanded its contactless open-loop payments service to include the Express Mode feature for Apple Pay.

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Major Bus Operators in Hong Kong Now Accepting Open-Loop Payments–Adding More Competition for Octopus

Published: Oct 28 2021

Two more bus operators in Hong Kong on Saturday launched acceptance of open-loop contactless fare payments, with both also accepting QR code-based mobile ticketing–as the near ubiquitous closed-loop Octopus card continues to see more competition.

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Moscow Metro Launches Full Rollout of ‘Face Pay;’ Largest Biometric Payments Service of Its Kind

Published: Oct 18 2021

Touting it as the largest rollout of biometric payments in the world, Moscow Metro launched its high-profile “Face Pay” service Friday, as expected, and predicted that 10% to 15% would regularly us

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Indonesian Capital Seeks to Expand to Multimodal Fare Collection and MaaS

Published: Oct 18 2021

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, whose metropolitan area is home to more than 30 million people, is notorious for its stifling traffic congestion. In response, the government metro and light-rail networks and now it is funding an expansion of the fare-collection system to enable more multimodal payments and to build a mobility-as-a-service platform.

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Exclusive: NFC Wallets Grow as Share of Contactless Fare Payments and Not Only Because of Covid

Published: Oct 18 2021

Transit agencies that have rolled out open-loop contactless payments are seeing growing use of NFC wallets to pay fares, as Covid-wary passengers see convenience in tapping their phones or wearables to pay.

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