Features Section

Analysis: Quick Tap Launches Fast but Expect Slow Take-up

By: 
Dan Balaban

Mobile operator Orange UK and payment issuer Barclaycard face challenges as they seek to get their “Quick Tap” service off the ground, say UK analysts.

Infineon to Focus on Market for NFC Secure Elements

By: 
Dan Balaban

Germany-based chip maker Infineon Technologies has no plans to join its rivals in producing NFC chips–instead focusing on secure elements that can store payment and other applications in NFC phones.

M-Pesa Mobile-Money Service to Use NFC? Not Anytime Soon

By: 
Dan Balaban

The business development lead for Vodafone Group’s mobile payment solutions unit, which runs the popular M-Pesa mobile funds-transfer service in Kenya, said the telco has no plans to introduce NFC to the offer.

In Open-Loop Drive, Transit Agencies Can’t Leave Unbanked Behind

By: 
Tom Zind

With Transport for London’s recent announcement confirming it would be the first big transit authority to accept bank cards for bus and metro fares, momentum continues to build for other large transit authorities to go to open-loop payment.

DoCoMo Reveals Strategy for Its Move to NFC

By: 
Dan Balaban

NTT DoCoMo will sell "hybrid" NFC phones that support both standard NFC and domestic FeliCa technology from Japan’s Sony Corp. when the big telco makes its planned move to NFC late next year.

Preparing for Mobile Payment: Visa, MasterCard and Isis Weigh in

By: 
Tom Zind

While there is much anticipation that consumers will routinely pay with their mobile phones, representatives of Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide–along with their would-be challenger, the telco-led Isis joint venture–say they know most consumers will need to be convinced to use their phones to pay.

Isis: For 'Daunting Task' Ahead–NFC Interactivity Will be Key

By: 
Tom Zind

Acknowledging the "daunting task" that lies ahead in attempting to establish a new payment brand in the United States, the new chief marketing officer for the Isis joint venture said Isis is not planning to try to replace payment cards with mobile phones.

Analysts: Starbucks’ Bar-Code Embrace Unlikely to Slow NFC

By: 
Tom Zind

While NFC-based mobile payment could roll out by late this year, Starbucks, the world’s largest coffee shop chain, has made it clear it is not prepared to wait.

First Trickle of Android NFC Apps Appear Before Expected Flood

By: 
Dan Balaban

A restaurant-couponing app developed by a tiny startup based in Greenwich, Conn., appeared today in the Android Market store, believed to be the first commercial NFC app for new Android phones in what observers predict will become a flood of new services for the smartphones.

Bling Continues to Seek a Breakout with Recent Moves

By: 
Tom Zind

Bling Nation, the fledgling U.S. mobile-payments company, may be in the midst of a course adjustment, as it seeks to increase its visibility and broaden its value to merchants and consumers alike.

HEADLINE NEWS

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Indonesian Capital Seeks to Expand to Multimodal Fare Collection and MaaS

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.

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

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.