NFC TimesThe premier source for news, analysis and commentary on
Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

NFC Times Exclusive: Samsung Electronics has switched back to an NFC controller chip from NXP Semiconductors for most of the planned shipments of its new flagship, the Galaxy S5, but the phones will not pack NXP’s embedded secure element, NFC Times has learned.

NFC Times Exclusive: While continuing to support their applications on secure elements in NFC phones, Visa and MasterCard Worldwide confirmed their firm support for host-card emulation the past week, as they continue to fast-track new HCE specifications to the market.

BARCELONA, Spain– MasterCard Worldwide announced it has acquired U.S.-based mobile wallet vendor C-SAM, a company in which it had made a sizable investment in late 2012.

BARCELONA, Spain – Samsung Electronics today unveiled its fifth-generation Galaxy S flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S5, which will support NFC, as expected, and also feature a fingerprint sensor in the home button that can secure mobile payments. PayPal has announced it will be the first payments company to support the fingerprint authentication feature on the device.

Visa and MasterCard Worldwide have announced support for host-card emulation and cloud-based payments, with Visa saying it already has initial standards ready and noted endorsements from banks in the U.S., Australia and Canada.

NFC Times Exclusive: Spanish bank Bankinter has announced it plans to launch its long-anticipated host-card emulation service commercially in the second or third quarter, following a security evaluation by a Germany-based lab.

Incipio’s Cashwrap NFC case to enable iPhone owners to use the Isis Mobile Wallet is available for Verizon Wireless, the accessories maker announced Thursday.

NFC Times Exclusive: RBC Secure Cloud Explained: 
As one of the first commercial launches of cloud-based open-loop payments using NFC, observers will be watching closely how well Royal Bank of Canada’s RBC Secure Cloud service does in the market.

Large Spanish department store chain El Corte Inglés has deployed 5,200 contactless terminals in its stores, the company announced on Tuesday, adding more momentum to one of Europe’s top contactless markets.

NFC Times Exclusive: The cost and complexity of loading and provisioning applications on secure elements in NFC phones has held back mobile-payments rollouts and added to the growing interest of such alternatives as host-card emulation, Bluetooth low energy, even QR codes, observers agree.

Two of Hong Kong’s largest banks, HSBC and Hang Seng, have announced plans to launch NFC mobile payments on SIM cards with Hong Kong’s major mobile operators, but using their own Android apps. Meanwhile, interest in embedded secure elements among banks remains high in the market.

NFC Times Exclusive: France’s Bouygues Telecom, a pioneer in the NFC ecosystem, has frozen its NFC program, just months before the French market plans to roll out the technology nationally, NFC Times has learned.