NFC Times Exclusive – A year after its launch of closed-loop HCE NFC payments for BlackBerry 10 devices, Canadian-based coffee chain Tim Hortons has yet to roll out HCE for Android, continuing to offer only a bar-code-based version of the gift card service instead on non-BlackBerry platforms, although mobile app and HCE vendor Clearbridge Mobile says the BlackBerry launch received a positive response from customers.
The BlackBerry 10 application was downloaded 30,000 times in its first three months, HCE provider Clearbridge said. BlackBerry, whose market share has dwindled to less than a percentage point in the U.S., still maintains a 10% to 15% market share in Canada, Shiv Kamal, business development and marketing manager of Clearbridge Mobile told NFC Times at a recent industry event.
“In the Canadian market, Blackberry has some nostalgia,” said Clearbridge CTO and co-founder Sanjay Malhotra, and Tim Hortons holds about 70% of the country’s quick-serve coffee market share.
