Latest News

Bangalore Bounce: Card Use Increases in Big NFC Trial

Electronic payments soared among participants in what has been billed as the largest-ever trial of NFC bank payment, held last year in Bangalore, India–though part of the increase can be tied to financial incentives users got to tap their phones to pay, a new report shows.

Unlocking Doors, Computers, with the iPhone? A New Patent Emerges

Another patent application filed by Apple has emerged, describing how an NFC-enabled iPhone could unlock computers and other personal devices, as well as the physical locks of users’ homes, offices and automobiles.

Source: China Unicom to Expand NFC Project in Face of Rival's RF-SIM

China’s No. 2 mobile operator plans to expand its NFC project in Shanghai, including adding bank payment to the mobile transit-ticketing service it now offers, a source told NFC Times.

Barclaycard’s iPhone POS Terminal to Accept Contactless

BARCELONA – Retailers would be able to accept bank-card payment through their iPhones–including contactless payment–under a new service big UK card issuer and acquirer Barclaycard plans to trial.

Nokia Kills Its First NFC SIM Phone

Nokia has quietly pulled the plug on its 6216 NFC phone, which was to be its first commercial model supporting a standard connection to the SIM card for storing payment and ticketing applications, NFC Times has learned.

New Samsung NFC Phone Gets First Trial in Spain

BARCELONA – Samsung Electronics has introduced its new NFC phone for its first public trial, lending more than 400 units for a demonstration at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Visa to Introduce microSD payWave Card

BARCELONA Visa Inc. will test contactless microSD cards with one or more banks during the second quarter, as it moves to satisfy what it said is “really high” demand from issuers for mobile-payment devices.

U.S. Telcos in Talks to Push Contactless-Mobile Payment

Feb 15 2010

The four major mobile operators in the United States are in discussions to possibly launch one or more mobile-payment projects involving Near Field Communication phones and other contactless technologies, NFC Times has learned.

French Telcos to Bill Low-Value Ticket Purchases

Consumers in the French Mediterranean city of Nice this spring will be able to pay for low-value tickets on the city’s bus and tram network directly on their mobile phone bills as part of a planned multiapplication NFC project.

Transport for London to Discard Mifare Classic

Feb 2 2010

London transit authority Transport for London is dumping its hack-prone Mifare Classic cards and will start to move its popular Oyster fare-collection program to high-end Mifare DESFire technology by early this year.

China Mobile to Expand Contactless SIM Project

Feb 2 2010

China’s giant mobile operator, China Mobile, is expanding its contactless-mobile service to Beijing and other markets in China using specially equipped contactless SIM cards it has developed, according to a market researcher.

Visa Europe Chief Predicts Doubling of payWave in 2010

Visa Europe CEO Peter Ayliffe predicts Visa-branded contactless cards on issue in Europe will double to 12 million by the end of 2010.

Contactless Shipments to Break 1 Billion by 2014

Contactless smart card shipments for ID, transportation and payment will double by 2014, hitting the one billion mark and will account for 23% of payment cards, according to UK-based IMS Research.

Contactless Fare Payments Double for Moscow Metro, as Agency Focuses on New Payments Services

Moscow Metro said contactless fare payments have doubled this year, as the large transit agency continues to add acceptance points for a range of contactless bank card brands and NFC wallets.

Masabi Seeks to Expand Beyond Mobile Ticketing and to Sign Up Large Agencies, Stoking More Competition with Suppliers Like Cubic

UK-based software-as-a-service ticketing provider Masabi said it is targeting large transit agencies in the U.S. and beyond, seeking to sell the agencies on plugging into its SaaS platform rather than building what Masabi contends are expensive and often delayed bespoke fare-collection systems, the vendor told Mobility Payments.

Your Preview of Apple’s NFC Launch: Yes to SE, No to HCE, Tag Reading Unlikely

NFC Times Exclusive: Apple’s scheduled announcement Tuesday of its next iPhone is expected to make it the last and also the most prominent of the major smartphone makers to adopt NFC.

Isis and MCX Announce New Brands as Apple's Planned Mobile-Payments Service Looms

The telco-owned joint venture behind the Isis Wallet announced a new name for the wallet, while the merchant-led MCX consortium finally released its consumer-facing brand and a timeframe for a planned rollout, as the U.S. mobile-payments landscape heats up.

With HCE Threat Looming, Telcos and Their Trade Group Seek to Cut Cost and Complexity of SIM-Based NFC

NFC Times Exclusive: With interest in host-card emulation continuing to grow and SIM-based NFC rollouts in need of a boost, mobile operators and their global trade association, GSMA, are pushing for significant cuts in the cost and complexity of TSMs and lowering other hurdles that have discouraged service providers from provisioning their applications on SIM cards.

Westpac NZ Product Chief: HCE Offers Bank More Simplicity, Control

Aug 1 2014

NFC Times Exclusive: Westpac New Zealand’s product chief told NFC Times he believes host-card emulation will reduce costs and increase flexibility, while ensuring the bank can use its own branded wallet.

Australian Credit Union Launches First HCE Service in Asia Pacific

Jul 14 2014

Australia’s largest credit union, CUA, is the first financial institution in Asia-Pacific to commercially launch mobile payments using host-card emulation, announcing the move today in Australia.

Airlines Continue to Test NFC for Boarding; BLE Piloted for Airport Navigation

France-based telco Orange and Air France, along with airline industry and information technology services provider SITA have launched a trial of an NFC boarding pass application for the airline’s route from Toulouse to Paris, and SITA is also piloting Bluetooth low energy beacons at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

BBVA’s Pioneering HCE Service: Payments Innovation Head Talks Tokens, Reasons for Shunning SIMs

NFC Times Exclusive: Host-card emulation represents an “inflection point” for driving the rollout of NFC mobile payments and could also help the SIM-based NFC ecosystem to become more efficient and less costly, the head of payments innovation for major Spanish bank BBVA told NFC Times.

Canada Sees More NFC Commercial Launches with SIMs, but Market Remains Unsettled

Jul 15 2014

NFC Times Exclusive: With its high rate of smartphone ownership, strong contactless-payment infrastructure and well-developed NFC ecosystem, Canada is increasingly seen as a market to watch for NFC commercial deployments.

Russian Bank Launches Delayed PayPass Service on Embedded Chips in Two Samsung NFC Models

Jul 15 2014

Russian Standard Bank launched its long-planned NFC-payments service on embedded chips in Samsung NFC devices, under an earlier partnership deal between Samsung Electronics and MasterCard Worldwide.

Next Android Operating System to Support Enhancements to HCE

The next major Android upgrade, code-named Android L, includes changes to the way host-card emulation handles default applications for payment, according to a developer preview.

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.