Latest News

Korean and Japanese Telcos Plan Interoperable NFC Services

South Korea’s No. 1 mobile operator SK Telecom today announced an agreement with Japan’s second and third largest telcos for interoperable NFC payment and loyalty services.

U.S. Retailer Group: NFC Could Boost Store-Branded Cards

Near Field Communication could help give retailers a new edge in the “wallet-share war” they have been losing for years to banks and their open-loop payment card brands, according to a new report from the giant National Retail Federation.

HID Global and Inside Contactless to Offer NFC Corporate Badges

U.S.-based HID Global, a major supplier of contactless access-control cards, plans to introduce its high-end corporate ID application on NFC phones using chips from Inside Contactless, the companies announced today.

French Minister of Industry Confirms Support for NFC Cities

Christian Estrosi, France’s minister of industry, has confirmed government support for three to five more cities to launch NFC services in France next year, following the precommercial NFC launch in Nice this spring.

Dutch Banks and Telcos to Move Forward on M-Payment Project

Jul 8 2010

Three major Dutch banks and three mobile operators have decided to move forward with planning for an NFC mobile-payment launch in the Netherlands, NFC Times has learned.

French Vendor Hopes to Make Noise with Sound-Based M-Payment

You might call it the un-NFC technology.

Visa Europe: UK Contactless Card Growth Exceeds Expectations

Jul 7 2010

Visa Europe today predicted the number of Visa-branded contactless cards on issue in the United Kingdom will reach 12 million by the end of the year, about 2 million more than previously projected.

Turkish Payment-Card Group Readies Multibank NFC Trial

Turkish payment card organization, BKM, intends to launch its long-planned multibank NFC trial as early as this month, the group has told NFC Times.

NXP-backed Group Seeks to Clear the Way for NFC Mifare Rollouts

Jul 1 2010

NXP Semiconductors has stepped up its push to get its popular Mifare technology broadly supported in NFC phones, forming an industry group to develop specifications for managing Mifare applications on the phones.

Dutch Banks and Telcos Consider NFC Mobile-Payment Launch

Jul 8 2010

Three major Dutch banks and three mobile operators are considering a coordinated rollout of NFC-based mobile payment in the Netherlands, NFC Times has learned.

Visa Likely to Endorse Second iPhone Attachment

Visa Inc. is likely to endorse another accessory that could turn Apple’s iPhone into a contactless-payment device and may be planning to have an exclusive agreement with the technology vendor, Wireless Dynamics Inc., NFC Times has learned.

U.S. Bank To Test microSD Cards with the iPhone

U.S. Bank believes combining contactless technology with mobile phones might be a way to reinvigorate the contactless-payment experience in the United States.

Barclaycard: Contactless to Reach ‘Big Tipping Point’ Next Year

UK-based Barclays bank and its credit-card arm, Barclaycard, will have issued a total of 20 million contactless debit and credit cards by the end of 2011, predicted James McDonald, head of strategic innovation programs for Barclaycard, who said he believes there will be “many millions” of contactless transactions in the United Kingdom next year.

NFC Forum Announces Global Competition Winners

An application that enables self-service shopping and a project that offers audio labeling of medications for the blind were the winners in their respective categories in the NFC Forum’s Global Competition 2010.

Smartphone Chip Maker Announces Intent to Buy Innovision

U.S.-based Broadcom, which reportedly supplies wireless chips for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, among other devices, announced plans to acquire UK-based NFC technology company Innovision Researc

Nokia Announces Symbian Smartphones to Pack NFC Starting in 2011

Jun 22 2010

The man Nokia has called upon to revamp its troubled smartphone division announced today that Nokia's Symbian smartphones will support NFC starting in 2011.

British Retail Lobby Cites Contactless in Call for Lower Fees

UK merchant trade association the British Retail Consortium said it is calling on Britain’s new Tory government to “intervene” to cut merchant fees on card transactions – concerned that “banks plan to make the higher debit card charging regime the norm for emerging contactless and mobile phone payment.”

French Banks Expect to Launch Delayed NFC Payment Soon in Nice

Banks could launch retail mobile payment as early as this month or in July as part of France’s precommercial NFC project that officially kicked off in May in the seaside city of Nice, say organizers.

NFC on Campus: UK Pilot is a Possible Prelude To College Launch

Newham College of Further Education in London today launched the first phase of a project that could eventually see 300 teachers use NFC phones to help keep track of attendance for 16,000 students.

Report: Japan’s M-Payment Players Discover That Points Count

Jun 14 2010

Without points programs, coupons and other incentives, mass adoption of contactless-mobile payment will not happen in Japan.

Polish Contactless Mobile-Payment Market Continues to Gear Up

Poland’s contactless-mobile payment market continues to warm up, with two NFC trials announced last month and a third trial expected in coming months.

Turkcell Considers Contactless SIM Launch

Jun 10 2010

Turkey’s largest mobile operator, Turkcell, may launch a mobile-payment service with a bank using SIM cards and flexible antennas, NFC Times has learned.

Apple Snubs NFC in New iPhone, But Other Smartphones Expected

Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the fourth-generation iPhone today and, as expected, there was no mention of Near Field Communication.

Innovision Notches a New Contract; Seeks to Broaden Reach for Its NFC IP

UK-based NFC chip technology and tag company Innovision today announced another contract for its NFC chip designs with what the company described as a major semiconductor supplier.

New York Extends Trial of Open-Loop Fare Payment

Jun 3 2010

New York City-area commuters will be able to tap a variety of contactless credit and debit cards or other devices to pay directly at train gates and onboard buses as part of a much-anticipated extension of a trial of open-loop fare collection.

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.