Topic “Everything Everywhere”

Telefónica UK Launches O2 Wallet; Promises NFC Later in 2012

Telefónica UK, known as O2, launched its long anticipated O2 Wallet today, offering text-based money transfers and online product searches and purchasing, but no NFC yet.

UK Telcos File Formal Request to EU; Await Crucial Decision on NFC JV

Mar 12 2012

The United Kingdom’s three largest mobile operators have filed their application with European antitrust regulators, seeking approval for their proposed joint venture to help them roll out NFC mobile wallets and services.

Orange UK to Launch NFC Loyalty App; Seeks to Build User Numbers

Feb 27 2012

Orange UK has announced what it calls the United Kingdom’s first mobile-contactless retail rewards scheme, enabling subscribers with NFC phones to tap smart posters to receive free food or drink items from a UK restaurant chain.

The Year Ahead for NFC: Major M-Commerce Rollouts Unlikely Until 2013

By: 
Dan Balaban

2012 was going to be the year that the new era of NFC-based mobile commerce had finally arrived–with Google Wallet rolling out widely, mobile operators in the U.S. and Europe making significant inroads with their own mobile wallets and big Asian m-commerce players generally commercializing NFC, as well.

Operator Seeks to Block British Telecom Collaboration

The mobile phone provider Three UK on Wednesday asked the European Commission to block a joint venture of Britain’s three largest operators to sell a common mobile-payment and advertising platform for retailers, arguing that the companies’ influence in the market would result in high fees for consumers. (New York Times)

UK Mobile Operators Plan Joint Venture for NFC M-Commerce Push

Jun 16 2011

UPDATED: Facing the prospect of market fragmentation and threats from such new mobile-commerce players as Google, the three largest mobile operators in the United Kingdom plan a joint venture to provide a "one-stop shop" for mobile advertising, payment, ticketing and other services in the telcos’ planned NFC mobile wallets.

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.

Orange and Barclaycard Launch ‘Quick Tap’ NFC Payment Service

May 20 2011

Orange UK and Barclaycard today announced their much-anticipated commercial launch of NFC, a mobile-payment service called “Quick Tap.”

Orange UK Launches Prepaid Contactless Payment Card

Mobile operator Orange UK has launched one of the first contactless prepaid payment cards–with the application also likely to be available on NFC phones later this year.

Vodafone Finally Ready to Take Plunge into NFC and Mobile Payments in Europe

NFC Times Exclusive: Vodafone Group today announced the launch of an NFC mobile-wallet and payments service in Spain and timetables for similar launches in four other European countries–all featuring Vodafone’s own co-branded prepaid payment application, SmartPass.

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.