Topic “United Kingdom”

Tesco Looks at NFC and Contactless ‘Intensively’ but Remains in Wait-and-See Mode

While giant UK retailer Tesco is following NFC and contactless payment “intensively” and continues to trial contactless acceptance in more than 30 stores, it has not yet committed to rolling out the technology, in part because of security concerns among customers, said one of Tesco’s mobile chiefs.

UK: Major UK Bank Launches Large M-Payment Trial with iPhone Attachment

Scope: 
Trial
Launch: 
Oct 2012
Main Application: 
Payment
Users: 
1,000

UK bank NatWest has enabled 1,000 customers to tap to pay with its TouchPay service using a Visa payWave applicati

EU Regulators Approve UK Telco Joint Venture; Clears Way for NFC-Based Wallet Platform

The European Commission announced today it has unconditionally approved the creation of a proposed mobile-commerce joint venture by the three largest operators in the UK, Everything Everywhere, Telefónica UK and Vodafone UK.

Orange UK and Barclaycard Add Galaxy S III to Quick Tap Service; More Phones Planned for Q4

Sep 4 2012

Orange UK and Barclaycard have announced the availability of the popular Samsung Galaxy S III for their Quick Tap NFC payment service, as they seek to spur interest in their as yet little-used service.

Major UK Retailer Marks & Spencer Adopts Contactless

Marks & Spencer, one of the UK’s largest retailers, is reportedly the latest merchant to adopt contactless payment.

Survey: Security Concerns Continue to Create Consumer Resistance to Mobile Payments

While awareness of NFC mobile payments is fairly strong, only a little more than one in 10 respondents to a recent survey by UK-based market research firm YouGov said it was likely they would start to use mobile wallets or NFC in the next two years.

UK Post Office Announces Large Rollout of Contactless Terminals

The UK Post Office has announced it will start equipping more than 11,500 branches nationwide with contactless terminals next month, which would make it the biggest single merchant accepting contactless payment in Europe.

London Oyster Card Chief: NFC Not Ready for Fast-Paced Fare Payment

LONDON – The head of London’s large Oyster card program expressed frustration with the pace of development of NFC, complaining the technology isn’t ready for London transit riders to use to pay fares.

Barclaycard Seeks More M-Payment Users with Stickers Despite Its NFC Project

Despite the coming availability of more NFC phones from its partner Orange and the opening up of its prepaid mobile-payment application to funding from other issuers, UK-based Barclaycard has decided it needs more exposure for its contactless m-payment service.

Big UK Merchant Asda to Trial Contactless Payment

Large UK retailer Asda will pilot contactless payment starting in July at 25 of its stores, Visa Europe announced today.
The chain, a subsidiary of giant U.S.-based retailer Wal-Mart Stores, has only agreed to trial the technology, not to roll it out to its 500 stores in the United Kingdom. Most of the chain’s stores are supercenters or hypermarkets.
At present, there are 105,000 contactless terminals in place in the UK, most at small shops, Visa told NFC Times. The highest profile UK merchant so far rolling out contactless acceptance is McDonald’s, which agreed last year to equip all of its 1,200 locations in the country.
But other big merchants, including Starbucks and Tesco, the latter the largest retailer in the UK, are holding back from nationwide deployments.
This summer, however, Transport for London promises to become the biggest “merchant” to date accepting contactless credit and debit cards, when it launches open-loop fare collection on its 8,500 London buses.
The transport authority has vowed to be ready to accept the contactless bank cards on the buses in time for the opening ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. 
There are about 20 million contactless bank cards in circulation in the UK today, most support Visa payWave or MasterCard PayPass. Foreign open-loop credit and debit cards will also work on the buses. And it’s possible the buses could accept payment from NFC phones if the payment applications are not prepaid, which requires different authentication.
Supercenter retailer Asda has agreed to trial contactless payment in the UK at 25 stories this summer, though the major merchant has not committed to a national rollout at its 500 stores.

Large UK retailer Asda will pilot contactless payment starting in July at 25 of its stores, Visa Europe announced today.

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.