Latest News

Gemalto Develops Embedded Secure Chip with STMicroelectronics

ORLANDO, FLA.– France-based Gemalto announced today it is working with chip maker STMicroelectronics on an embedded secure chip offer for NFC phones.

RIM Stays Mum on Plans for Embedded Chips in NFC Phones

Research in Motion is continuing to decline comment on its plans for embedded secure chips in its forthcoming BlackBerry NFC phones.

R&D Chief for Tesco.com Questions Contactless Security

The head of research and development for the online operation of huge UK-based supermarket and general merchandise chain Tesco has reportedly expressed doubts about the security of contactless payments and maturity of the technology.

Major Spanish Telcos Announce Standards Agreement

Spain’s three major mobile operators announced today they have signed a cooperation agreement to work on standards and interoperability of NFC services.

Visa and ANZ Bank Hold microSD Trial in Australia

Fifty employees of Visa Inc. and ANZ bank in Australia are testing microSD cards in Apple’s iPhone, Visa announced today.

Doubts Growing That Apple Will Adopt NFC in Next iPhone

Doubts are growing that Apple will include NFC in the next iPhone, with sources from some mobile operators reportedly saying Apple has told them it would not adopt the technology this year.

VeriFone: New NFC Players to Change Point-of-Sale Landscape

About 25% to 30% of merchant locations in the United States will need to be covered by contactless terminals if service providers and mobile operators hope to get consumers interested in tapping their NFC phones for retail transactions, says POS terminal vendor VeriFone.

Google Expands NFC Tag Service to a Third City

Google has expanded its NFC-enabled ratings and recommendations service to a third U.S. city, Las Vegas, where it has begun to market its Google Places and Hotpot service.

German Transit Authorities to Launch Joint NFC Ticketing Service

Frankfurt-based regional transit authority RMV said it plans to launch a joint mobile ticketing service with German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn, which could lead to nationwide NFC-based ticketing.

'Virtually All' BlackBerrys to Support NFC, Says RIM Exec

Research in Motion’s managing director for the United Kingdom has reportedly said that "virtually all" of the company’s BlackBerry devices will support NFC technology.

Bank of America to Launch Expanded microSD Trial in Three Cities

Bank of America plans to launch an expanded trial of contactless microSD cards–enabling customers in Atlanta, New York and San Francisco to tap to pay with BlackBerry smartphones using both MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave applications, a bank spokeswoman confirmed to NFC Times.

French City to Launch NFC Trial with Contactless E-Purse

The city of Bordeaux, France, in March will launch an NFC trial enabling users to pay with a contactless electronic purse, Moneo, along with a few other services.

Transport for London to Accept Bank Cards on Entire Network in 2012

Apr 25 2014

Transport for London has made it official, announcing its planned move to accept contactless debit and credit cards for fares on buses in time for the Summer Olympics next year, and on the rest of its transit network by the end of 2012.

Isis Contends Its Platform Will Be 'Open to All'

Seeking to fill the planned Isis mobile wallets with a number of services–and perhaps also to repel an expected line of attack from rivals Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide–representatives of the Isis mobile operator joint venture are emphasizing that their platform will be "open."

Google Delivers Gingerbread Update–Adding Minor NFC Enhancements

An update to Google’s latest Android operating system, Gingerbread, is now reportedly available, offering some added NFC functionality, though not yet card emulation.

German Telcos Plan New Payment Scheme Using NFC Phones

Three major German mobile operators plan to launch their own payment scheme, seeking to expand their small Internet payment service, mpass, to shops and restaurants using NFC phones, a source told NFC Times.

RIM: NFC Will Become Standard Technology in Smartphones

BARCELONA — 2011 will be a "pivotal year for NFC," said the head of handset software for Research in Motion, in confirming that "many" of the company’s BlackBerry models will support NFC this year.

Mobile Trade Group Calls for More NFC Standards

Mobile trade group the GSMA today announced that major mobile operators "have voiced their commitment" to launch NFC and called for more standards to ensure interoperability of NFC services.

NFC Forum Searches for New Executive Director

Feb 24 2011

The NFC Forum is looking for a new executive director to replace Paula Berger, who resigned from the standards and trade group last month.

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.

ZTE Chief: No Plans Yet for NFC Rollout

BARCELONA – The head of China-based telecom equipment maker ZTE told NFC Times the company will supply NFC-enabled phones in response to orders from mobile operators, but does not plan to include the technology in phones as a default feature.

Deutsche Telekom Announces NFC Mobile-Wallet Rollouts

BARCELONA – Large mobile operator group Deutsche Telekom today announced plans to roll out NFC services in four of its European markets starting this year, including launching its own mobile-payment service at the retail point of sale in its home base of Germany.

Google’s Schmidt: NFC a 'Mega-Scale Opportunity'

BARCELONA – Smartphones that can pinpoint a person’s location, know his interests and tap to pay with NFC should "revolutionize electronic commerce as well as payments," said Google CEO Eri

Qualcomm to Introduce Wireless Chips Supporting NFC

Feb 15 2011

BARCELONA – U.S.-based Qualcomm today announced that its new generation of combo-wireless chipsets, which could be used for smartphones and tablets, will support NFC.

Orange Announces First NFC Smartphone for European Markets

Feb 14 2011

BARCELONA – France Telecom-Orange Group today announced plans to introduce its first NFC-enabled smartphone model, the Samsung Wave 578, which Samsung Electronics introduced yesterday.

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.