Bharat Book has released a new report forecasting NFC applications and markets for 2009-2014. The report, titled “Near Field Communications – the future of m-payments,” analyzes NFC technology at three stages: the development and standardization process that NFC has undergone since its inception in the market, the current NFC market status (where the technology stands […]

Visa Inc. has named Jim McCarthy the new global head of product – the top executive position in charge of developing mobile, NFC and contactless payment, among other duties, according to mobile-financial.com. McCarthy, whom Visa promoted from head of North American bank sales, replaced Elizabeth Buse on April 1. Buse will go on to become […]

Cardis Enterprises International is introducing its small value contactless payment solution to the European market. According to Cardis, costly back-end shadow accounting and high-processing costs have kept low value contactless payment solutions from giving consumers an obvious advantage over using cash. Cardis addresses this issue by introducing an industry-first end-to-end transaction aggregation system, which enables […]

China Unipay has launched a mobile payment pilot in six provinces and municipalities including Shanghai, Shandong, Ningbo, Hunan, Sichuan and Shenzhen, according to People’s Daily Online. After registering, customers can install financial IC cards provided by participating banks into their existing mobile phones to receive services such as contactless payment and mobile banking. According to […]

Starbucks has expanded its mobile payment system from 16 shops to more than 1,000 locations in Target stores, according to americanbanker.com. The system, created by mFoundry Inc., generates a coded image on the customer’s smart phone, which is passed under a reader at the point of sale. The amount purchased is automatically deducted from the […]

Marseilles, France has chosen ASK to supply contactess Transpass cards for the city’s public transit system. The new cards will be used on all the city’s transportation services, including Metro, tramway, bus, bikes, and sea shuttles, and within the 18 towns and cities of the Marseilles Provence Metropolis Urban Community (CUMPM). Transpasses are designed to […]

Bristol is trailing contactless payment on its local bus system, according to squidcard.com. Beginning in June, passengers will be able to use prepaid cards with credit limits of £50 to pay for fares on buses throughout the city. The Bristol Council has shelled out £20,000 for the pilot, which is expected to result in a […]

Credicard MasterCard holders in Rio de Janeiro can now use PayPass to pay for the Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain) lift, Supervia train stations, UCI cinemas, McDonald’s fast food restaurants and Estapar/Riopark parking lots, according to internetretailing.net. Additionally, riders of Rio’s metro system will soon be able to pay for fares contacltessly, and Redecard, the […]

RNCOS has released a report predicting 20% market growth for the Indian smart card industry through 2012 making it one of the fastest growing smart card markets in the world. According to the report, the telecoms sector will remain the largest part of India’s smart card market, reaching 67% by 2012. However, other sectors like […]

French telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent announced that it will debut a new global hosting service for mobile operators looking to launch NFC-enabled person-to-person payment, remote ticketing, and mobile commerce services, according to mobile-financial.com. The NFC-based service could be a unifying factor in a highly-fragmented mobile payments market, analysts say. Read more here.