The Taipei City Government introduced a newer version of its contactless smart card system for payment on the Taipei MRT, buses and other public transport services in Taipei, according to FutureGov. The revamped EasyCard features heightened security mechanisms to ensure that any personal information stored in the card is well protected against malicious intentions. “With […]

Ingenico announced that the Russian retail chain Sedmoy Kontinent (English: The Seventh Continent) is now able to accept VISA payWave cards thanks to its contactless terminals. The Ingenico solution is based on the iPP320 terminal, which features increased robustness – one million clicks on every key, smart card reader with guaranteed 500,000 inserts, a clear […]

Orange and Barclaycard are ready to release the first Android smart phone compatible with their Quick Tap contactless payments service. From its debut in May, 2011, Quick Tap has been available only on the Samsung Tocco and Samsung Wave 578. In April, it was announced that Quick Tap would be expanded to NFC-enabled Android handsets. […]

With school back in session the Chicago Transit Authority is extending the use of its reduced fare transit cards to match the new longer school day, according to a local news brief. Students can now use their discount from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., a half an hour longer than last year. The CTA reports […]

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission announced that beginning Sept. 1 the transport will charge a $3 acquisition fee for new Adult Clipper cards. Clipper cards have been free since the transit card program launched in June 2010. Clipper provided the cards free of charge over the past two years as an incentive for the hundreds of […]

MasterCard has installed an additional 14,000 contactless payments in Australian-based Coles Supermarkets and have more than 100,000 terminals nationwide, according to The Daily Telegraph. Contactless payments will help speed up checkout by enabling customers with either a MasterCard PayPass or a Visa payWave debit or credit card to simply tap and go against contactless terminals […]

Advocates for people with disabilities are questioning the accessibility of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) and its proposed plan to make SmarTrip cards more easily obtainable to all riders, according to The Washington Post. The Metro’s SmarTrip card is a permanent, rechargeable smart transit card. Riders simply touch the SmarTrip card to the […]

Identive Group announced that use of its cashless payment system for concessions is expanding this summer to music festivals in Europe and the Rat Verlegh Stadium in Breda, The Netherlands. Rat Verlegh Stadium in Breda is home to the Dutch first league soccer club, NAC Breda, and implemented Identive’s cashless payment solution in order to […]

New Zealand contactless payments provider Snapper announced a new way for customers to get their Snapper payment accounts onto their Touch2Pay smart phones. New Zealanders with Touch2Pay phones equipped with the Touch2Pay SIM card can now get a Snapper contactless payment account on their mobile phone securely over-the-air, instead of being issued at the time […]

In Japan, a new company called Ippuku (“puff”) is opening a new series premium smoking rooms around Tokyo that use contactless smart card technology for payments, according to The Verge. Ippuku’s pay-as-you-go rooms feature subway-style gates where customers can simply tap their cards to enter. Smokers will pay ¥50 (about $0.64) a time with their […]