The city of Edmonton, Canada is considering adopting a smart card system for transit, public libraries, parking, recreational facilities and other municipal services, according to CBC News. In February, Edmonton’s transportation and public works committee approved a report from city staff on the card for the Edmonton Transit System, which detailed plans for a debit-like […]

California-based Kena Kai is launching a new line of wallets specifically designed to protect contactless cards from data theft. The secret of the new DataSafe wallets is the multiple layers of radio-frequency (RF) shielding embedded in the material, which the company says can block unwanted “skimming” of personal information. According to Kena Kai, there are […]

Visa Europe has announced that 12 million of its contactless payment cards are expected to be in circulation in the UK by the end of this year – a marked leap from the previously estimated 10 million. The company also reported that the number of contactless transactions in the UK has doubled in the last […]

Dubai-based Simage Technologies has announced the release of its new Secure Contactless Token, a multi-purpose biometric device for secure ID, payments and secure authentication. With the new device, users can securely access their bank accounts online, pay for public transportation or goods at supporting retail locations, access e-government services with secure ID verification and store […]

GENTAG has reported the successful testing of the new NXP cell phone RFID reader chip in combination with its proprietary disposable RFID sensor platform, opening global consumer markets for disposable, wireless sensors using NFC-enabled cell phones. “Integration of the new NXP chip with the major handset makers’ cell phones will allow consumers to use their […]

Infinite Campus Inc. announced the availability of Cafeteria Serve, a new point-of-sale food service option with an integrated online payment functionality. This new service, designed for cafeteria operations not requiring cash or complex menus, comes as part of the Campus Food Service license from Infinite Campus. Designed to streamline cafeteria operations, Campus Food Service establishes […]

Mobile payment start-up Bling Nation has landed a big deal with PayPal, enabling Bling Nation’s customers to make contactless mobile purchases using their PayPal account, according to techcrunch.com. Bling Nation offers customers contactless stickers that can be attached to any handset to make debit-style mobile purchases. The more purchases a user makes, the more coupons, […]

Seven leading players in the NFC ecosystem: Ericsson, Gemalto, NXP, Oberthur Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Venyon, a company in the Giesecke&Devrient group, and ViVOtech, joined forces to form the MIFARE4Mobile Industry Group. The aim of the group is to work together to standardize and advance the uniform management of MIFARE applications on NFC-enabled secure elements, such as […]

Starting next summer, music festivals in the UK will go entirely cashless, according to which4u.co.uk. The new payment method will most likely involve preloaded contactless wristbands, which will act as both tickets to the event and as contactless payment devices, allowing concert goers to purchase concessions, merchandise and gain access to fairground attractions. Two “well […]

Analysis from Datamonitor shows sluggish adoption of contactless payment in the UK due to recession, while Barclaycard is arguing the opposite, according to internetretailing.net. Gilles Ubaghs, financial analyst at Datamonitor, calls the situation a “catch 22.” Consumers aren’t interested in owning a contactless card if there’s nowhere to use it, and retailers don’t want to […]