STMicroelectronics, NXP, Trusted Logic and Stollmann have announced that they will promote a common hardware-independent API (Application Programming Interface) for NFC applications on Android mobile devices. The NFC API will enable developers to create NFC applications to be distributed through app stores, granting Android users access to a range of contactless applications, including mobile payments, […]

O2, a European mobile operator and subsidiary of Telefonica, has announced its strategy to launch contactless mobile payment, according to mobilebusinessbriefing.com. In 2008, O2 collaborated with Visa, Barclays and Transport for London to pilot London’s Oyster travel cards on Nokia smart handsets to kick off its O2 Wallet initiative. Then in 2009, O2 partnered with […]

Visa’s contactless payWave system has seen steady growth in Canada as more and more merchants implement the new payment technology. Paywave, which enables Canadians to make quick and secure transactions by simply tapping their card against a POS reader, is already in place at many popular Canadian establishments, including SUBWAY, Second Cup, The Jean Coutu […]

The United Arab Emirates is experiencing a delay in its commercial launch of NFC mobile payment due to a lack of phones, readers and SIM cards, according to Emirates Business 24/7. The shortage has put on hold two major deployments – one involving Dubai First Bank and Telecom service provider Du; the other involving etisalat, […]

InterContinental Hotels Group is planning to pilot a new technology that allows guests to unlock their hotel-room door via smart phone, according to USA Today. IHG executive Bryson Koehler says the new system will let users skip the check-in desk and avoid the burden of carrying around another item, instead being able to use their […]

MasterCard and Gemalto have announced a new pilot featuring an NFC-enabled device that can be inserted into a mobile phone to turn it into payment device. The wafer-thin device, which leverages Gemalto’s Upteq N-Flex Solution and MasterCard’s PayPass, is the first of its kind to function on multiple mobile handsets, which Gemalto says will help […]

Gemalto, Crédit Mutuel-CIC and NRJ Mobile have joined forces to offer contactless mobile payment services as part of the “Nice, mobile contactless city ” project. This announcement follows the launch of the first contactless mobile payment pilot in November 2006. The “Nice, mobile contactless city” initiative is the first commercial launch of contactless mobile services […]