Contactless Smart Cards, RFID, Payment, Transit and Security

Malaysia concludes NFC trial

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Maxis Communications, a Malaysian telecommunications provider, has concluded a three-month NFC pilot, according the Computerworld Malaysia. Tests were conducted in the Clang Valley in October, 2007, using partners such as Maybank, Visa payWave, Touch n’ Go, RapidKL and cell phone manufacturer Nokia’s 6131 handset, equipped with NFC technology.

Maxis has already launched a mobile commerce payment service called M-money, and said it would launch its new commercial service in the second half of the year.

Read the full story here[end] 

PayPal has begun testing new mobile payments software at five Home Depot stores in the U.S., according to American Banker.

PayPal’s system offers an alternative to NFC-based mobile payments solutions like Google Wallet, enabling consumers to make payments directly from their PayPal balance by simply punching in their phone number and PIN. Merchants also have a comparatively easier time adopting the system, as it only requires updated software rather than new point of sale equipment.

read more »

Absa, the largest consumer bank in South Africa, has announced an internal trial of NFC-enabled contactless payments, according to IT News Africa.

Scheduled to kick off later this month, the pilot will see 500 Absa employees equip their BlackBerry smart phones with NFC-enabled MicroSD cards that can be used to make contactless payments.

read more »

Swedish producer of contactless smart card readers and terminals, Arcontia Technology announced that one of the largest bus company providers based in Johor Bhru, Malaysia has integrated onboard light bus validators from Arcontia into their ticketing system.

read more »

Superdrug, one of Britain’s largest beauty and health retailers, has introduced contactless payment for its in-store customers, according to Retail Gazette.

Created by Streamline and Visa Europe, the contactless system will enable customers to make payments of up to £15 (approx. USD $23) by simply waving their contactless bank card at the more than 50 participating Superdrug stores in London and Liverpool.

read more »

Intesa Sanpaolo, Italy’s largest financial institution, has begun a commercial trial of SIM-based NFC mobile payments, reports NFC World.

The service, dubbed “Move and Pay,” is being tested among 600 Intesa Sanpaolo employees and customers in Milan and Turin, as well as by two academic institutions: The Polytechnic Institute of Milan and Turin ISMB.

read more »

Globus Supermarkets in the Czech Republic has plans to equip all of its stores with contactless point-of-sale (POS) terminals, following a successful NFC payments trail conducted in conjunction with Telefónica O2, Komerční Banka, Citibank and Visa Europe.

read more »

Subscribe to the Contactless News Library
Gain access to the largest collection of Auto-ID analysis on the Internet.