Japanese credit card issuer JCB has completed development of a validation test tool for its J/Smart contact and J/Speedy contactless cards. The test tool was developed by Collis, a competence center specializing in the design and testing of smart card based electronic transaction systems.  

Between August and September, 2008, Aberdeen surveyed 180 companies to outline the implications and trends related to proximity mobile payments. Specific emphasis was placed on mobile Near Field Communications, an advanced contactless form factor, and mobile wallet software applications. 

Contactless smart card provider LEGIC Identsystems will be displaying various enhancements of its advant technology platform at the CARTES & IDentification show in Paris Nov. 4-6.

Some of these latest innovations include the company’s card-in-card solutions, which allow a third party to integrate applications on a dual interface smart card, providing, for example, a combination of logical PC access and physical access control on a single card. A mobile phone could also operate as an access control credential or credit cards can be used as multi-functional membership cards.

Another innovation LEGIC plans to highlight is its Master Token System Control security system which includes a counting function, allowing organizations to define exactly how many company badges a card manufacturer may create, giving the company more control over issued credentials.  

Two readers from On Track Innovations, Fort Lee, N.J., have been approved for MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave usage. The Saturn 6000 counter top and the 6500 outdoor reader support the global contactless EMV applications published by MasterCard and Visa, as well as MiFare technology, and non-EMV contactless payment programs from other major financial institutions, including ExpressPay from American Express and Discover. 

Sony Corp. has gained a major supplier of its FeliCa ISO 18092 standard contactless cards outside Asia, tapping Illinois-based Versatile Card Technology as its North American manufacturer.

“FeliCa represents a major improvement in the flexibility, speed and security of transactions with respect to the traditional ISO 14443 based card technologies now available in the U.S.,” said Rome Jetté, VCT’s vice president of smart cards. “With over 350 million FeliCa cards and cell phones already deployed in some of the most demanding applications, Sony has clearly proven that FeliCa technology is more than ready for the American market.”

FeliCa contactless cards have been deployed in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and others. Also, as the new NFC standard gains acceptance, Sony says it has seen FeliCa making major inroads into the mobile phone market where it is being embedded into handsets to conduct financial transactions.  

The future of contactless lies in a convergence of payments, access, identity and transit among other applications. That’s INSIDE Contactless’s view, which it intends to highlight at the upcoming CARTES and IDentification show in Paris Nov. 4-6 with its “A Converging Contactless Life,” presentations. 

New York & Company’s 600 women’s fashion retail stores is now accepting MasterCard PayPass, becoming the first national apparel merchant to accept contactless payments.

According to MasterCard research, consumer preference and satisfaction is driving PayPass growth and usage globally. A 2007 MasterCard PayPass Benchmark Study found that about 90% of PayPass-using respondents were satisfied with their experience, and 71% of PayPass consumers said they use it as their primary card for everyday purchases.