peachwire

The total value of euro banknotes in circulation rose during the Covid-19 pandemic from €1.3tn (US$1.5tn) at the end of 2019 to €1.4tn (US$1.7tn) at the end of 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) reports. The “exceptionally high” year-on-year increase of 11% compares with a 5% annual growth rate over the past 10 years and […]

Passengers travelling on Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) services in India can now top up their contactless AutoPe DMRC transit cards at the network’s automatic fare collection gates. To use the service, passengers first register their transit card on the AutoPe app or website and link it to their credit card, bank or UPI account

Visitors to the Magic Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida can now test a contactless biometric system that enables them to gain entry to the attraction by verifying their identity with their face. The park has introduced a “facial technology test lane” where participants first scan their valid park admission

Apple may incorporate iris scanning functionality in a forthcoming head-mounted display (HMD) mixed-reality headset that will enable users to authenticate their identity when using Apple Pay to make payments via the “mostly virtual reality device”, according to MacRumors. The headset will offer a 3D environment for gaming, watching streamed content and communication, and “may sport

Children in Texarkana on the Texas-Arkansas border in the USA can now take part in a contactless Easter egg hunt by looking for special eggs with scannable QR codes that have been hidden in parks, family-friendly businesses and public locations across the city. Successful egg hunters receive a secret password for every QR code they

Google has joined with secure element (SE) vendors to launch the Android Ready SE Alliance to accelerate the adoption of new use cases for Android devices including digital car keys and mobile IDs. The alliance is creating and rolling out a set of open source, validated and ready-to-use SE applets for use in conjunction with

Passengers using buses operated by the Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland can now use their credit card to purchase and store digital bus tickets on their Android or iOS smartphone. The mobile tickets are valid for 90 minutes and allow free network-wide transfers during that time while a fare-capping feature means that users are

The European Council has endorsed plans to introduce a fully integrated retail payment system that will enable instant cross-border payments and financial transfers throughout the European Union. The plans were presented to the European Council in September 2020 by the European Commission as part of a strategy to “make it easier for consumers to pay

Visitors to Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island can now use their face to gain access to the resort island’s Ferrari World, Yas Waterworld and Warner Bros World theme parks and to make contactless payments at retail and dining outlets that support its face recognition technology. To use the new FacePass service, visitors create an account on