PARTNER NEWS: NXP has launched a family of ultra-low power multiprotocol wireless microcontrollers designed to enable smart home device makers to build eco-friendly products — and include support for NFC connectivity to “dramatically simplify the pairing process”. “The demand for ultra-low power connectivity in the smart home continues to grow, as does the number of […]

PARTNER NEWS: STMicroelectronics has joined the Zhaga Consortium, a global organisation working on the standardisation of LED luminaire interfaces, “to advance the deployment of NFC technology in the industrial lighting market”. ST’s membership will “facilitate the integration of NFC in lighting products and accelerate the emergence of new standards,” the chip maker says. “One of

The Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) has switched on a QR code-based mobile payments platform that uses a nationally harmonised QR symbol and instantly transfers funds from a consumer’s mobile wallet or bank account to the merchant’s. “Ghana’s universal QR code payment solution (GhQR) allows customers to make instant payments for goods and

An additional 110m contactless payment cards will be issued in 2020 compared with pre-Covid-19 forecast expectations, ABI Research predicts, bringing the total in circulation to more than 2bn. “Covid-19 is expected to have a profound effect on the payment cards market,” the analysts say. “Contactless is considered the more hygienic and safe way of making

The contactless payment limit is to be increased from ILS 200 (US$56.35) to ILS 300 (US$84.52) “by the end of 2020”, the Bank of Israel has announced, “in order to improve dealing with the coronavirus pandemic”. “The decision to raise the verification limit comes in parallel to the agreement by some of the marketing and

A new survey has found that 45% of US consumers are now using “a mobile wallet of some type”, 16% are using paper-based currency less than before the pandemic and 31% say will use contactless or mobile wallet payments instead of cash and cheques in the aftermath of Covid-19. The survey of 1,030 US consumers

Buses will no longer accept cash payments once current curbs on public transportation are eased, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has announced. Instead, passengers will be able to scan a QR code that will be displayed on all buses to pay for a single journey with a mobile wallet. They will also be able

Sporting goods retailer Decathlon is rolling out its Scan & Go mobile self-checkout solution to all its stores across Germany, in response to the spread of Covid-19. “The solution has clear customer benefits in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic; enabling shoppers to use their own device for the entire shopping journey instead of needing

A total of 10.8% of Australians are now using Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay, up from 7.1% a year ago, a new report from market researchers Roy Morgan has found. Most of the increase has been driven by wider adoption of Apple Pay, which is now used by 6.5% of Australians, compared with