The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a draft recommendation for the implementation and governance of national and cross-border digital identity systems and is inviting comment on the document from government officials, civil society organisations, international bodies and interested citizens and stakeholders.

The intergovernmental organisation’s draft recommendation lays out a set of proposed core principles covering three key areas: the development of user-centred and inclusive digital identity systems; strengthening the governance of digital ID; and enabling cross-border digital ID usage.

“Digital credentials and wallets, eID cards and mobile ID applications provided by either public or private entities have all contributed to the evolution of the digital identity landscape,” the OECD says.

“Despite these advancements, in many countries there remains often a lack of cross-sector collaboration, interoperability and poor-quality user experience. As more and more essential services are accessed online and across borders, improving the governance and implementation of digital identity systems in line with user needs becomes important.”

“The aim of the consultation is to ensure that the final text [of the recommendation] reflects the experience, needs and aspirations of the international community concerning the governance of digital identity.”

Key recommendations

The proposals in the draft document recommend that OECD members and non-members opting to adhere to its principles: 

• Design and implement digital identity systems that respond to the needs of users and service providers;
• Prioritise inclusion and minimise barriers to access to and the use of digital identity;
• Take a strategic approach to digital identity and define roles and responsibilities across the digital identity ecosystem;
• Protect privacy and prioritise security to ensure trust in digital identity systems;
• Align their legal and regulatory frameworks and provide resources to enable interoperability;
• Identify the evolving needs of users and service providers in different cross-border scenarios;
• Co-operate internationally to establish the basis for trust in other countries’ digital identity systems and issued digital identities.

More specifically, the recommendation also identifies the need to develop digital identity solutions that are portable in terms of technology and location, unconstrained by the speed or quality of internet connection, and which enable users to control which credentials they share, when and with whom.

Next steps

Following the public consultation and input from relevant OECD bodies, the organisation’s Public Governance Committee will need to approve a final version of the recommendation before presenting it to the OECD Council for adoption.

Recommendations adopted by the OECD Council are “not legally binding but represent a political commitment to the principles they contain and an expectation that adherents will do their best to implement them”, the organisation says.

OECD seeks feedback on digital identity recommendations was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Passengers travelling on rail, bus, tram and subway services across the whole of Austria can now make contactless end-to-end fare payments for single or multi-modal journeys with two swipes on their smartphone screen using a ticketing function added to the Austrian Federal Railways ÖBB Tickets app.

Once activated by a public transport user at the start of their journey, the SimplyGo! function uses GPS to track the routes and distance travelled, then automatically calculates and charges the user the cheapest fare after they have swiped their smartphone to indicate they have reached their final destination.

The SimplyGo! function supports payments for journeys on ÖBB local and long-distance trains, ÖBB buses, trains run by selected regional companies and “all regional bus and city transport companies that accept transport association tickets”.

It also incorporates fare capping to ensure that a user making multiple journeys on a single day does not pay more than the price of the corresponding day ticket.

The solution uses a check-in and check-out system developed by Swiss technology provider Fairtiq and the national rollout in Austria follows a previous limited implementation of the technology in parts of the country.

Denmark began trialling a hands-free contactless mobile transport ticketing platform using Fairtiq’s technology in September 2022.

Austria launches nationwide multi-modal ‘swipe on, swipe off’ mobile fare payments was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Financial services company JP Morgan is to pilot a biometric payments solution that will enable consumers to make contactless in-store payments with their palm or face at selected bricks-and-mortar merchants in the USA and “potentially” at the Formula One Miami Grand Prix in May.

It is to trial a solution that works on an “enrol-capture-authenticate-pay basis” and will allow consumers to enrol for the service at participating stores prior to authorising their payment using facial and palm recognition technology.

“[The] biometrics pilot offering should allow for fast, secure and simple checkout experiences for its merchants’ customers, delivering a modern payments experience to enhance customer loyalty,” JP Morgan says.

“For merchants, the key benefits include customer sales and loyalty growth, and the removal of friction from merchants’ day-to-day processes. For the customer, the payments are phone-free, private, secure, fast and simple.”

“The first pilots will be run with brick-and-mortar stores in the US, and potentially includes the Formula One Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, which is planning to be the first Formula One race to pilot biometrics-based payments to provide guests with a faster checkout experience,” JP Morgan adds.

“If the pilot stage is successful, a wider rollout would be planned to US merchant clients in 2024.”

JP Morgan to pilot in-store biometric payments with US merchants was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Samsung and Naver Financial have launched an integrated mobile payments service in South Korea that enables Naver Pay users to make in-store payments with their smartphone at outlets accepting Samsung Pay and Samsung Pay users to make online payments at ecommerce merchants supporting Naver Pay.

The launch came the day after Apple Pay went live in the country and follows the signing in February of a strategic partnership deal between Samsung and Naver designed to maintain their mobile payments market leadership in South Korea.

The integration of the two services means that Naver Pay users will now be able to make in-store payments from their smartphone using Samsung Pay’s magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology at some 3m merchants across the country, according to Naver Financial.

To date, users of the Naver Pay service have been able to make in-store payments via QR code at 120,000 merchants nationwide.

Samsung Pay users will also now be able to “use simple payment through Samsung Pay at 550,000 Naver Pay online ordering merchants, including Naver Smart Store”, Samsung adds.

Samsung and Naver launch integrated mobile payments service in South Korea was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Customers at Panera Bread outlets in St Louis, Missouri, in the USA can now opt to access their loyalty account and make contactless payments for their purchases with their palm.

The national coffee shop and bakery chain has rolled out Amazon’s Amazon One biometric palm-recognition technology at selected outlets, enabling customers to link their MyPanera loyalty account, their credit card and their Amazon One ID in order to verify their identity and authenticate payments.

Customers who have not already enrolled with Amazon One can pre-enrol online or when placing their order in store, while those who already have an Amazon One ID do not need to re-enrol and can link it to their MyPanera account, either online or in store.

“Amazon One will bring an even more personalised touch to the Panera dining experience. Guests who link their MyPanera account to Amazon One will enjoy the convenience of fast payments, as well as tailored meal recommendations from Panera associates based on their preferences and previous orders.

“After a simple scan of the palm, Panera associates will be able to greet guests by name, communicate their available rewards, reorder their favorite menu items, or take another order of their choice, extending the guest experience into a true and meaningful relationship.

“When they are done ordering, guests can simply scan their palm again to pay.”

Panera Bread is the first national restaurant chain in the USA to implement Amazon One and plans to roll out the service to additional locations “in the coming months”, the company says.

Amazon began rolling out its Amazon One biometric device in Amazon Go stores in Seattle in September 2020 and has now implemented it at more than 50 of its own stores across the USA.

Food and drink outlets across Seattle’s Climate Pledge Area added support for Amazon One in October 2022.

Panera Bread installs biometric palm payments devices at US bakery stores was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Apple Pay has launched in South Korea with support for Mastercard, Visa and local debit and credit cards issued by Hyundai Card.

Apple has added the country to its list of territories where the service is available and confirms on a support page in Korean that iPhone and Apple Watch users can use the service to make in-store payments “in many places that support NFC technology” as well as for online payments from Apple devices.

Merchants in South Korea accepting in-store payments made using Apple Pay include Hyundai Department Store, Ikea, outlets and franchises owned by retail giant Lotte, as well as convenience store chains GS25, CU and 7-Eleven.

Food and beverage outlets McDonald’s, Lotteria, Shake Shack, Krispy Kreme, Paris Baguette, Blue Bottle Coffee, Baskin Robbins, Gong Cha and Ediya Coffee, as well as electronics stores LG Best Shop, Willys and Frisbee plus the Grand Hyatt Seoul and Conrad Seoul hotels are also now accepting Apple Pay, according to the support page.

To date, Hyundai Card is the only card issuer in South Korea to add support for Apple Pay.

Reports that Apple Pay would go live in South Korea in the following months emerged in February following a decision by the country’s Financial Services Commission to allow card issuers to add support for Apple Pay.

Apple Pay began a limited pilot rollout in November 2022, enabling consumers in South Korea to make online payments using the service.

Apple Pay went live in Malaysia and Qatar in August 2022 and in Kuwait in October the same year.

• NFCW maintains a list of major OEM Pay systems and the territories where they are live and available for public use.

Apple Pay goes live in South Korea was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Passengers travelling on services operated by Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway (MTR) will soon be able to make contactless fare payments with their physical or digital credit card as well as an Octopus transit card or a digital QR code ticket on their smartphone.

MTR has begun upgrading more than 2,400 entry and exit gates at stations across its heavy rail network to enable support for the new open loop contactless fare payments system and says that it “aims to introduce contactless credit card service by the end of this year”.

“Passengers will be able to easily pass through the gates with Octopus, a single journey ticket, QR code e-wallets or contactless credit [card] payments in future, enjoying smart mobility,” the public transport provider adds.

MTR rolled out QR code ticketing in January 2021 after announcing plans to do so in June 2018

MTR begins open loop contactless fare payments rollout in Hong Kong was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Chinese electronics manufacturer Xiaomi has filed a patent with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) for technology that would enable users of its wearable augmented reality (AR) glasses to initiate and authenticate contactless QR code payments.

The system works by capturing an image of the immediate surroundings when a user wants to make a payment, recognising and extracting the relevant merchant or other payee’s QR code from that image, and initiating an identity verification process in order to authorise the payment.

Adding support for QR code payments would enable users to pay directly through the AR glasses without needing a separate device such as a smartphone or credit card, resulting in a faster streamlined payments process “especially in busy or crowded areas”, according to a Gizmochina report.

“The technology can make payments easier for people with physical disabilities who might struggle with traditional methods” and “could lead to more immersive shopping experiences, virtual tours and entertainment options”, the report adds.

Discovery launch

The patent filing follows the unveiling of the Discovery Edition of Xiaomi’s Wireless AR Glass wearable device at Mobile World Congress 2023 in Barcelona last month.

The Discovery device enables “seamless integration of the digital and real-world”, uses distributed computing to offer “a retina-level adaptive display”, supports “micro gesture interaction” and can be paired with compatible devices using NFC.

“Micro gestures on Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass enable users to perform daily app usage operations such as selecting and opening apps, swiping through pages, and exiting apps to return to the start page, all without using a smartphone for controls,” Xiaomi explains.

“Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass incorporates a low power-usage AON camera that enables prolonged gesture interaction and facilitates features. Furthermore, users can also opt for conventional smartphone controls, which can be paired and used as a gesture or touchpad control.

“The device supports a variety of large-screen applications available throughout the ecosystem, enabled by Mi Share’s application streaming capability.

“Additionally, the AR capability allows users to place familiar apps anywhere in the viewing space and adjust their interface size via spatial gestures, thus enhancing the efficiency and overall experience of information access.

“For instance, Xiaomi Wireless AR Glass allows users to ‘grab’ the screen from a typical television screencast, and then continue watching it on the glasses.

“Furthermore, Xiaomi has extracted common operations of smart devices, enabling users to operate devices through AR scenes. For instance, when looking at a lamp, users can use spatial gestures to click a virtual button to turn that lamp on or off. Xiaomi has also integrated a spatial audio experience, allowing virtual speakers to be linked with the real environment.”

A short video shows how the Wireless AR Glass Discovery edition works. 

Xiaomi began enabling customers to use NFC tags to control their smart home devices in October 2020.

Xiaomi files patent for technology supporting contactless QR payments on AR glasses was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Public transport users in Germany will soon be able to purchase a physical or digital contactless travel pass that will enable them to make unlimited journeys on local and regional public transport services across the entire country for a fixed monthly fee.

The Deutschland-Ticket will be available for €49 (US$52) per month as either a contactless smartcard or a digital QR code-enabled ticket stored on a user’s smartphone. It will be valid throughout Germany for second class travel on rail, bus and other transport services operated by regional and local providers as well as national carriers including German rail network Deutsche Bahn.

The Deutschland-Ticket app will also provide users with access to real-time transport information as well as bicycle, scooter and car sharing offers.

The national rollout follows a three-month promotion in summer 2022 that enabled passengers to pay a single €9 (US$9.60) flat fee for a month’s public transport use across Germany. It is being implemented by transport providers using technology compliant with electronic fare management standards developed by the German association of transport providers VDV’s eTicket Service to ensure nationwide interoperability.

Nationwide harmonisation

“The transport companies and associations are working flat out on the implementation of the Germany ticket, which will be sold nationwide from the beginning of April and will be valid nationwide from 1 May,” VDV explains.

“On the way there, numerous measures have to be implemented. A key project is the digitization and nationwide harmonisation of sales and control infrastructures. Because the ticket should only be offered digitally (via smartphone and chip card) and every ticket must be controllable everywhere. This requires Germany-wide coordination because the local digital requirements are very different.”

“The Deutschland-Ticket results from the nine-euro ticket that was offered on a promotional basis in the summer months of 2022. The nine-euro ticket was introduced on the initiative of the federal government to relieve the burden on citizens due to the sharp rise in costs for electricity, food, heating and mobility,” Deutsche Bahn says.

“Due to the great success of the nine-euro ticket and the climate-friendly effect of the increased use of public transport, the Deutschland-Ticket is to be introduced as a permanent season ticket offer in cooperation with the federal and state governments as part of the federal government’s third relief package.

“As a ‘flat rate for regional transport’, the Germany ticket simplifies local transport tariffs, as it enables travel across national and tariff borders. It is therefore a strong argument to switch from the car to a climate-friendly means of transport.”

Germany to issue contactless monthly passes for unlimited multi-modal travel on transport services nationwide was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Apple users working in landmark City of London skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate can now gain access to the building, their workplace and shared amenities with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch using a digital employee badge stored in Wallet.

The building’s NFC-enabled access control system also lets Apple users opt to enable Express Mode in order to gain access without needing to unlock or wake up their device.

The digital employee badge for Apple Wallet is being rolled out by smart building technology provider Smart Spaces and digital identity provider HID Global. It follows the implementation of an app-based access control system using HID Global’s Mobile Access solution when the building opened in 2020.

The existing multi-platform QR code-based access system will “remain available for those who use it”, HID says.

“The introduction of employee badges in Wallet, which is one of the first to debut in the UK at 22 Bishopsgate, is the next step in transforming the user experience in a modern workplace,” the technology provider adds.

“Unlike physical cards, there is no waiting time for obtaining building credentials, making building access for new employees quick and efficient.

“Once an employee badge has been added and activated within Apple Wallet, users can hold their device near a door’s NFC-enabled reader to immediately access secured areas.

“Employee badges in Apple Wallet take full advantage of the privacy and security built into iPhone and Apple Watch.

“When or where a 22 Bishopsgate employee uses their employee badge in Apple Wallet is never shared with Apple or stored on Apple servers.

“If their iPhone or Apple Watch is misplaced, the owner of the device can promptly use the Find My app to lock the device and help locate it.”

Landmark London building rolls out support for employee IDs in Apple Wallet for contactless entry was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

KNOWLEDGE CENTRE: A new white paper from STMicroelectronics that sets out the benefits to both device manufacturers and consumers of using NFC to enhance, simplify and secure smart home applications is now available to download from the NFCW Knowledge Centre.

‘How NFC can enhance smart home experiences’ explains how NFC provides innovative, intuitive and seamless solutions for multiple use cases across a product’s life cycle — from manufacture and configuration to commissioning, usage and maintenance — and shows how NFC Forum standards and the Matter protocol are ensuring that smart home solutions incorporating NFC are interoperable and easy to use.

It also identifies new opportunities that dynamic NFC tags offer, including product configuration during manufacture, firmware updating, device pairing, diagnostics, data collection and the resolution of device or network problems.

“Today, with most smartphones equipped with NFC, a significant number of people throughout the world can readily access this technology,” the white paper says.

“Even if people currently use their smartphone NFC capabilities mainly for contactless payments and transportation, the technology can be used for a wide range of applications, such as the smart home segment.

“In addition to being increasingly widespread, NFC technology is standardized by the NFC Forum. The interoperability is thus fully ensured, making its usage and adoption convenient for all stakeholders.

“All these reasons make NFC technology perfectly suitable for smart home applications and can enable different use cases.”

Find out more and download the paper from the NFCW Knowledge Centre here.

ST explains how smart home device makers can use NFC to offer a better user experience was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Passengers using NJ Transit services across the US state of New Jersey who do not have a bank account or a debit or credit card can now use cash to fund the purchase of digital tickets and passes for travel on bus, train or light rail services on their smartphone.

The NJ Transit app’s new Cash in App feature enables users to use cash to add funds to their My Transit Wallet at more than 1,000 participating retailers, including 7-Eleven, Walgreens, CVS and Family Dollar.

Passengers wishing to use the feature can go to any authorised payment location, ask to add cash to their NJ Transit wallet and request a cashier to scan the account barcode displayed on their smartphone. They can then add a minimum of US$10 to their account.

“This mobile app upgrade represents a significant leap forward in NJ Transit’s fare modernization program, leveraging technology to add yet another option for customers to purchase tickets and passes,” NJ Transit’s Kevin S Corbett says.

“It also promises to further reduce cash and paper-based tickets, and takes advantage of a statewide retail network to expand access to transit, particularly for the unbanked.”

NJ Transit is promoting the new feature by giving the first 2,000 customers to use it a US$5 credit towards transit tickets and passes.

NJ Transit adds cash top-ups to mobile ticketing app was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Passengers using rapid transit services operated by Kochi Metro in the Indian state of Kerala will soon be able to make contactless parking payments with the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) as part of a digital rupee pilot programme launched by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The public transportation provider is to roll out support for digital rupee payments acceptance at all its metro station car parks, enabling passengers with a CDBC wallet issued by one of the four banks participating in the RBI pilot to make cash-free contactless parking payments with their smartphone.

Kochi Metro is the first metro network in India to begin accepting digital rupee payments and is launching the service with support from IDFC First Bank and digital parking solutions provider Anantham Online.

“This project will help Kochi Metro users to pay digitally using their bank’s CBDC wallets and avoid cash transactions. Currently CBDC is in the first phase of its implementation with four banks including IDFC First Bank. Digital rupee acts just like cash transactions to instil safety and trust,” IDFC First Bank says.

The RBI launched the first phase of its retail CBDC pilot in December after it revealed plans  in October 2022 to trial a prototype digital rupee.

Indian rapid transit system to trial digital rupee for contactless parking payments was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

More than eight in ten consumers in Singapore now use contactless cards (82%) and the widespread use of and preference for contactless card payments is one of the key drivers behind the country’s “shift towards becoming a cashless nation”, according to a Visa report.

The latest edition of the card network’s Consumer Payment Attitudes Study also shows that contact and contactless card payments (97%) have now overtaken cash (82%) as the most-used payment method in Singapore and that 95% of consumers in the country make payments using debit and credit cards.

Singaporeans most commonly use contactless cards to pay for convenience store purchases (54%), retail shopping (53%) and supermarket purchases (52%), followed by public transport (33%) and taxis and ride-sharing (28%), with 89% of contactless card holders saying they make contactless payments at least once a week and 41% saying they do so at least four times a week, the study found.

Mobile adoption

“While it is not the most widely used method, mobile contactless payments (52%) and QR code payments (48%) continue to increase among Singapore consumers,” Visa says.

“Since the pandemic, mobile contactless payments have seen greater use for public transport, petrol, as well as food and dining. On the other hand, QR code payments are increasingly being used for retail shopping and convenience store purchases.”

“With the abundance of different cashless payment methods available in Singapore, nearly two in three consumers (63%) have tried to go cashless. More than two in five (42%) have succeeded in doing so for at least a week,” Visa adds.

“Among those who have not yet made the attempt, three in five are confident they can survive for at least the next few days, while nearly half (48%) are confident they can survive for the next week. Two in four Singapore consumers (39%) are also carrying less cash in their wallets due to greater reliance on contactless payments.”

The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study was conducted with 1,000 Singaporeans in October 2022 as part of a larger regional research project with more than 6,500 consumers across Southeast Asia.

Visa reports on contactless and mobile payments adoption in Singapore was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

Consumers in Italy used their smartphones or wearable devices to make in-store contactless payments worth a total of €16.3bn (US$17.5bn) in 2022, an increase of 122% compared with 2021, according to the Innovative Payments Observatory (IPO) at Milan Polytechnic University.

Overall, total transaction values for all forms of contactless payments reached €186bn (US$199bn) in 2022, an increase of 45% on 2021, while transaction values for digital payments, including both card and mobile wallet-based payments, rose from €390bn (US$418bn) in 2021 to €400bn (US$429bn), the researchers say.

Data presented by the IPO also shows that Milan-based European payment services provider Nexi recorded a 134% increase in transaction volumes for in-store mobile payments in 2022 and that the number of Nexi payment cards registered on mobile wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay rose by 53% last year.

“Data on digital payments in Italy in 2022 show that what was recorded in 2021 was not just a rebound after the collapse in consumption, but that the pandemic crisis has structurally changed consumer habits, who find these means increasingly convenient, faster and safe, leading the market to grow at a faster rate than pre-Covid,” Italy 24 News reports Milan Polytechnic’s Alessandro Perego as saying.

“According to ECB data on the number of per capita card transactions recorded in 2021, Italy is one of the fastest growing countries in the last year (+33.6%).”

In-store mobile and wearable transaction values in Italy rise by 122% to hit US$17.5bn was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

The total annual value of transactions made using central bank digital currencies (CBDC) will exceed US$213bn by 2030, up from US$100m in 2023, according to a Juniper Research forecast.

The forecast also predicts that the percentage of the total transaction value accounted for by domestic CBDC payments will fall from “almost 100% during the current pilot stages” in 2023 to 92% by 2030 as cross-border CBDC payment systems develop.

“Adoption will be driven by governments leveraging CBDCs to boost financial inclusion and increase their control over how digital payments are made,” the researchers say.

“CBDCs will improve access to digital payments, particularly in emerging economies, where mobile penetration is significantly higher than banking penetration.

“Since CBDCs are issued by central banks, they will be closely targeted to domestic payment challenges initially, with cross-border payments coming later, as systems become established and links are made between CBDCs used by individual countries.”

CBDC transactions to top US$213bn worldwide by 2030 was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is to enable citizens entitled to financial support under its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oklahoma to receive benefits and make NFC or QR code payments for eligible purchases on their mobile device.

USDA is to pilot the service in partnership with agencies across the five states as an alternative to the existing physical SNAP payment card in order to allow SNAP recipients to pay for essential foodstuffs such as bread, fruit and vegetables at authorised merchants with their smartphone, tablet or smart watch instead.

“SNAP serves millions of low-income families and children each month. Mobile payments — widely considered a safe, secure and convenient way to shop for groceries — is one way we can help make it easier for busy families to put healthy food on the table,” USDA says.

“The technology also has the potential to help protect families from having their SNAP benefits stolen because of card skimming and other fraud.”

“Today’s announcement represents another step forward for the future of SNAP and the many ways our programs are embracing modern and innovative ideas to improve nutrition security,” USDA deputy undersecretary Stacy Dean adds.

“Digital wallets are changing the way we pay for everything, including groceries. We want to ensure SNAP leverages the latest technology to improve access to benefits, reduce fraud and provide a better overall experience for the families we serve.”

USDA announced in August 2022 that it was planning to trial NFC and QR code mobile payments for contactless state benefits under the SNAP program.

US Department of Agriculture to put state benefits on mobile phones in five states was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued regulations governing payment card tokenization on mobile apps that enable banks and payment service providers to allow customers to make contactless payments with digital cards stored in mobile wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.

The regulations set out the responsibilities and obligations of banks, card issuers, card networks and token service providers with regard to the provision and management of tokenized card payments from mobile devices, confidentiality, infrastructure, security and security assessment.

They also lay out the procedures banks and payment service providers will need to undertake in order to obtain a licence from the CBE to roll out the service.

“The issuance of the rules governing card coding [tokenization] services on electronic device applications will allow the activation of the services of many international companies, such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and others, as well as financial technology companies,” according to a Daily News Egypt report.

“The CBE said that this in turn will lead to the creation of huge opportunities to provide innovative financial solutions that are compatible with customer requirements.

“The statement indicated that in addition to the many advantages offered by the service to customers, the new system will also help reduce the time and costs incurred by banks operating in the Arab Republic of Egypt in providing the service, as well as enable exporting banks to digitize payment cards of all kinds.”

The CBE introduced measures to promote cashless and contactless payments in March 2020.

Central bank enables rollout of contactless mobile payments in Egypt was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

More than four in ten transit passengers worldwide say that tapping their own debit or credit card to make open loop contactless fare payments is their preferred fare payment option (42%), followed by tapping a card stored in their mobile wallet (39%), using a closed loop transit card (38%) cash (31%) and app-based payment (29%), according to a Visa survey.

Participants in the survey identified the key benefits of open loop contactless fare payments as being a faster and more efficient payment experience (57%), avoiding the need to carry cash (49%), and improving safety and hygiene (46%).

The survey also found, however, that transit agencies that have already implemented an open loop contactless fare payment system identified data security and privacy risks (47%), infrastructure installation costs (45%), promoting open loop benefits to existing passengers (45%), theft and system misuse (41%) and software performance issues (41%) as being among the top challenges they faced during implementation.

At the same time, the researchers report that as those agencies “gained experience and comfort with open-loop systems, their concerns about these risks declined significantly.

“While 55% of agencies who had adopted open-loop payments less than two years ago cited data security and privacy as a challenge, only 36% of agencies with two or more years of experience expressed the same concerns.”

Of the transit agencies that have yet to introduce open loop contactless fare payments, the survey found that 83% plan to adopt them and 70% of these aim to do so “in the next two years”.

Contactless benefits

“The introduction of contactless, open-loop payments has been shown to have significant impacts on how people choose to move through urban environments,” the researchers say.

“The benefits to transit agencies that adopt contactless payments include improved access to data for system planning, more responsive customer service and improved rider experience, and a growing year-over-year conversion of cash-based fare payments.

“By removing cash from the system and decreasing the resource impacts of cash handling, agencies become better able to meet the needs of riders.

“Riders also benefit from contactless payments. Contactless solutions for urban mobility provide easy access to transit and an improved experience for regular riders, occasional riders and visitors. People with no or little access to banking services can take advantage of contactless payments by using prepaid cards.”

The ‘Reimagining ridership: Open loop payments and the future of urban mobility’ survey was conducted by the Visa Economic Empowerment Institute and global research firm ThoughtLab with 75 transit agencies worldwide as well as 3,000 transit users in six cities “that were in varying stages of implementing open-loop payments in 2020” — Bangkok, Brussels, Bucharest, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Singapore.

Visa reports on passenger preferences for transit payments was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.

A consortium of Japan-based financial services and technology providers is to develop a ‘metaverse economic zone’ where consumers will be able to create a digital twin or ‘auto learning avatar’, access digital experiences and authorise payments to merchants and service providers with a digital authentication credential or ‘multi magic passport’ (MMP).

The zone — currently known as Ryugukoku — will be based on an open metaverse infrastructure that will enable interoperability and collaboration between different metaverse platforms and incorporate elements of online alternative world role-playing games that will allow users to “travel through different realms and encounter a variety of contents and services”, the consortium says.

“Additionally, Ryugukoku will deliver an open and secure metaverse infrastructure that enables safe and stable use of identity authentication, various payments, data infrastructure, insurance etc, through collaboration with leading Japanese financial institutions, major corporations and TBT Lab Group.

“Furthermore, by providing this infrastructure to companies and government agencies outside of Japan, we will be able to expand the ‘Japan metaverse economic zone’ globally.”

Once they have created an auto learning avatar, users will be able to “acquire useful information”, “apply their personalised information in each metaverse space” and create “an authentication certificate with a payment function that allows users to freely travel to and from metaverse services”.

“In addition to ID authentication and payment methods, MMP can register useful information for users to spend time in the virtual world, such as NFT, items, avatar skin and avatar memory. This information will also be used to improve user-friendliness in the real world.”

Partners in the consortium include JCB, Mizuho, MUFG, Resona Holdings, Fujitsu, Sompo Japan, Toppan and TBT Lab Group.

“We will continue to invite a wide range of companies to support this concept and expand the Japanese metaverse economic zone,” the partners say.

Japanese consortium to build ‘metaverse economic zone’ where avatars can authorise digital payments was written by Tom Phillips and published by NFCW.