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Visa will help bring tap-to-pay to more buses and subways
Tap-to-pay is incredibly convenient for mass transit, but it's also incredibly inconsistent. There's no guarantee you'll find it in every big city, let alone smaller burgs that can't justify revamping their turnstiles. Visa wants to fix that -- it's partnering with Planeta Informatica on a new Secure Access Module that brings tap-to-pay to existing public transportation systems. Your bus or subway network wouldn't have to throw everything out to let you pay with your contactless card, smartphone or watch.
Apple Pay and Google Pay can buy you a Slurpee at 7-Eleven
After years of holding out, 7-Eleven is finally ready to embrace tap-to-pay in earnest. The convenience store chain has followed through on earlier teasers by supporting Apple Pay and Google Pay at its US stores. "Most" American locations will support both formats by the end of September, and the company told Engadget that it technically started the rollout in August. You could already use Samsung Pay, but this expands the audience to virtually anyone craving a late-night snack.
Three years in, Samsung Pay has a long way to go
Samsung Pay debuted roughly three years ago to much fanfare, but how's it been doing since? Pretty well -- relatively speaking. The Korean tech giant has announced that its tap-to-pay service has racked up 1.3 billion transactions worldwide and is now available on six continents thanks to a launch in South Africa at the end of July. That makes it available in 24 markets -- rather convenient when the Galaxy Note 9 is days away from hitting stores. The growth is no mean feat, although it's important to put it in context.
Buskers in London are the first to accept tap-to-pay cards
The move toward a cashless society has created a problem for buskers: how do they get paid when many listeners won't have physical currency? There's now a solution on hand. The Mayor of London's office and iZettle (which was recently snapped up by PayPal) have partnered on a first-ever initiative that lets buskers accept tap-to-pay contributions. Participants plug special card readers into their smartphones and set a fixed donation amount -- after that, you just have to wave your card (or a compatible NFC device) to ensure a street performer gets paid.
Visa swaps payment cards for NFC gloves at the Winter Olympics
Visa is very fond of showing off its tap-to-pay technology at the Olympics, and that's truer than ever with the 2018 Winter Olympics around the corner. The payment giant is selling a trio of NFC-equipped gadgets to help you shop at the PyeongChang games, most notably a set of winter gloves. Yes, you can pay for that souvenir without freezing your hands as you reach for a credit card or even your phone. You won't have to use them or the other devices at the games, but they'll come with prepaid values of between 30,000KRW to 50,000KRW ($27 to $45) to encourage shopping in South Korea. Visa hasn't offered pricing.
Samsung Pay finally works with your Discover card
Samsung Pay was supposed to work with Discover cards in 2016 (it was announced in 2015), but the year came and went without support. And that's no small problem if you like tap-to-pay purchases. While Discover isn't the biggest name in the credit business, it has over 51 million card holders. Thankfully, that conspicuous gap appears to have closed: Samsung phone owners have noticed that Discover support quietly went live in recent days. We've asked both Samsung and Discover for comment, but Samsung hasn't updated its compatibility list as of this writing. Don't be surprised if the two are waiting before making the news official.
Google Play listing shows how you'll pay on Android Wear
Google is hoping the release of Android Wear 2.0 will push more people toward smartwatches, and one of the key pillars of that strategy is Android Pay. Ahead of the launch, it has (perhaps accidentally) released some screenshots on the Play Store that show how it'll work and look. At supported retailers with an Android Pay or contactless logo, you simply hold your NFC-equipped Android Wear watch next to the terminal until it's approved. It'll then detail the latest transaction in a list, and you can scroll to see your recent history.
Google readying tap-to-pay for Android Wear smartwatches
Google may finally be ready to bring tap-to-pay to Android Wear, judging by evidence discovered in the Google Play Services version 10.0 by Android Police. Text prompt strings with messages like "Try holding your watch to the terminal again" make it fairly clear that Google is in the late stages of testing the feature. If you have a compatible Android Wear watch (one with an NFC chip), it will let you touch your watch to an NFC-equipped retail terminal to pay for goods.
CyanogenMod releases SimplyTapp NFC payment app for CM9, launches CM9.1
If you decided to change your NFC Phone's OS over to CyanogenMod 9 to avoid all the skinning and restricting, now you have a mobile payment option called SimplyTapp. Produced by the modding group and two of its members, the app requires free or paid NFC cards from CyanogenMod or retailers like McDonald's and Whole Foods. Card user info is guarded in the cloud, which "allows separation of the card credential from the vulnerable handset," for increased security, according to CM and SimplyTapp. CyanogenMod also announced a new version of its ICS-based CM9 OS, version 9.1, which will fix bugs and add new devices. A stable release will be coming soon, but meanwhile, why not head over to Mickey D's and freak them out by paying with your modded Galaxy Nexus?
Parkmobile adds NFC to its parking payment repertoire
Let's face it, whether you're down at the laundromat or feeding the meter on a busy street, you can never find enough quarters when you need'em. Know what effectively sidesteps that lack of foresight? NFC, that's what. And that tap-to-pay convenience is ready to roll out for folks in Oakland, CA courtesy of Atlanta-based Parkmobile. There's no great mystery to the company's purpose -- the name says it all -- as it specializes in payment solutions for (what else?) parking. With the installment of special near field-equipped stickers on meters throughout that West Coast city, fine-fearing citizens will now have one extra payment option beyond the outfit's currently available mobile app and internet transactions. Naturally, you'll have to sign-up online to get started, but after that you'll never have to fear the meter maid again.
Google Wallet goes to the Garden State, NJ Transit riders get 'tap and pay' privileges
The perks of Google's Nexus S used to lie solely in its unadorned OS. Now, owners of its penultimate Android flagship are about to get some additional mileage out of their Gingerbread-bearing handsets, courtesy of that underused NFC chip. The recently awakened near field communication feature's already been put to public task by Google Wallet and participating merchants, and will now add NJ Transit to its list of contactless payment partners. Select locations throughout the Garden State's transportation network, including Penn Station and Newark Airport's AirTrain, will let owners of Sprint's Nexus S 4G tap-to-pay for tickets at windows and vending machines. Unfortunately, the mobile payment system won't replace your need for an actual physical ticket or monthly pass just yet, and requires you opt-in with either Citi Mastercard or Visa. Still, it's a definite boon for rushed commuters who'll no longer have to juggle their bags, bagels, coffee and phones in an effort to buy a ticket and make it to work on time. Not yet enabled via NFC? Tap-to-erase-spray tans, but that's coming in the Galaxy Nexus, right?
