Radio Frequency Technology

Vancouver’s public-transportation authority has selected a $220 million fare-payment system from Cubic Transportation Systems Inc. that includes a transit-only reloadable contactless card but also the ability to accept general-purpose contactless cards. Replacing proprietary fare cards with systems that add transit capabilities to contactless credit and debit cards issued by banks …

The global market for smart phones with near-field communication technology (NFC) will heat up in 2011, opening the way for contactless payments via mobile phones, according to a new report from Mercator Advisory Group Inc. But while the U.S. is poised to be a breakout market for NFC at some …

Google Inc. continues to cement its early grip on mobile payments, as indicated by the disclosure on Monday that the online search giant has acquired a small company in Toronto whose technology purports to enable payments, promotions, and advertising over mobile phones. News of the deal follows in the wake …

As with other recent moves toward contactless payments via mobile phones, Google Inc.’s introduction of a smart phone equipped with near-field communication (NFC) technology comes shrouded with question marks, say mobile-payments players. Google’s move, which it announced on Monday in conjunction with the rollout of a new, NFC-supporting version of …

After an extended testing period, Discover Financial Services is rolling out its Discover Zip contactless payment system. The card network says an undisclosed number of cardholders began receiving contactless cards in the mail Nov. 15, while others received contactless stickers that attach to their mobile phones or other items. More …

A trade group representing more than 50 major U.S. merchants released a position paper on Monday calling on the payments industry to move resolutely toward mobile payments with near-field communication (NFC) capability and chip-and-PIN technology. The Merchant Advisory Group, based in Dallas, sent the five-page paper to card networks, major …

Contactless debit cards will make their formal debut in Canada next year with the launch of Interac Flash from Acxsys Corp.’s Interac Association, Canada’s national debit network. Interac’s first two Flash issuers are Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank, which will roll out their first contactless cards next summer. The first …

Forty-eight hours after the announcement by a trio of major wireless carriers that they plan to launch a point-of-sale mobile payments system, reaction from expert observers and others in the industry tends toward caution about the immediate prospects for Isis, the carriers’ joint venture. Isis is expected to launch some …

The rapid development of mobile payments in the U.S. is starting to make believers out of skeptics. Boston-based Aite Group LLC, a payments consulting and research firm, had been one of those skeptics, but it released a report on Wednesday predicting U.S. mobile payments of all kinds will total $214 …

Bling Nation Ltd.’s decision to use VeriFone Systems Inc. terminals, announced this week, includes an agreement to harness VeriFone’s transaction gateway as well as its reseller network in a move that could bring PayPal Inc. acceptance to thousands of brick-and-mortar merchants. Bling has been testing PayPal acceptance since the end …