PayPal changes its mind on NFC

PayPal will announce a shift in its NFC stance this morning with two initiatives – an upgrade to its app that will support the technology and an alliance with Vodafone Group for contactless payments.
Customers in the US and Australia will be able to make NFC-based payments using the PayPal app on their smartphones, starting in the second quarter. In addition, the payments giant has joined forces with Vodafone so the operator’s mobile wallet users in a number of European countries can make NFC-enabled payments.

RFID Is a Fundamental Step for Digital Store Success

With all the talk of connected stores and digital integration, retailers may be a little confused as to where to start their search for digital adeptness. The good news is that it may not be as hard as they think through the use of RFID. RFID does two things—it allows you to manage your inventory so that you can get goods to customers faster and it also can pull consumer product intelligence in stores in order to bridge behavior. The two capabilities are powerful tools if used correctly—what’s more, they align to fundamental retail practices any brand understands today.

Barcode and RFID Labeling Software Solution by TEKLYNX

TEKLYNX International--a barcode and radio frequency identification labeling software developer and solutions provider--has announced that TEKLYNX CENTRAL is quickly becoming a critical component of the global food supply chain. TEKLYNX’ browser-based, integrated label software solution, TEKLYNX CENTRAL, integrates with food manufacturers and suppliers to drive improvements in supply chain efficiency, security, product traceability, and compliance with new and pending food safety regulations.

TEKLYNX CENTRAL allows companies to centrally manage hundreds of printers in multiple facilities from a browser-based interface to increase traceability critical to recall regulations required by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).  

Checkpoint Systems Announces C&A International RFID Roll-Out With Full DC Integration

Checkpoint Systems announced that it is rolling out its RFID solution to C&A’s 164 stores in France, together with full distribution center (DC) RFID integration.

Having successfully introduced the technology in Germany and recently added RFID source tagging to new product categories, including menswear, children’s clothing and suits, the leading European fashion retailer has completed the RFID roll-out in a third of its stores in France in 2015, with the remaining stores to be ready by mid-2016.

C&A is integrating RFID into its France-based DC to significantly scale up the number of RFID-tagged items and enable full merchandise visibility within the supply chain. This move also means that the retailer has shifted the creation of store advance ship notices from supplier to DC, based on an automated and more accurate process. The reading performance, speed and flexibility of the Checkpoint DC solution, on top of having one single software system for both DC and store, were paramount to C&A in optimizing the use of the RFID solution.



C&A will install Checkpoint’s OAT Foundation Suite software and RFID hardware at its DC, while its software and POS readers will be introduced in-store to improve inventory accuracy and reduce out-of-stock scenarios

UK startup unveils smart card that will store multiple bank cards for contactless payments

London-based startup Curve has launched a physical payment card that will let consumers store an “unlimited number” of bank cards and make contactless payments at point-of-sale terminals wherever MasterCard cards are accepted. “Curve is built on the MasterCard Network and works the same way as every other card, supporting the latest Chip & Pin, magstripe and contactless technology,” Curve says. “The Curve card can be ordered through the website or via the Curve app.

NFC mobile payments grow in Spain

The use and knowledge of mobile payments are growing among Spaniards year by year, according to the annual MasterCard Emerging Payments Barometer 2016. The study points out that 10.4% of digital users (those Spaniards between 24-55 years that have made online purchasing or contactless payments in the store in the last 6 months) use their mobile to pay at a physical store, through NFC technology. These payments, which include paying contactless (tap & go) with their mobile devices at the point of sale terminal (tap and go POS), have increased by 4.2 percentage points compared to last year. In addition, they are the most known (63%) and the best valued (34.2%).

NFC RFID Honors the Deceased

Ask yourself which industries are most ripe for innovation. The funeral (also known as funerary) industry would not likely top your list. But Spaniards Bruno Mezcua Escudero and Iñigo Zurita are hoping to change that with Omlime.com, a social network designed to help families memorialize deceased loved ones, and Omneo Tap, a system that uses Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to provide a digital link between mourners' smartphones and a loved one's online memorial.

Has the barcode reached its ‘use by’ date?

The ubiquitous barcode has revolutionised the retail industry since its arrival on a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum in 1974. The black and white striped sticker encodes information about the product that can be easily scanned, speeding up checkout and making logistics easier. But businesses, regulators and shoppers themselves are demanding more information about their products – and this may mean the reign of the barcode is coming to an end. Supply chains rely on information. Even a small error or omission could create waves through the supply chain, errors that could lead to, for example, costly over or under-stocking, or accidental breaches of regulation or even potentially illegal activity.

MonsoonRF Shines a Light on RFID

The three founders of MonsoonRF have developed RFID readers that they say serve to make reader installation as easy as screwing in a light bulb—literally. MonsoonRF's RFID-enabled light canister (shown here in a version for track-lighting systems) includes a ring-shaped directional RFID reader antenna, as well as an omni-directional antenna that extends from the canister's center for transmitting read data to a control node (receiver).

Trimble Introduces High-Performance USB UHF RFID Reader

Trimble announced the new ThingMagic USB Pro RFID Reader, allowing solution developers to support applications that require desktop reading and writing of EPC Global Gen2 tags.

Based on Trimble's best-in-class Micro LTE UHF RFID module, the new USB Pro RFID Reader is controlled and powered by a host PC or laptop through a USB interface that can support autonomous operation.
       
Applications for the ThingMagic USB Pro reader include:
RFID tag programming stations, manufacturing work-in-process workstations, health care customer/patient care check-in and check-out applications, document tracking, event and hospitality solutions and retail point-of-sale.
       
In addition, the USB Pro writes data more effectively to high-memory tags and reads small form factor tags, which are becoming more common across applications.

Microsoft, Qualcomm And Intel Join Forces on 'Internet Of Things' Standards

Chip making rivals Intel and Qualcomm want to finally play nice in the “Internet of Things.” The two will begin collaborating with each other under OIC’s new name: the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF). The new entity will replace all of OIC’s activities. Existing OIC members will move over to this new organization. Qualcomm will stay involved in AllSeen and any device running the AllSeen standard will also work on the new OFC standard, a spokeswoman said.

Oti and Apriva Partner to Bring a Unified, NFC-Powered Mobile and Cashless Payment Solution to Kiosks

On Track Innovations Ltd., a global provider of near field communication (NFC) and cashless payment solutions, today announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Apriva, a leading provider of secure, end-to-end wireless transaction and information solutions, to address an unmet need in the global kiosk market.

The companies will offer a joint solution that integrates oti's industry-leading cashless and mobile payment NFC technology with Apriva's Gateway technology. Apriva's Payment Gateway securely connects wireless devices with more than 35 payment processors using its ultra-secure and reliable technology, providing both vendors and their customers with one of the most comprehensive payment solutions available today.

The integrated solution delivers a proven, off-the-shelf platform to the global kiosk market, supporting MasterCard, Visa, and American Express among other payment methods. The solution is designed to simplify the complexity of an EMV payment process by unifying a certified reader and processor into an integrated system. An Application Programming Interface (API) provides developers the tools for adding NFC-powered, EMV-certified cashless and mobile payments functionality to their kiosk applications.

Optus muscles in on mobile payments with NFC accessories range

Apple Pay may be officially available in Australia, but thanks to its restriction to American Express cards, it can hardly be considered ubiquitous. And while Google has confirmed Android Pay is arriving this year with local bank support, there still a lot of opportunity for mobile payments to take off before then. Optus recognises this, and has launched a range of accessories for its Cash by Optus platform, which will turn your smartphone into a Paywave-compatible device for cashless payments under $100.

How RFID is ushering in the era of Retail 3.0

Although implementing disruptive innovation can present a range of challenges, a business model that is stagnant for decades cannot remain successful indefinitely and is vulnerable to the next wave of innovation. This is the driving force behind the evolution of the retail business process. In the heyday of Retail 1.0 during the 1980s, barcodes and scan-based trading technology introduced a basic level of automation, somewhat easing the burden of manual counts for inventory management. Enter the era of Retail 3.0: the demand of having to deliver a new level of customer service, and operational competitive threats, are creating a ‘burning platform’ that is the motivation behind retailers changing and innovating.

New Barcoded Latch Rack and Wireless Barcode Reader Improve Sample Tracking

Designed to improve sample tracking and protection, a new barcoded latch rack and wireless barcode reader enhance Thermo Fisher Scientific’s broad portfolio of automated and semi-automated laboratory instruments and related consumables for secure sample collection and storage.

The Thermo Scientific Matrix 2D barcoded tubes in barcoded latch rack and Thermo Scientific VisionMate Wireless barcode reader will both debut at SLAS2016, the annual conference for the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening, within booth 707 at the San Diego Convention Center.

Barcoded tubes and racks – with both 2D and linear barcodes – can now be read with the VisionMate wireless reader. Unlike currently available wireless barcode readers, the unit is designed to lay flat allowing users to set it directly on the benchtop and scan tubes or racks without holding it. For samples that should not be exposed to ambient conditions, the reader can easily be used as a handheld instrument, reading samples while they remain safely in storage. Finally, the VisionMate wireless reader can read tubes in a cold environment, capturing and sending data via Bluetooth to a paired computer.

German Clothing Retailer Adler Gives RFID Robots a Spin

German clothing chain Adler Modemärkte is among a handful of retailers using an RFID-enabled robot called Tory to count inventory and identify the locations of merchandise on store shelves each day. The robot and the software that manages the data it collects are provided by German technology firm MetraLabs. Adler is carrying out a pilot project involving two Tory robots that it purchased, one for use within its store in the city of Erfurt and the other at the store located at its corporate headquarters in Haibach. The company plans to expand the deployment to other stores later this year.

Fresno merchants lag in readiness to handle ‘smart cards’

A canvass of about 40 merchants and restaurants at northwest Fresno’s popular Fig Garden Village shopping center last week revealed that half have not yet installed new card readers capable of processing transactions with the new “smart-card” technology. Nearly a dozen others have updated readers installed – but not activated – at their checkout counters. Of the businesses visited by The Bee, only nine had their chip-card readers fully active to process transactions.

Steps to Implementing RFID Successfully

Careful planning with clear, set goals will better your chances to get the most out of any vision. When considering RFID in retail, it’s no different. If you start with the results you want and identify a pathway toward achieving them, you’ll set yourself up for success.

First, consider the size of your organization. True discovery, testing and implementation of an RFID program could take as little as six months to well more than five years. Expected outcomes and the number of use cases you need will impact your timeline, because the scope of work drives the systems needed for integration. This is highly critical, as time and money invested in RFID are what turn it into a quality outcome.

Beer-tracking app Untappd gets barcode scanning

If you're a dedicated beer geek, chances are you're using the app Untappd to track your libations. For the unfamiliar, the mobile software allows you to log and rate beers while following what and where your friends are drinking. With a new update to the iOS version, the app is getting a load of new features. First, there's a new barcode scanner that'll make searching for beers you're drinking a breeze. Rather than having to manually search, all you'll have to do is point your phone's camera at the barcode on a bottle or can.

GammaTech DURABOOK R8300 Adds RFID Reader To Increase Application Security and Efficiency

GammaTech Computer Corp. launched its DURABOOK R8300,the first fully rugged notebook to come with RFID dual frequency reader integration. The RFID reader adds security, reliability and the convenience of proximity and contactless identification. Exceeding or meeting the most difficult environmental specifications, the R8300 can safely be used in a multitude of applications such as those found in the military, public safety, and utility sectors.
       
The RFID module combines proximity and contactless technologies into one single reader, providing the capability of reading both 125 kHz proximity cards and 13.56 MHz contactless cards. The RFID reader improves accuracy and productivity, eliminates the need for manual entry, and provides error-free identification and security throughout the workplace. The reader supports many card types including iCLASS®, and is certified by major independent software vendors such as Crossmatch and Imprivata.

MIT and Texas Instruments develop hack-proof RFID chip

More and more devices are showing up with RFID chips built-in, but there is concern that the data on these chips could easily stolen. After all, an attacker doesn’t even need to physically have possession of the RFID chip to get information from it. Protecting the data on the chip with a secret key will thwart a casual data thief, but there are still ways around that. Researchers from MIT have developed a new type of RFID chip (manufactured by Texas Instruments) that they claim cannot be hacked by any current means. They manage this with a combination of integrated power and data storage not previously seen in RFID technology.

Wearable Smart Rings Supporting RFID And NFC

Adafruit has this week announced the arrival of new wearable smart rings that supports both RFID and NFC communication allowing you to create projects that can wirelessly interact with your smartphone, tablet, PC, development boards and more. The range of smart ring jewellery is available from 17 mm up to 22 mm in diameter and are currently in stock and available to purchase directly from the Adafruit online store priced at $44.95.

Nordic logistics company Bring experiments with RFID

Bring, a Nordic post and logistics company, is testing RFID in its parcel labels and invited, among others, ecommerce company Extra Optical to participate in the pilot project. Both parties are very happy with the results so far, as it increased traceability, fastened delivery and decreased the number of customer service inquiries. Extra Optical, an online eyewear store from the Nordics, focuses on innovation and usability and according to its CEO, Øystein Sandø, the best delivery for customers is to have the parcel delivered in the mailbox.

More cellular operators in twelve Arab countries offered IoT services

A new report from the Arab Advisors Group provides an analysis of the Internet of Things "IoT" services offered by cellular operators in the Arab World. The research revealed that by October 2015, 22 operators in 12 countries offered IoT services. The most common IoT offering is Tracking services, followed by NFC and Surveillance and Security services. Telecom operators in the region are leveraging their networks to provide IoT services to businesses and individuals alike. By October 2015, twenty two cellular operators in twelve countries in the Arab World offered IoT services. These services include: Surveillance and Security services, Tracking services, NFC services, and Health services.

IoT Could Be Used To Spy, Admits James Clapper

The latest high profile individual to debunk the notion that surveillance is at risk of ‘going dark’ in an age of increasingly robust encryption is none other than James Clapper, U.S. director of national intelligence himself. Clapper was submitting evidence to the US Senate as part of an assessment of threats faced when he made specific comments predicting that surveillance capabilities could, in future, be expanded by intelligence agencies tapping into the Internet of Things to monitor and identify suspects via the connected devices they are being increasingly surrounded with.

Faster checkout with invisible barcodes? New Seasons will give it a try

Upscale Portland grocery chain New Seasons is about to try something different. It's signing up to use technology from Beaverton-based Digimarc Corp. that embeds invisible barcodes all over a product. They're not visible to human eyes, but scanners equipped with new technology find Digmarc's barcodes right away, because they're everywhere on the packaging.

Global mobile payment market to hit $620bn in 2016

Consumers worldwide will use their mobile phones to spend a total of US$620bn on all forms of mobile transaction this year, representing a 37.8% year-on-year growth from $450bn in 2015, research from Taiwan-based analyst firm TrendForce reveals. By 2017, total mobile payment volumes will reach $780bn, climbing to $930bn in 2018 and $1.08tn in 2019.

How RFID Chips Are Changing The NFL

The chip technology that’s making your credit card more secure are also bringing big changes to football. This past year, every NFL player got hooked up to the internet with little chips. Equipped into their shoulder pads are now two radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips that wirelessly communicate location data. The quarter-sized tags also contain an accelerometer for measuring speed. The technology is sold by Chicago-based location tracking solutions company Zebra Technology.

New Hacker-Proof RFID Chips Make Great Gifts for Paranoid Friends

MIT and Texas instruments teamed up to develop new RFID chips that block identity theft. MIT just announced that the new chip is “virtually impossible to hack,” a bold claim and possibly a challenge to would be hackers. Regardless, your anxious tinfoil hat types will certainly love the hack-proof promise. RFID chips that track items from a far aren’t going away anytime soon, so it’s inevitably good that somebody is making them more secure. You’ll can already find these chips on anything from clothes on the sales rack to boxes of DVDs.

OnlineLabels.com Establishes Foothold in Emerging RFID Label Market

OnlineLabels.com, a leading seller in blank and printed labels, has recently introduced RFID labels to their product line. The announcement targets new and existing RFID roll users with competitive pricing and selection.
  
"In the last few years, RFID has emerged as an innovative new market for businesses to explore," explains OnlineLabels.com President, Dave Carmany. "We wanted to expand into this market to offer our customers new labeling options for their companies' growth."
  
The initial launch of the RFID roll label product line includes six different sizes that are compatible with Zebra RFID printers that accept a 3" core. The thermal transfer rolls include Alien Squiggle Higgs-3 and Avery AD227 RFID chips. All of the labels are compatible with transponders operating at 915MHz and have 800-bits of nonvolatile memory.

Bing Search for iPhone gets barcode scanner

Users of the Bing app for iPhone are getting some welcomed improvements with the latest update bringing a new barcode scanner with price comparison functionality and a new deal finder feature. With the barcode scanner, Bing notes on its blog that it will use scanned barcodes to automatically search its database and “return prices and customer ratings from major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, and others.”

US Banks Prepare to Roll Out NFC ATMs

Multiple prominent American banks are preparing to roll out advanced ATMs enabling smartphone interaction, according to new reports. Chase bank is reportedly planning to launch ATMs that can provide users with SMS tokens for access as an alternative to using their physical bank cards, and eventually plans to roll out ATMs equipped with NFC technology that could theoretically enable access via mobile payment platforms like Android Pay and Apple Pay.

Immigration Bureau to use barcode in its documentation system

The Philippine Bureau of Immigration  will soon be using barcodes in its documentation system as part of its anti-corruption campaign. BI Commissioner Ronaldo Geron believed that by using the system the bureau would be able to keep track and monitor the documents that are being processed there. “I want to install technological interventions to have a doable tracking system,” Geron told reporters, noting that the BI would also be able to pinpoint accountability in case of delays in the release documents.

Rebecca Minkoff's RFID trial painted itself into a corner--deliberately

Most retailers experimenting with customer-facing RFID—which has come a long way since it's assembly-line-only days—are trying to expand its use as much as possible, looking for whatever snippets of the business could be enhanced with a touch of wireless tag broadcasting. But apparel-and-accessory chain Rebecca Minkoff is trying to limit RFID's reach, literally painting its broadcasts into a corner. Why? Here's the problem: Rebecca Minkoff's goal is to take RFID-tagged-merchandise and scan it in a tiny dressing room (and, yes, I agree that saying "tiny" and "dressing room" is duplicative. My apologies). But how can the RFID readers be prevented from detecting merchandise in a neighboring dressing room, which would defeat the purpose?

Fuel smart cards distributed to 56% of vehicles in Egypt so far

Egypt's government has distributed 3.2 million smart cards for fuel rationing to vehicles, out of a total of 5.7 million vehicles countrywide, the head of card issuing company E-finance, Ibrahim Sarhan, was quoted as saying by Al-Ahram newspaper on Thursday. Some 14,000 tuk-tuks, widely used in streets unreachable by public transportation, have also recieved their smart cards.

Beatie Wolfe Uses NFC, Other Technology to Bring Her Music Closer to Fans

When promoting her new album, Beatie Wolfe wears a shiny gold coat created by David Mason (a.k.a. Mr. Fish) the Savile Row tailor who made suits for David Bowie and Hendrix in the 1960s. Embroidered on the coat is an interpretation of “Take Me Home,” one of her songs, with the stitching inspired by the sound waves, amplitude and other characteristics of the music. The coat is also NFC-enabled, and tapping it offers up that track and a music video.

Jasper sells a SaaS platform for enterprise IoT management

Cisco Systems plans to acquire Internet of Things platform company Jasper Technologies for more than US$1.4 billion, giving the networking giant an even larger role in enterprises' growing use of IoT. Jasper connects devices to the Internet through 27 service-provider groups around the world and runs a SaaS (software as a service) platform for managing the connectivity of those devices. This makes it easier for enterprises to take advantage of IoT to add new service revenue streams or change a business from the selling of products to the delivery of ongoing services.

The data center RFID market is set to grow dramatically

The data center RFID market is set to grow from $391.4 Million in 2015 to $1,890.5 Million by 2020, at a CAGR of 37.0% during the forecast period 2015-2020.

The report focuses on various solutions, services, verticals, and end users. North America, Europe, and APAC are the top three regions that are estimated to hold the largest market shares in the year 2015. Manual handling and managing of assets in a data center is no longer an easy job and requires effective management, which fuels the demand for RFID technology in data center management.
The global market for data center RFID is expected to depict a growing picture in the coming years and the increasing number of data centers in Asia-Pacific is expected to accelerate the growth of the data center RFID market.

A number of factors, including the increasing number of data centers and requirements for improved inventory and assets management, are driving the growth of the global data center RFID market. The growth drivers of the market includes reduction of costs and long widen tasks by eliminating manual checks of servers and other data center assets, increased efficiency and productivity, and decreased human efforts.

Chicago commuters make 1m mobile journeys

The Ventra mobile ticketing app introduced by Chicago’s Metra commuter rail service in November 2015 has been used by passengers on more than one million journeys in its first two months. “Since it debuted on November 19, the app has been downloaded by more than 250,000 people,” Metra says. “The app has so far been used to buy 221,000 Metra tickets, and those mobile tickets have now been used to pay for 1m rides.”

Kuwait's Ministry of Justice Assesses RFID File Tracking

When a court case is filed at the Kuwait Ministry of Justice's Justice Palace in Kuwait City, court employees can find the paperwork related to that case by signing into software and viewing the documents' last known location. The technology was provided by Litum Technologies and its local partner, Innovative Solutions, a startup owned by Adeem Investment. The office handles thousands of new cases every month, each of which requires a file consisting of a folder filled with paperwork to be processed, reviewed and brought to court, and then eventually stored in the archives.

A third of online transactions now made on mobile

More than a third (34%) of browser-based online transactions globally are now made on a mobile device, compared to just over 30% last quarter, research from Adyen reveals. “The increase is driven particularly by major Asian-based payment methods including JCB, UnionPay and Alipay,” the firm says. “The UK continues to lead the way in mobile payment adoption, with 49% of online transactions on mobile devices.”

eAgile Announces Launch of the eSeal RFID Solution

eAgile Inc. announces a high-volume production launch of the eSeal heat induction solution. eSeal is the first turnkey solution engineered to integrate the benefits of RFID into the billions of caps and closures consumed by the over-the-counter pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic and chemical manufacturers.

The production launch of eSeal follows pilot runs at multiple facilities where millions of RFID-enabled closures were introduced to the supply chain. “In today’s world, consumers are demanding safety, especially as it relates to healthcare products. Similarly, brand owners and everyone in the supply chain want to provide the safest products possible. eSeal has proven to establish an unprecedented level of security and authenticity in one easy-to-implement solution,” stated Gary Burns, CEO of eAgile. “Having deployed eSeal at a significant scale, a full array of supply-chain management benefits were provided from the visibility gained by item level tagging. In addition, we achieved the client’s goals of anti-diversion and enhanced security.”

Real-time information gathered by the integrated system is used for anti-diversion applications, supply-chain management and product availability within distribution centers and retailers. eAgile is now focusing on enhancing brand interaction opportunities by linking consumers and their NFC-enabled smartphones to authentication-, expiration-, and dosing-information along with re-purchase and promotional opportunities.

Barcoding, Inc. shares RFID industry trends for 2016

Barcoding, Inc., a leader in supply chain efficiency, accuracy, and connectivity, predicts the continued growth of the radio frequency identification (RFID) market in 2016.

With increased standards, lower system costs, greater solution reliability and higher adoption rates, RFID is poised for an explosive year, according to Barcoding experts.

The following are Barcoding’s top five RFID industry trends for 2016: RAIN RFID:


Low-energy Bluetooth Tags: A growing number of industries are using low-energy Bluetooth tags in place of active/Wi-Fi RFID tags. These tags are much less expensive than active tags and are easy to deploy, as many users already rely on Bluetooth-enabled devices within their enterprises, like smartphones.
Hybrid RFID systems: Systems that utilize both active RFID (for tracking high-value, large items in real time) and RAIN RFID (for tracking large-volume, low-cost items), are becoming more prevalent, especially in the industrial and healthcare spaces. In many of these cases, low-energy Bluetooth tags will take the place of active tags.
Use of Memory Space: RFID tags now have the space to store information beyond a simple identifier. More enterprises are taking advantage of this, utilizing tags as a notepad or flash drive. Plus, there is no need to upload the information to a database in order to retrieve it.
Pre-printed Tags: The technology exists to print and encode RFID labels on demand. But, instead of printing their own labels, many users are purchasing pre-printed/pre-encoded labels. This approach is not only cost effective, but frees up personnel from monitoring and managing printers onsite.