How the barcode has changed retail

The barcode has taken over retail and transformed how we shop. Cashiers can still use multi-plane, fixed grocery scanners to read barcodes, and store clerks can also be more mobile and offer scanning facilities throughout the store with handheld scanning devices. Schnucks, one of the largest privately held, family-owned US supermarket chains, is doing this and more. It is transitioning from the traditional 1D barcode made up of lines and spaces and moving to 2D barcodes – made up of many small, individual dots in square shapes and scanners to embed additional data to ensure accurate data capture while enhancing store productivity and efficiency. As part of this shift, Schnucks is deploying Zebra data capture, mobile computing and printing solutions to increase store associate productivity and improve the customer experience.

TEKLYNX International Launches 2019 Barcode Labeling Software Solutions

TEKLYNX International announced its 2019 launch of LABEL MATRIX, LABELVIEW, CODESOFT, SENTINEL and LABEL ARCHIVE. Featuring a wide array of end user enhancements, the TEKLYNX 2019 barcode labeling software solutions are designed to help manufacturers of all sizes improve labeling efficiency, accuracy and automation.

“Barcodes are critical throughout the supply chain as manufacturers look to meet demands for product safety, customer responsiveness and supply chain agility,” states TEKLYNX International President Thierry Mauger. “The TEKLYNX 2019 solutions are designed to support the pivotal activities unfolding behind the barcode by helping manufacturers print labels faster, eliminate repetitive manual steps and prevent labeling errors.”

More than 750,000 companies in over 170 countries trust TEKLYNX integrated barcode and RFID label design products.

High Competition will Drive $32.65 Billion Smart Card Market

A new report from Adroit Market Research predicts that the global smart card market will hit $32.65 billion by 2025. Contact-based cards currently represent the largest portion of that market (33 percent in 2018), but the demand for contactless cards is expected to grow at the fastest rate, with a CAGR of 18.23 percent during the forecast period.  According to Adroit, technological innovation will drive much of that growth as manufacturers release convenient, contactless smart cards that offer greater security, faster transaction times, and better storage. The need to comply with new regulatory standards based on those technological improvements is also expected to push the market forward.

Liquid Group partners CIMB Niaga to support Bank Indonesia's QR Code standardisation trial (QRIS) for cross-border transactions

Liquid Group and PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk announced a strategic partnership to spearhead cross-border QR payment acceptance between Singapore and Indonesia. The partnership was initiated through their joint participation in Bank Indonesia's Quick Response Indonesian Standard (QRIS) trial for cross-border payment transactions. The QRIS trial was conducted on May 23, 2019 using the CIMB Niaga's digital banking product "Go Mobile" carried out at selected merchants located at Terminal 3, Singapore Changi Airport.

Slated to launch in the 3rd quarter of 2019, Liquid Group and CIMB Niaga will enable the acceptance of participating QRIS compliant payment apps and e-wallets at Singapore Changi Airport through Liquid's integrated QR payments and marketing infrastructure launched back in April this year.

Liquid Group and CIMB Niaga have successfully completed their proof-of-concept with CIMB Niaga's Go Mobile application and QRIS compliant payment apps and e-wallets. With the integration of Bank Indonesia's QRIS code into Liquid Group's cross-border payments platform, Indonesian travellers will be able to use their preferred local payment apps to make purchases at Changi Airport.

Mobile data usage surges 82% amid IoT growth

Mobile data usage surged 82% in 2018 from a year earlier as Americans expanded their usage of connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Consumers used a record 28.58 trillion megabytes of mobile data last year, and increased talking and texting by roughly 10% and 15%, respectively, from 2017, according to an annual survey from the CTIA shared with Mobile Marketer. Americans connected 421.7 million mobile devices to wireless networks last  year, up by 21.5 million from 2017. Most of those devices (284.7 million) were smartphones, while the biggest growth was in smartwatches, IoT devices and  connected cars. Usage of those data-only devices grew more than 10% to 139.4 million.

Eagle Creek debuts NFC connected luggage

Eagle Creek, the luxury luggage brand owned by VF Corp., created a bag collection with near-field communications (NFC) chips to activate a cloud-based web experience when tapped with a smartphone, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer. Travelers can see a personalized dashboard that shows all the places they've traveled, along a leaderboard that ranks their mileage against the other owners of its line of Caldera luggage. Eagle Creek also provides a lost-and-found feature to help people locate misplaced bags, warranty registration features and detailed product information and videos.

Fujitsu Launches New U-Scan Mini-Express RFID Self-Checkout

Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. announced the launch of its new RFID self-checkout solution, the U-Scan Mini-Express RFID. The U-Scan Mini-Express RFID utilizes RFID technology to quickly and efficiently scan items. This allows shoppers to purchase the items without removing them from their hand-held shopping basket. They simply place their basket into the RFID bin and press scan to have their items accurately read within seconds.

Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. will be demonstrating the U-Scan Mini-Express RFID self-checkout solution in booth #2620 at the RFID Journal Live! Retail at RetailX show, June 25-27, 2019 at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

Designed to streamline the point-of-sale process, the U-Scan Mini-Express RFID self-checkout allows retailers to increase sales, reduce costs and improve efficiency. Fast throughput, high accuracy scanning, and an intuitive user interface provide for the most pleasant self-checkout experience ever.

Smag to host RFID event

Smag Graphique will host its 'RFID in a Day' event focused on RFID and intelligent labels on June 25 to 27. ‘RFID in a Day’ is led by Smag Graphique, with collaborations from Avery Dennison and Nordic ID, taking place at Smag’s geadquarters in Paris, France to promote the identification technology. The aim of this program is for Smag's product range to offer customers a dedicated technology for label identifications/ Avery Dennison will supply tags and RFID technology knowledge, Nordic ID will show retail applications, VFP will print circuit boards through conductive ink and Polytec will provide conductive ink curing processes.

A Chinese-style payment network to challenge Visa and Mastercard is taking shape in Europe

Mobile money is getting a boost in Europe: A new initiative plans to make six of the region’s smartphone wallets interoperable with each other, creating a total network of 5 million users in 10 European countries, from Finland to Portugal. The burgeoning system could potentially pose a challenge to the Visa and Mastercard card-payment duopoly. Notably, the mobile wallets—Bluecode, ePassi, Momo Pocket, Pagaqui, Pivo, and Vipps—are working with Chinese fintech giant Alipay to develop a unified QR code, according to a statement. Around 190,000 merchants in Europe accept payments from the wallet providers, and Chinese tourists using Alipay (membership) would also be able to tap into the system.

QR code app on Play Store ripping people off for $100+ through shady trial scheme

With over two million applications in the Play Store, there are bound to be a few bad apples here and there. However, the creatively named "QR Code Reader-Barcode scanner & QR Code Scanner" might be one of the absolute worst apps in the entire marketplace. At over one million installs, there's a lot of dirty money in play if even a small fraction of people were defrauded out of roughly $100 each. On the surface, this QR code reader app by developer "QR Code Master" seems about as innocent as apps come. It even claims to protect you against malicious URLs, but it's not nearly as helpful as it sounds. According to reviews from the past few months, there's a clear consensus of dissatisfaction (aside from the not-at-all suspicious handful of one-word 5-star reviews).

RFID Enables Automatic Replenishment for Dutch Retailer

Wild Store has launched an RFID-based solution at its two Netherlands-based stores to enable automatic replenishment as goods are sold at its store or online. The system, provided by Israel-based RFKeeper, consists of EPC UHF RFID inlays built into the hard tags attached to each product, as well as countertop and handheld readers and cloud-based software. The RFID system provides stock reliability to enable the automatic replenishment of inventory.

Samsung Galaxy Note9 gets dedicated QR scanner and Night mode in Germany

Smartphone cameras these days are never complete without a night mode or variations thereof such as Night Sight on the Google Pixel phones, arguably the best in its class. Now, Night mode is also arriving for the company's older flagship phone, the Galaxy Note9. In addition, there's now a native support for QR code scanning, removing the need for a Bixby Vision or third-party QR code-scanning tool. It comes in at a sizable 704MB, so be sure to download the update over a Wi-Fi connection.

IoT Security Must Evolve To Survive

Because of the rapid proliferation of IoT devices in consumer and enterprise spheres, there have been a number of regulations put into place to improve the security of these devices. Recent legislation, like the UK Government’s ‘Secure by Design’ framework and California’s legislation earlier this year, call for reasonable security at the point of manufacture, but the attack surface of IoT devices is far more complex than simply securing the device itself. Added to a general misunderstanding around how secure IoT devices are, and different attitudes towards the risks and consequences of a breach, cybersecurity needs to evolve fast enough to keep up with changing threats and to overcome our own complacency.

QR codes may be too much work for consumers, UD study finds

Beginning January 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will require all genetically engineered (GMO) foods — or, as they’re known in the industry, bioengineered foods — to include that fact on its label along with nutrition information. The bioengineered food industry have been seeking ways to deliver extra info to consumers via various methods. Including the QR code, which has been rumored to be making a comeback. According to a recent University of Delaware study, however, if consumers have to take an extra step to access extra information, the vast majority won’t bother, UDaily reports.

Can QR Codes Make a Comeback as a Payments Technology?

It didn’t take long before QR codes transitioned from the technology of tomorrow into a joke. We all assumed the QR code was just another PDA or beeper. We tried it, it didn’t work, and now we’re moving on to more advanced technologies. With tools like mobile wallets available, which are powered by near-field communication (NFC) technology, who needs QR codes? QR codes might have faded from the public space, but they’re still alive and well in the payments industry. You just need to know where to look.

Local banks join NBC’s QR code payment system

The National Bank of Cambodia announced that two local and one Thai bank have joined the QR code-based payment system that the central bank is developing with Thailand. In February, the central banks of Cambodia and Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a payment system based on QR codes. The aim of the upcoming payment system is to facilitate cross-border exchanges in local currencies, according to representatives of the central banks.

NFC gets a lot more powerful in iOS 13

NFC — the technology that helps power Apple Pay as well other clever features for iOS apps like Launch Center Pro’s tappable stickers — is getting a big upgrade with the launch of iOS 13, due out this fall. Instead of only allowing iPhone apps to read NFC tags, apps will be able to write directly to blank tags, as well as interact with tags through native protocols. This opens up a range of new application possibilities. We’ve already seen the potential for NFC that goes beyond just an easier way to check out at point-of-sale in a traditional retail environment, as with Apple Pay.

Galaxy S9 camera can now scan QR codes without Bixby Vision

While the latest Galaxy S9 update brought a few camera features that have already been present on the Galaxy S10, it also introduced a new feature that is currently not available on any other Galaxy device. The June security update for the Galaxy S9 adds a toggle in the camera settings called Scan QR codes, which lets you scan QR codes by simply pointing the camera at them. Once a QR code is detected, the camera instantly shows a popup with the link to whatever website the QR code points to, letting you open that website with a single tap.

NFC Raises Spirits for Tasmanian Distillery

Tasmanian foods and spirits are showcased at The Taste of Tasmania, an annual event at which Tassies (as Australians refer to those from the country's island state) can enjoy the best of their local products. In 2018, the show included a local whiskey tagged with Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality that allowed consumers to authenticate and engage with bottles before buying them. The Old Kempton Distillery (OKD), located in Kempton, Tasmania, is utilizing NFC technology to combat counterfeits, as well as to improve the branding of its high-value whiskey, gin and other liquor products as the company expands its market share across Australia and around the world.

iPhones running iOS 13 will be able to scan NFC chips in Japanese ID cards

iPhones running iOS 13 will be able to scan NFC chips in Japanese identity cards. This is as a result of Apple’s decision to allow broader access to the iPhone’s NFC chip by third-party apps. The app will allow Japanese citizens to scan their own cards in order to store the information on their phones. The Verge reports that the ID cards will be one of the first third-party uses authorized by Apple.

Is In-App Use the Future of QR Codes?

Is in-app use the future of QR Codes? As in, not a QR Code app, but someone else’s app? Maybe this explains research that shows that QR Code use is increasing. According to ExactTarget, 34% of U.S. smartphone users have scanned a QR Code, rising to 46% of tablet owners, and Juniper Research predicts that the number of coupons redeemed via QR Codes will reach 5.3 billion by 2022.
How does this square with the fact that nearly everyone I talk to hasn’t scanned a QR Code in years, if ever? I think back to my conversation with four Millennials and one Gen Z in which none of them used QR Codes.

A Chinese-style payment network to challenge Visa and Mastercard is taking shape in Europe

The mobile wallets Bluecode, ePassi, Momo Pocket, Pagaqui, Pivo, and Vipps are working with Chinese fintech giant Alipay to develop a unified QR code. Around 190,000 merchants in Europe accept payments from the wallet providers, and Chinese tourists using Alipay (membership) would also be able to tap into the system. They plan to use a QR code format provided by Chinese firm, and to expand the collaboration elsewhere in Europe over time. QR codes (short for “quick response”) have soared in popularity as a way to pay for things in China, but they’ve been slower to catch on in the West.

IDEX Biometrics and TMC collaborate to accelerate biometric smart card adoption

IDEX Biometrics ASA, the leading provider of advanced fingerprint identification and authentication solutions, is pleased to announce that it is collaborating with Tongxin Microelectronics Co., Ltd (“TMC”), a major secure element vendor in China focusing on the smart card industry. TMC and IDEX will work closely to create a compatible biometric smart card solution for end-customer implementation.

TMC provides secure elements, which are crucial components used by payment card integrators. To achieve compatibility between the secure element and biometric sensor, two critical components in a biometric payment card, both companies will integrate IDEX’s sensor with TMC’s secure element for dual-interface solutions. This solution will support both match in the biometric MCU and match in the secure element, thus providing a higher level of security. The integration involves joint creation of native code in the secure element to manage and control IDEX’s sensor in the operating system of the secure element.

North Korea highlights RFID for livestock in Party paper

A North Korean newspaper is highlighting the benefits of radio-frequency identification, or RFID, in the management of livestock following reports of African swine fever in the country. Korean Workers' Party paper Rodong Sinmun stated Sunday other countries use RFID tags or microchips to monitor farm animals, and that the practice improves productivity, compared with "traditional methods."

iOS 13 to include support for NFC passport reading

Apple’s update to its Core NFC framework for iOS 13 will include support for reading passports and ID documents, chip checker app maker Innovalor has confirmed to NFC World. Innovalor’s ReadID app is used by the UK Home Office for its EU Exit: ID Document Check app and by European banks including Rabobank, ING, de Volksbank and DNB for customer ID verification. Until now, however, the app has only been available for Android NFC phones as Apple has not previously provided support for the functionality.

RFID tracking set for deployment

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously resolved to support the global deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for baggage tracking. The AGM also called for the implementation of modern baggage messaging standards to more accurately track passengers’ baggage in real time across key points in the journey. In 2018, less than 0.06 per cent of the estimated 4.3 billion bags carried by airlines were mishandled, according to the latest figures from SITA. Since 2007 baggage mishandling has fallen by 70 per cent and today 99.9 per cent of mishandled bags are reunited with their owners within two days.

RFID Approach Works Without ICs

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is usually implemented with a reader and tag containing an integrated circuit (IC). The wireless technology provides reliable and accurate identification of tagged people, animals, and objects, but is relatively expensive compared to bar-code readers as an electronic identification method. To encourage greater use of RFID wireless technology, researchers at Universite Grenoble Alpes, Le Laboratoire de Conception et d’Integration des Systemes (Valence, France) have developed a chipless RFID system (without ICs) using ultrawideband (UWB) signals.

RFID enables real-time visibility for men’s accessory company

Founded in 1910, Randa is one of the world’s largest men’s accessories companies. Spanning 11 countries, the company manufactures, sources and assembles products for its portfolio of 50+ brands, which include neckwear, jewelry, belts, furnishings, wallets and luggage. After implementing an RFID tracking solution for real-time inventory management at its Reno, Nev., fulfillment center, the company easily and accurately identifies inventory locations and counts. This lowered labor and operating costs, increased customer satisfaction and enabled real-time decision-making.

Rambus and Infineon Team Up to Bring Global Smart Card and Mobile Ticketing Offerings to Transport

Rambus Inc. announced a new strategic collaboration with Infineon Technologies AG to jointly promote smart ticketing solutions for mobile and smart cards that will drive the next generation of mobility services worldwide. Both companies will combine their expertise on the CIPURSE open standard for mobile and smart card ticketing to provide end users the most comprehensive choice of solutions for future proof transport ticketing solutions.

CIPURSE is an open standard supported by a global community of members of the OSPT Alliance. As key supporters and board members of the OSPT Alliance, Rambus and Infineon recognise the trust and integrity CIPURSE provides as a platform upon which to build a flexible and secure interoperable ticketing proposition.

With extensive experience implementing scalable smart mobile ticketing solutions, Rambus will bring its Host Card Emulation (HCE) Ticket Wallet Service and Remote Ticket Download (RTD) solutions to the collaboration, providing secure download and storage of tickets on NFC-enabled smartphones and the ability to deliver tickets remotely to smartcards. Along with Infineon’s CIPURSE™ smart ticketing products, the companies will both be able to better deliver a high level of security for the international smart ticketing market, with mobile and smart card ticketing working in tandem.

New UHF RFID Smart Reader Operates Out of the Box

Florida RFID solutions company RFRain has released a UHF RFID device that serves as a reader, a gateway with a built-in user interface, and a direct link to cloud-based software. The company's RFR-RAIN-4-SMART reader is intended to be fully plug-and-play: users can plug in an Ethernet cable and power, and it will begin capturing any tags within its vicinity, as well as forwarding their unique ID numbers to the server, where intelligence provides contextual information.

Sony's first IoT chip brings a 60+ mile range

Wi-Fi has a short range and suffers from signal interference if too many devices are connected, while LTE is expensive and requires a SIM. Both have a high-power drain. If we truly want everything connected to the internet, then we require affordable long-range networks that work in moving vehicles and can handle high interference, à la low-power long range. Enter Eltres. Eltres is Sony’s spin on the concept, and it will launch in full in Japan later this year. Eltres employs small microchips and antennas to relay a signal-like sensor data to a base station, which can be over 60 miles (100 km) away.

Antelop unveils mobile-first digital banking and payments platform

Antelop Solutions has launched an integrated onboarding, authentication and mobile payments platform for Android and iOS devices that lets both traditional and challenger banks combine “best-in-class” end-to-end security with a user friendly, PSD2-compliant, mobile-first consumer experience. “From mobile onboarding to strong customer authentication and digital payments, our white label PCI DSS compliant software-as-a-service platform offers a unified customer experience, simplified integration and maintenance — and leading edge, embedded end-to-end security,” Timothée Gruner, Antelop’s chief commercial officer, told NFC World.

If a retailer takes Apple Pay, it also takes Google Pay

There’s still no such thing as a merchant taking or blocking only Apple Pay or only Google Pay
When J.C. Penney quietly stopped taking contactless payments in its stores in April and described that in a tweet as a “decision to remove Apple Pay,” you could easily have concluded that the financially strapped retailer only blocked iPhone mobile payments. And when Google announced May 23 that the New York City subway was about to “enable Google Pay,” you might think that iPhones would be shut out.

RFID ‘Baggage Tracking’ set for global deployment

The International Air Transport Association's (IATA) 75th Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously resolved to support the global deployment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for baggage tracking. The AGM also called for the implementation of modern baggage messaging standards to more accurately track passengers’ baggage in real time across key points in the journey. In 2018, less than 0.06% of the estimated 4.3bn bags carried by airlines were mishandled, IATA said, citing figures from SITA.

iOS 13 includes references to Apple’s Tag device for tracking personal items

As 9to5Mac has previously reported, Apple is developing a Tile-like device that can be used to track a user’s personal items using the new “Find My” app introduced at WWDC. The product is known only as “B389” by the people involved in its development. Now, the first beta of iOS 13 includes an asset package for a device with the product type “Tag1,1”. This type of asset package is used for pairing devices by proximity, the same way as AirPods and HomePod can be paired to a user’s device. The reference was first spotted by Steve Moser and confirmed by 9to5Mac.

More Flexibility In Emerging Market Thanks To Affordable RFID Solutions

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been around for a long time, but local companies are now beginning to focus on providing flexible and customisable RFID solutions that are affordable in an emerging market. RFID utilises electromagnetic fields to identify and track tags attached to objects. These tags contain electronically stored information, which can be read by RFID readers. However, RFID solutions that are sourced internationally can be very expensive, with a price of up to R30 million, depending on specification, says Dave Joyce, MD of Nimble Technologies. But the benefits extend beyond just affordability. Joyce points out that the solution developed by Nimble Technologies is very customisable and scalable.

Indonesia picks EMV QR codes for national mobile payments standard

Bank Indonesia (BI) launched its long-awaited Quick Response Indonesia Standard (QRIS) code system that aims to universalize cashless payment in the country. QRIS, which physically manifests as a more complex QR pattern, allows users from one payment service to transfer funds to any rival service within BI’s ecosystem. A customer using e-wallet service LinkAja, for example, could transfer funds to a shopkeeper using e-wallet OVO given at least one party has a QRIS code.

3 Ways RFID Technology Helps Drive Fan Engagement

Many professional and college sports teams all over the globe are constantly looking for creative ways to generate ticket sales and drive fan engagement. In a world where many fans choose to watch games on their mobile device or from the comfort of their home, it can be difficult to actually draw crowds out to the stadium in person. Innovative and flexible technology, such as Radio-frequency identification (RFID), can be leveraged to boost season pass sales and increase overall fan engagement. The Connect&GO FastPass is a prime example of this. Fans are attracted to solutions like the FastPass for a number of reasons. These are three ways sports organizations can better utilize RFID technology to better connect with their fan base.

RFID Security Industry Expert Ron Fiedler Joins ELATEC as VP Strategic Alliances

ELATEC announced its recent hire of Ron J. Fiedler, who joins the ELATEC team as Vice President of Strategic Alliances. In this role, Fiedler will expand ELATEC's global presence through business development, strategic partnerships, and penetration of new markets.

ELATEC designs and manufactures unique radio frequency identification (RFID) readers for user authentication and access control applications. ELATEC readers recognize and decode over 60 RFID transponder technologies and are certified for use in as many as 110 countries worldwide. The readers are widely used for secure printing and other applications such as industrial vending, fleet management, time and attendance and single sign-on for computers and other devices.

Fiedler is a Security industry veteran of nearly 20 years and a subject matter expert on RF credentials. He comes to ELATEC from RF IDeas, Inc, where for the past 15 years he served as Director of Business Development. There, he was instrumental in growing the organization from a start-up to an Inc. 500 '5000 fastest growing private company' to eventual acquisition by Roper Technologies.

University Research Tracks Everyday Activities via RFID

A team of researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of Washington have completed the first round of testing for an RFID-based system that uses UHF RFID signals to identify a specific tag, and that uses fluctuations in these signals to understand changes in the field around that tag. The result could be a solution with which users could understand whether a tagged item has been moved or been interacted with, as well as if someone has approached or left the tag's vicinity.