SoftBank Mobile Corp. will… Read the rest start a Near Field Communication payment pilot with smartphones powered by Android 2.2 operating system late this quarter, the Tokyo-based subsidiary of Japanese telecommunication operator SoftBank Corp. announced Jan.18.
Seven other companies also will participate, including MasterCard Worldwide; Kyodo Printing Inc.; HTC Corp.; Orient Corp., Japan’s largest service provider of MasterCard

Netherlands-based RePay International Ltd. and Chinese loyalty-management company China Rewards Pvt. Ltd. jointly plan to introduce the ClimaCount Card Scheme, a carbon-offset program, to the Chinese market, the two companies announced on Jan. 11.… Read the rest

China’s second-largest mobile-network operator China viagra… Read the rest has begun offering a contactless mobile-payment service in Beijing.
Launched Dec. 31, the service is based on a SIMpass card, the Near Field Communication technology provided by Singapore-based Watchdata Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
The SIMpass card is compatible with mobile phones using 2G networks, a Beijing-based Unicom customer

Jaccs Co. Ltd. has launched a MasterCard-branded credit card designed to help improve the environment, the Tokyo-based card-issuing subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced Dec. 10.
All legal residents in Japan ages 18 or older may apply for the Jaccs Eco Card. When a customer spends 800,000 yen (US$9,533 or 7,209 euros) or more… Read the rest

PayPal Inc. this year will set up its first foreign currency settlement platform in Chongqing, China, along with five international e-commerce centers under an agreement the unit of eBay Inc. signed with the Chongqing Municipal Government on Dec. 28.
“Chongqing has plans to… Read the rest become the financial-services center of western China, and we are happy to

Debit card issuance has dipped slightly in Japan over the past two years, a new report suggests.… Read the rest

China’s largest telecommunication operator China Telecom Ltd. is partnering with the Bank of China Ltd. and China UnionPay to offer a mobile-payment service in the city of Ningbo in China’s Zhenjiang province.
The service, dubbed the Tianyi Great Wall Card, uses SIMpass Near Field Communication technology developed by Singapore-based Watchdata Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and complies… Read the rest

Chinese banks will replace magnetic stripe cards with smart cards by 2015, according to an official from China UnionPay.… Read the rest

Mitsubishi UFJ Nicos Co. Ltd. has launched three versions of a new JCB-branded credit card as part of a strategy to secure more cardholders in Japan, according to the credit card unit of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
“Now we have 100,000 MUFG credit card users, and we expect that the three new cards will bring… Read the rest

Bank of China and China UnionPay on Oct. 12 jointly launched a dual-currency debit card in the Philippines through the bank’s operation in Manila, the first time a Chinese bank has issued such a card abroad.… Read the rest