Near Field Communication (NFC) will enable contactless mobile payments at the register An emerging technology called Near Field Communication will soon give new meaning to the phrase “tapped out.” Once NFC systems become widespread, which could happen as soon as next year, consumers will be able to pay for purchases at the checkout counter by […]
Google’s two-factor authentication system is now available in 150 countries and 40 languages, the company recently said. The service — which was previously available only in English — allows individual users to opt for a second login step, which sends an authorization code to an iPhone, Android or BlackBerry device. Enrolment is done by the […]
An emerging virtual world platform is the destination of droves of emigrant avatars, as a price hike and the shutdown of the teen-only grid have prompted an educator exodus away from Second Life. — Don’t tell Kyle Gomboy about any depression in the real estate market. That may be the case in the terrestrial world, […]
Apple’s new application-level encryption paves the way for companies to run business apps on the iPad As global accounts director at Altus, Inc., Michelle Klatt’s job is to visit Fortune 500 companies and demonstrate her firm’s video management software. When the iPad came out a year ago, she was all over it. “I was one of the […]
Even though the iPad is designed primarily as a consumer device, salespeople are increasingly adopting it because of its ease of use, convenience, and coolness factor. Mobile security firm Good Technology Inc. reports that the iPad’s share of enterprise deployments went up 64 percent in the last quarter. According to Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), more than 80 […]
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 […]
Immersive virtual environments — the kind where you have an avatar walking around that looks like a cartoon version of you — are increasingly being used by companies for virtual meetings, training, and collaboration. The idea is that a virtual immersive meeting gives you the same sense of presence that you get with a telepresence […]
Debit card issuance has dipped slightly in Japan over the past two years, a new report suggests.
By more than doubling its card-issuance total this year, Sberbank Ltd. has became one of Russia’s top five credit card issuers by number of cards issued, a spokesperson for the bank tells PaymentsSource.
Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, last month officially abandoned plans to develop its Sberkart payment card program into a national payment system that would compete with Visa and MasterCard. Shareholders recently decided after five years of development that Sberkart would have little chance of succeeding on a national scale, Viktor Orlovsky, Sberbank vice president and chief […]
