NFC

We've seen several tech-enabled rings in the last few years, from failed attempts at turning them into gesture motion controllers, to new ones that prevent a partner from streaming a new TV show episode without you. But now Visa is taking a stab at it by turning the ring into a contactless payments device. Just like you'd swipe your smartphone over a terminal to make a payment, Visa's ring puts your credit card directly on your finger.

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In the past, commitment meant that you fell in love with someone, exchanged rings and vows, and lived happily ever after. These days, people apparently can't even commit to watching a TV show together without one party cheating on the other. Sure, it seems harmless. You'll just jump ahead and watch the next couple episodes of House of Cards, even though you promised never to do that. It's okay though, you can just act surprised when you re-watch it with them. Well, one company wants to prevent this from happening, by once again using rings as a means of commitment.

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Android users in the UK will have another contactless payment service to try out with Barclays launching its own in June. The Barclays contactless payment service for Android devices is said to be the UK's first such service and it will let users pay in stores via their mobile device. The service comes about a year after Apple Pay launched in the UK.

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While Google's Android Pay and its rival Apple Pay have had a fairly comparative start in the US, Apple's mobile payments system has had a big head start in the UK. It seems Google has been aware of this fact as well, as the company has announced that Android Pay will finally be coming to the UK, with a timeframe promise of within "the next few months."

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It may have started off a bit slow, with only a few select retailers offering support, but Apple's mobile payments system Apple Pay has reached acceptance at 2 million worldwide locations. That is a lot of places for users to make payments on the go with their iPhone 6, 6s, and Apple Watch, and it's well beyond the company's own goal of reaching 1.5 million retail outlets before the end of 2015.

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Right on the heels of the announcement that Apple Pay is launching in China in early 2016, Samsung has done the same, revealing that its own mobile payments system will be available in the country at around the same time. Similar to Apple, Samsung Pay has reached a deal with China UnionPay, the nation's bankcard association, allowing its cardholders to user their compatible Samsung smartphone to make NFC-based payments at QuickPass point-of-sale terminals.

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Smartwatches with circular faces have proven to be among the more popular designs with the Moto 360 and the Samsung Gear S2 among the offerings. When the Gear S2 launched, Samsung had intended to make Samsung Pay available for the smartwatch in November. Word is that the launch of Samsung Pay on the device will now be pushed to sometime in 2016.

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US department store chain JCPenny is about to become one of the latest retailers to begin accepting mobile payments via Apple Pay. While a full nationwide rollout of the payment method is said to be in the works for spring of 2016, a limited test program has been launched that allows shoppers to add their JCPenny store credit cards to their iPhones to use with Apple Pay.

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Square, the mobile payment company behind the iconic little card readers that plug into smartphones and tablets, has just introduced its first NFC reader, taking a step towards contactless payment methods including Apple Pay. The small, white reader is shaped like a (wait for it) square, and the company has made it available first to 100 small businesses across the US, giving them the ability to accept payments from iPhone and Apple Watch users.

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It seems the US's northern neighbors will soon finally be able to make use of mobile payments with their iPhone 6 or Apple Watch. That's right, Apple Pay is expected to launch in Canada on November 17th, as in, this Tuesday, complete with support for American Express cards. This news comes from the blog iPhone in Canada, which adds that the date of launch was confirmed by American Express representatives.

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Traditional watch makers have not been so eager to jump head on into the smartwatch buzz but the advancement of mobile payment might be giving them second thoughts. Swatch, however, while still mulling over a proper smartwatch product, does have a stopgap solution to that. It has just announced a non-smart, some call it dumb, regular watch in China and while it doesn't do all the fancy things smartwatches can do, it does do at least one thing they can: make payments without the need for cash or credit cards.

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Starting at the end of this year, Starbucks will start a pilot program for Apple Pay in a number of stores inside the United States. While Apple Pay is available for use in some Starbucks in the UK now, the United States collection of Starbucks locations have yet to integrate the iPhone-based payment system. According to Apple's Jennifer Bailey, Starbucks will begin to roll out Apple Pay integration for Apple devices to most stores inside the year 2016.

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