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"Korea's BankID, a decentralized identity (DID) solution called MyInfo, went live on August 27 with seven banks. The solution was a joint development between the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute (KFTC) and Raon White Hat, a subsidiary of Raon Secure, the developer of the OmniOne blockchain... Users create a digital identity with any of the banks by providing the usual sort of documents. The details of the digital identity that's created are securely stored on the user's smartphone. The customer can use the DID for bank logins and if the person wants to make an application at a different bank, they can share selected details from MyInfo with the other bank. The wallet stores details such as mobile phone number, address and e-mail. It also includes a bio identity, which may involve facial recognition."

"A digital wallet is a container of secret keys that may be used as vouchers or credentials. Often, those represent or enable access to money. They can come in different forms, such as smartphone apps or physical devices, employ countermeasures against tampering and cloning (often implemented as Secure Elements), and typically use digital signature mechanisms to prove possession of the secret keys. Perhaps most importantly, digital wallets must have some form of user interface that allow holders to carry out transactions, such as confirming their identity, asking for a PIN code, or initiating a payment.

"America is an odd place when it comes to payments. It seems incredible to me that there is a business case to be built around taking cash and converting into cards at a ball park, but there you go. Interestingly, one of the providers of reverse ATMs in America speculated that in the future there might be no need to dispense a physical card from the machines, instead offering customers "a virtual card on your smartphone", much as they did in Russia all those years ago!" [David Birch]

To get started, new Worldcoin users are asked to download the World App onto their smartphones, scan a QR code, and face the orb to scan both irises. This generates a hash known as IrisHash on the Ethereum-based Optimism blockchain and a digital ID, which Worldcoin touts as a unique way to verify an individual's personhood, avoiding risks of AI-driven fraud. Signing up instantly earns users one Worldcoin (WLD), but after the cryptocurrency was listed in several crypto exchanges, including Binance, new users were rewarded with 25 extra coins. As at July 31, 26 coins equaled $59.

"Here is a demo of peer-to-peer offline payments as an introduction - a solution developed by Thales and Secretarium, already selected by two G20 central banks. As you can see, the UX looks pretty familiar, apart from the fact that any modern smartphone with NFC replaces the payment terminal."

"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a new issue spotlight highlighting the impacts of Big Tech companies' policies and practices that govern tap-to-pay on mobile devices like smartphones and watches. Apple currently forbids banks and payment apps from accessing the tap-to-pay functionality on Apple iOS devices and imposes fees through Apple Pay. Google's Android operating system does not currently have such a policy. The issue spotlight explains how regulations imposed by mobile operating systems can have a significant impact on innovation, consumer choice, and the growth of open and decentralized banking and payments in the U.S."

The Bank of Korea (BOK) and Samsung will reportedly work together to develop central bank digital currency (CBDC) technology that enables transactions to be made without internet access. In the BOK's proof-of-concept CBDC testing last year, Samsung worked out an offline technology which allows transactions and payments between mobile devices through near field communication (NFC) without online connection, using an embedded secure element security chip. They will continue this work on Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and watches.

"French startup Ledger debuted its new hardware crypto wallet, the Ledger Stax, on Tuesday. It resembles a smartphone but is roughly the same size as a credit card and, at about 45 grams, weighs less than an iPhone."

How long do payments via different payment methods take? This question was analyzed in an interesting research by Deutsche Bundesbank (BuBa). The result: The quickest payments are smartphones/smartwatch payments (14 seconds), followed by contactless card payments (15.2 seconds), and cash payments (18.7 seconds).

Ripple will reportedly participate in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's (HKMA's) digital Hong Kong dollar (e-HKD) central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program by showcasing a real estate asset tokenization solution. Ripple will partner with Taiwan's Fubon Bank and others to demonstrate equity release with tokenized assets using a retail version of the e-HKD CBDC. The pilot project will run on the new Ripple CBDC Platform, that uses a new private ledger with XRP Ledger technology and enhanced functionality, including offline transactions and non-smartphone use. It's the same platform that may be piloted in Bhutan, Montenegro and Palau.

"Samsung said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea's central bank to conduct technical research on a central bank digital currency. Payments could be made between devices through the use of near-field communication technology, which is built into smartphones to enable contactless payments, Samsung said."

"A physical card solution to the "double spending problem" that provides a secure fallback in case of network or device failures. Smartphones communicate locally and use onboard cameras to capture barcodes and security features that they then cryptographically verify."

"Basic and feature phone technologies have revolutionised how people in emerging markets interact, as stated in our 2018 report on Mobile Technology for the SDGs: Reaching Further with Low Tech. Despite growing smartphone penetration on the continent and the growing popularity of mobile apps, low tech continues to play a significant role in many emerging markets. Notably, nine in 10 mobile money transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa still flow through USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data). Specifically, USSD has proved to be a useful tool in dealing with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"IDEMIA and ConsenSys have joined forces to offer a truly inclusive Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) solution that can work with any consumer device: smartphones of course, but also feature phones, biometric payment cards, sim cards, wearables and even connected machines, making CBDC available to everyone."

The Central Bank of Nigeria reportedly plans to introduce the unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) code to its eNaira central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform to ensure people without smartphones could still transact on it.

According to a Ventures Africa poll only 4% of Nigerian respondents have used the eNaira, and 64% haven't even heard of it. Retail merchants and traders felt the same way. Plus only 30% of merchants and traders interviewed had heard of the eNaira, and none had used it. One of the factors contributing to this may be Nigeria's digital divide. According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet only 12% of Nigerians have access to 4G-like Internet speeds or the capacity to use the internet on a daily basis. Although the CBN has said that Nigerians without smartphone internet access will be able to transact in eNaira using basic featurephones, apps have been the predominant form of transaction.

The European Union (EU) Industry, Research and Energy Committee approved a proposed update to the European Digital Identity Framework that will enable the issuance and usage of the smartphone-based EU's European Digital Identity Wallet (eID). It would allow holders to identify and authenticate themselves online (via a European digital identity wallet) without having to resort to commercial providers. It would also give users full control of their data and let them decide what information to share and with whom.

Australia's ANZ is partnering with two universities to trial offline central bank digital currency (CBDC) payments via smart cards that can be loaded with funds and used like physical cash. Students will install secure apps on their smartphones to view their CBDC balances and use NFC functionality to load CBDC onto their smart cards. Students will use them to make purchases at on-campus merchants and make instant peer-to-peer payments in offline environments when unconnected to existing banking infrastructures.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the Stellar Development Foundation, USDC stablecoin issuer Circle, and cross-border money transfer company MoneyGram have rigged up a system for sending aid directly to Ukrainian refugees using crypto-assets. The UNHCR delivers USDC hosted on the Stellar network, to a digital wallet that can be accessed via smartphone, even to people without bank accounts. The recipient then exchanges their USDC for local currency at any MoneyGram facility. Because the USDC is hosted on decentralized infrastructure and in the custody of individual wallet owners, funds cannot be withheld.

"The RBI is hoping to conduct offline transactions by testing the use of wearables, cards like debit and credit, bluetooth technology, and a smartphone. Another key concern the RBI is looking to address is the risk of double spending. More than 50 proposals have been submitted to the RBI on the closing date of March 24, 2023 to solve the problem of offline transactions, one source said."