ivendPay, Actility, Zebra Technologies: RFID Journal News Roundup

Published: December 7, 2023

ivendPay offers NFC-based cryptocurrency payment, Actility eyes growth with new funding, Zebra Technologies deploys RFID at Ricoh

iVendPay offers NFC-based cryptocurrency payment

Portuguese cryptocurrency company ivendPay is offering a near-field communication (NFC) based payment option for cryptocurrency transactions. The use of NFC could make the payment process similar to a standard credit or debit card payment, the company says.

At the point of sale, (POS), users tap their phone, and the NFC reader in the payment terminal could then capture the payment directly from the user’s crypto wallet. The system will integrate with various payment ecosystems such as POS terminals, as well as merchant mobile apps and vending networks, the company reports.

The company has about 400 active merchants in seven countries that accept the crypto-payments. Those payments previously required a QR code which meant extra time and effort to complete a transaction. Integration of NFC will make payments easier and speed adoption of cryptocurrency, according to ivendPay.

Actility Eyes Growth with $17 Million Funding

Low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN) company Actility has finished a funding round of $17 million to help accelerate its LPWAN solution development.

The company indicates it has entered a phase of steady growth as adoption of IoT LPWAN has doubled each year. The growth is due to greater use of AI, which requires data from anchors to understand real world information.

Actility’s technology is used in partnership with service providers rolling out industrial-scale LPWAN networks for uses such as metering, smart lighting and logistics. The company,  founded in 2010 by technology entrepreneurs, recently released its ThingPark Enterprise, for LoRaWAN deployments.

The company recently acquired Abeeway, a company that provides indoor-outdoor multi-technology geolocation, as well as Acklio for its interoperable IoT technology. The acquisitions expand the company’s offerings in the IP protocol to the LPWAN domain.

Zebra Technology Deploys RFID at Ricoh Corp DCs

Zebra Technologies recently implemented its radio-frequency identification (RFID) solution at Ricoh Corporation’s distribution centers in Gotemba, Kawasaki, and Osaka, Japan.

The UHF RFID solution was aimed at reducing manual inspection processes, which took a total of 223 minutes per month. With the RFID-enabled workflow, the process reduced inspection time by 94 percent to 13 minutes, allowing frontline workers to focus on more strategic tasks.

Additionally, the introduction of RFID technology has reduced the risk of SD cards getting lost, such as when users forget to remove them from copiers and printers.

Ricoh’s implemented solution includes Zebra’s Bluetooth-enabled RFD8500 handheld UHF RFID reader, which pairs with compatible Zebra or third-party mobile devices, offering high-performance next-generation RFID and 1D/2D barcode scanning interchangeability.