
Pay for purchases wirelessly

This smartphone might employ an external NFC device to execute wireless transactions
If you’ve traveled in Europe or the bustling commercial centers in Asia lately, you’ve probably experienced the advantage of paying for railway or metro tickets, food and beverage or other sundry items using a cashless “smart card.” Smart cards can be used for identification, authentication, data storage and application processing. Typically, a smart card is simply a standard plastic credit card containing an embedded microchip. Your account information is securely, instantly accessed by a vendor when you swipe the card across a reader.
A closely-related technology is called “Near Field Communication.” NFC is a wireless, short-range communication supported by the world’s leading communication device manufacturers, semiconductor producers, network operators, IT and services companies, and financial service organizations. NFC technology is compatible with hundreds of millions of contactless cards and readers already deployed worldwide. Because the transmission range (about 4 centimeters or 1-1/2 inches) is so compact, NFC-enabled transactions are inherently more secure.
Typical applications include:
- Mobile ticketing in public transport (bus, subway, metro, taxi)
- Mobile payment — the device acts as a debit/ credit payment card.
- Smart poster —an equipped mobile phone is used to read RFID tags on outdoor billboards in order to get additional customized information
Future applications may include:
- Electronic ticketing — airlines, concerts/events and others
- Electronic money
- Travel cards
- Identity documents
- Mobile commerce
- Electronic keys — access car, house/office, hotel room, etc.
- Bluetooth pairing — pairing of Bluetooth devices with NFC will be as easy as bringing them close together and accepting the pairing
The “Tipping Point” – When Will NFC Technology Be Widely Adopted in the U.S.?
Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” cites the example that for a good idea to take off with the general population, a message needs to exhibit the quality of “stickiness.”
“In epidemics, the messenger matters: messengers are what make something spread. But the content of the message matters too. And the specific quality that a message needs to be successful is ‘stickiness.’ …Is it so memorable, in fact, that it can create change… that it can spur someone to action?”
The epidemic governing adoption of an idea is contagiousness. An idea, clearly explained and widely distributed, can spread rapidly across society in one dramatic moment. There is a “tipping point” in the life of any new technology. The tipping point is the moment of critical mass – the threshold, the boiling point – in spreading a new idea.
I believe the tipping point in widespread adoption of NFC technology is the enabling of mobile phones to incorporate NFC compatibility.
During a keynote presentation at the Mobey Forum’s 10th anniversary workshop in Helsinki on June 17, 2010, Anssi Vanjoki, Nokia’s executive vice president of marketing, announced that all new smartphones introduced by the company beginning 2011 will be compatible with NFC. Apple has filed patent applications to simplify data transfer technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC) Interface. A number of other smartphones are currently equipped for NFC, or are rumored to be in development.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, as these NFC-enabled devices are readily available — and the general public is made aware of the convenience, simplicity and security of cashless bill-paying using an enabled smartphone — this emerging application is poised for rapid growth across all sectors of the consumer economy.
Resources:
The NFC Forum
The Near Field Communication Forum was formed to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market about NFC technology. Formed in 2004, the Forum now has 140 members. Manufacturers, applications developers, financial services institutions, and others work together to promote the use of NFC technology in consumer electronics, mobile devices, and PCs. The potential for NFC applications and products is broad and deep, whether you’re leveraging the promise of peer-to-peer Bluetooth communications, developing payment system applications, or creating the chips to enable emerging NFC-based products.
A search for “Near Field Communication” on YouTube yields several videos showing NFC in use – see YouTube link. NFC Forum member videos may be viewed at this link http://www.nfc-forum.org/resources/member_videos/.
For more detail about NFC current trials, development and intelligence, consult NFC World Communications online.