The topic of mobile payments cannot be discussed without first discussing Near Field Communication technology, or NFC for short. NFC is a combination of short range wireless technologies that allow the user to transmit and receive information simply by touching the device to another NFC enabled device or touching the device to various NFC enabled smart tags. NFC shares the same basic technology as RFID tags and the information can only be transferred over short distances, usually 4cms but up to 20cms.
Now that the technicals are out of the way, I would like to discuss some of the advantages and possibilities for using NFC technology. NFC's main commercial advantage is that it provides simplicity. By simply holding a NFC enabled mobile device to another NFC enabled device or a smart tag, users will be able to transmit and receive data instantly. This will help businesses such as airlines and other multi-ticketing operators reduce their costs by eliminating the need to issue paper tickets. The marketing implications for this technology are also amazing. A consumer will now be able to instantly learn more about a product by simply holding their device to a product embedded with a smart tag. Imagine seeing a movie poster on the street and being able to watch the trailer within seconds on your mobile phone. Last but not least, the technology has the ability to revolutionize the way we pay for goods and services. This technology will be used to purchase goods such as train tickets and street parking simply by waving your phone over the reader. The payment will then be deducted from a prepaid account or taken directly from a connected bank account. To avoid the possibility of fraud, a pin system could be set up similar to the system used with debit cards.
While this technology could be very useful for the mobile payment industry, it still has a long way to go before it is widely accepted. As I stated earlier, there is the issue of fraud and protection. There is also the issue of using a standardized technology that would be accepted throughout the world. Also, there is a confusing ecosystem of stakeholders and IP issues that make widespread adoption difficult.
As you can see, NFC technology has the possibility to be a game changing technology in how we pay for goods and services. However, it still has a long way to go before being the standardized method of payment. For more information on this technology, please check out nfc-forum.org, which I found very helpful in constructing this article.
Now that the technicals are out of the way, I would like to discuss some of the advantages and possibilities for using NFC technology. NFC's main commercial advantage is that it provides simplicity. By simply holding a NFC enabled mobile device to another NFC enabled device or a smart tag, users will be able to transmit and receive data instantly. This will help businesses such as airlines and other multi-ticketing operators reduce their costs by eliminating the need to issue paper tickets. The marketing implications for this technology are also amazing. A consumer will now be able to instantly learn more about a product by simply holding their device to a product embedded with a smart tag. Imagine seeing a movie poster on the street and being able to watch the trailer within seconds on your mobile phone. Last but not least, the technology has the ability to revolutionize the way we pay for goods and services. This technology will be used to purchase goods such as train tickets and street parking simply by waving your phone over the reader. The payment will then be deducted from a prepaid account or taken directly from a connected bank account. To avoid the possibility of fraud, a pin system could be set up similar to the system used with debit cards.
While this technology could be very useful for the mobile payment industry, it still has a long way to go before it is widely accepted. As I stated earlier, there is the issue of fraud and protection. There is also the issue of using a standardized technology that would be accepted throughout the world. Also, there is a confusing ecosystem of stakeholders and IP issues that make widespread adoption difficult.
As you can see, NFC technology has the possibility to be a game changing technology in how we pay for goods and services. However, it still has a long way to go before being the standardized method of payment. For more information on this technology, please check out nfc-forum.org, which I found very helpful in constructing this article.
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