Smartphones And Mobiles
Your credit cards: gone. Bus pass and train tickets: vanished. Those dog-eared loyalty cards for high street coffee shops: binned.
You've been the victim not of theft, but of the future ? a future where the wallet, purse, paper ticket and pocket have all gone digital and live solely on your phone.
Welcome to Near Field Communications (NFC), a contactless, Wi-Fi-lite style tech that could already be in your smartphone, and could soon be a regular feature of your commute.
At its core, all NFC is doing is identifying us, and our bank account, to a computer. The technology is simple.
It's a short-range, low power wireless link evolved from radio-frequency identification (RFID) tech that can transfer small amounts of data between two devices held a few centimeters from each other.
Unlike Bluetooth, no pairing code is needed, and because it's very low power, no battery in the device being read. By tapping your phone on a contactless payment terminal in a shop, train station or coffee shop is able to identify your account (and even your personal preferences, shopping habits and even your most frequently travelled route home) and takes payment through an app on your phone.
Passive NFC 'tags' on posters, in shops and on trains could contain a web address, a discount voucher, a map or a bus timetable that passers-by could touch their phones on to receive ? or to instantly pay for absolutely anything.
"The SIM card in your mobile phone is a smart card identifying your account to the network," says John Elliott, Head of Public Sector at Consult Hyperion, who's worked on the Oyster Card. "On NFC phones, the SIM is being extended to act as the Secure Element that can hold other apps such as payment cards."
NFC is starting to become established in the UK. Orange's QuickTap scheme allows purchases of £15 at 50,000 shops in the UK (including Pret a Manger, EAT, Little Chef, Wembley Arena, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonalds) just by tapping a phone, though only from NFC-enabled phones hosting an app that has been topped-up with credit from a Barclaycard, Barclays debit or Orange Credit Card.
"Feedback from our customers on the QuickTap NFC service has been extremely positive," an Orange spokesperson told us, "with their usage and average spend higher than expected." Orange is also running a trial of mobile ticketing with Stagecoach earlier this year and expect this to expand in 2013.
"As well as payments, customers have told us they expect their loyalty cards and vouchers to be included in Quick Tap so we are working with retailers to make that happen, following up on our Treats from EAT offer." In the latter, anyone with an NFC-compatible phone on the Orange network could tap their mobile phone on specially designed posters at any of EAT's 110 outlets to receive a free treat each day.
Meanwhile, Blackberry smartphones with NFC have been trialled as digital keys, using identification data to open secure access systems in office blocks and networks.
Yes ? and there are plenty within it, too. One debate in the mobile and finance industry is between the 'mobile wallet' as represented by NFC, or the 'digital wallet'. Calling NFC 'a technology, not a strategy,' PayPal's Kerry Wong, MD for Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, promotes the latter.
"The 'digital wallet' exists in the cloud, and it is not tethered to one specific device such as a mobile phone, but accessible from a variety of devices such as laptop, iPad, ultrabook or even Xbox," she says. Wong thinks that it's the ability to work easily, safely and on any device or platform that will win the day.
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Smartphones And Mobiles
What is NFC and why is it in your phone?
Your credit cards: gone. Bus pass and train tickets: vanished. Those dog-eared loyalty cards for high street coffee shops: binned.
You've been the victim not of theft, but of the future ? a future where the wallet, purse, paper ticket and pocket have all gone digital and live solely on your phone.
Welcome to Near Field Communications (NFC), a contactless, Wi-Fi-lite style tech that could already be in your smartphone, and could soon be a regular feature of your commute.
How does NFC work?
At its core, all NFC is doing is identifying us, and our bank account, to a computer. The technology is simple.
It's a short-range, low power wireless link evolved from radio-frequency identification (RFID) tech that can transfer small amounts of data between two devices held a few centimeters from each other.
Unlike Bluetooth, no pairing code is needed, and because it's very low power, no battery in the device being read. By tapping your phone on a contactless payment terminal in a shop, train station or coffee shop is able to identify your account (and even your personal preferences, shopping habits and even your most frequently travelled route home) and takes payment through an app on your phone.
Passive NFC 'tags' on posters, in shops and on trains could contain a web address, a discount voucher, a map or a bus timetable that passers-by could touch their phones on to receive ? or to instantly pay for absolutely anything.
"The SIM card in your mobile phone is a smart card identifying your account to the network," says John Elliott, Head of Public Sector at Consult Hyperion, who's worked on the Oyster Card. "On NFC phones, the SIM is being extended to act as the Secure Element that can hold other apps such as payment cards."
Is NFC available in the UK?
NFC is starting to become established in the UK. Orange's QuickTap scheme allows purchases of £15 at 50,000 shops in the UK (including Pret a Manger, EAT, Little Chef, Wembley Arena, Subway, Wilkinson and McDonalds) just by tapping a phone, though only from NFC-enabled phones hosting an app that has been topped-up with credit from a Barclaycard, Barclays debit or Orange Credit Card.
"Feedback from our customers on the QuickTap NFC service has been extremely positive," an Orange spokesperson told us, "with their usage and average spend higher than expected." Orange is also running a trial of mobile ticketing with Stagecoach earlier this year and expect this to expand in 2013.
"As well as payments, customers have told us they expect their loyalty cards and vouchers to be included in Quick Tap so we are working with retailers to make that happen, following up on our Treats from EAT offer." In the latter, anyone with an NFC-compatible phone on the Orange network could tap their mobile phone on specially designed posters at any of EAT's 110 outlets to receive a free treat each day.
Meanwhile, Blackberry smartphones with NFC have been trialled as digital keys, using identification data to open secure access systems in office blocks and networks.
Are there any alternatives to NFC?
Yes ? and there are plenty within it, too. One debate in the mobile and finance industry is between the 'mobile wallet' as represented by NFC, or the 'digital wallet'. Calling NFC 'a technology, not a strategy,' PayPal's Kerry Wong, MD for Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, promotes the latter.
"The 'digital wallet' exists in the cloud, and it is not tethered to one specific device such as a mobile phone, but accessible from a variety of devices such as laptop, iPad, ultrabook or even Xbox," she says. Wong thinks that it's the ability to work easily, safely and on any device or platform that will win the day.
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- Ufone Introduces Umall- Online Mart In Your Phone
A step ahead Ufone has brought anohter service UMall that is a special offer for its own consumers in particular and for the users of smart phones in common. With the introduction of its oline store, Ufone has become the first Pakistani cellular service...
- Wi-fi Is Now Free When You Visit The Uk, If You Have A Mastercard
Using your phone or tablet when you're overseas can be pretty pricey. Luckily, for everything else there's MasterCard, as you can now enjoy free Wi-Fi in the UK thanks to the card in your wallet. Credit card and payment services company MasterCard...
- Everything You Want To Know About Apple Pay
With the launch of iOS 8.1, Apple has finally launched Apple Pay, the new NFC payment system that lets you make purchases using an iOS device. Unfortunately, it's only in the US, it's not for every iPhone and even the new iPads have some restrictions....
- 10 Tips To Make Your Phone More Secure
Your smartphone is more precious than your wallet, your keys and in some cases, your actual computer when it comes to sensitive information - but we all have that nagging guilt that we don't do enough to protect our devices beyond perhaps having a...
- Android Beam: Why You Should Care About This Hidden Gem
Near Field Communication technology (NFC) has spread its way across the mobile landscape like a forest wildfire, yet how many of us actually use it, let alone use it to its full potential? We all know how NFC works (if not, then here's all you need...