Category: NFC Technology

Interest group to tackle issues concerning NFC technology

NFC technology was once the cornerstone of mobile commerce. The technology helped bring mobile payments into the limelight because of its ability to facilitate quick data transfer from one device to another. While NFC technology is still a focus in some areas of mobile commerce, the industry is beginning to move away from the technology because of its relatively low adoption rate and concerns regarding its security. The NFC Forum, a trade association that developers standards for the use of NFC technology, has created an interest group that aims to explore the ways the technology can be used in the realms of mobile payments and transportation.

NFC Forum aims to promote use of technology for transportation and mobile payments

The NFC Forum has been promoting the capabilities of NFC technology, especially when used in mobile commerce, for more than a decade. The organization has established many of the standards that govern the use of the technology today. The NFC Forum has been seeing the position of the technology in the mobile commerce realm steadily diminish and has been looking for ways to encourage the continued use of the technology as a medium for mobile payments.

NFC could be very useful in the realm of transportation

The new interest group established by the NFC Forum aims to discover new ways to use NFC technology for mobile payments and for transportation. In terms of mobile commerce, the use of the technology is fairly straightforward, but the group will focus on finding ways to improve the efficiency and security of NFC-based mobile payments. The technology does have some promise when it comes to transportation, as it can be used as a storage medium for electronic tickets for various forms of public transportation.

NFC allows for use of electronic tickets

Using NFC technology, a consumer can store electronic tickets on their mobile device. When they are ready to board a plane, for instance, they can use their mobile device to present their boarding pass, removing the need for physical tickets. NFC has a variety of uses, but there exists a lack of NFC-enabled devices that enable the widespread adoption of this technology. The interest group will focus on highlighting the capabilities of NFC technology in order to encourage its adoption among consumers, businesses, and other parties.

Rumors about the next Apple smartphone are flying and they include a number of additions.

The latest predictions about the iPhone 5S have been claiming that Apple will finally be including NFC technology in its device, and that it will be combined with a fingerprint reader for added mobile security.

This new pair of features could allow Apple to support payments with a great deal of added security.

Neither the rumors about the inclusion of NFC technology or of the fingerprint reader are new, but they are becoming increasingly prevalent in the predictions for the iPhone 5S. Both of those features had been predicted for the iPhone 5 release, but it looked as though the manufacturer was seeking further development before they were to be included in a release.

NFC technology has been long awaited from Apple mobile devices

According to Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst from KGI, it is expected that the fingerprint reader will be built directly into the newest device’s home button. In addition to this prediction, the latest rumor from China, through Macotakara, has said that it is also the manufacturer’s intention to enable the iPhone 5S with NFC technology – a feature that was notably lacking from their last smartphone release.

This would allow the new smartphone to support mobile payments at any of the growing number of retailers and merchants that are already supporting mobile payments based on NFC technology. The security for the use of that type of transaction could be heightened if combined with the use of the fingerprint reader under the device home button.

In 2012, Apple purchased Authentec for $356 million, which would allow the company to add fingerprint reading to its devices for greater security levels. Authentec had already established itself as an expert in mobile biometric security even before it was acquired.

As security has been a considerable barrier to the use of mobile payments by consumers, the addition of the combination of the fingerprint reading with the NFC technology might make the difference in allowing consumers to feel more comfortable and secure in using their devices in place of a loyalty, credit or debit card for making a purchase while shopping in store.