Tag: near field communication

Lumi Deco Nail combines near field communications (NFC) with beauty.

Takara Tomy, a Japanese toy company, has designed a new way to use NFC technology by incorporating it into a line of false nails known as Lumi Deco Nail, which light up when the wearer interacts with an NFC-enabled device.

NFC radio waves make the LEDs in the nails light up.

Fake nails are an incredibly popular fashion in Japan and around the world, most notably among women. It has become the trend not to simply have painted false nails, but to have them decorated with gems, stones, and a variety of plastic shapes, etc. The Lumi Deco Nail is available in a number of different designs to suit a variety of tastes.

What makes the Lumi nails stand out from the crowd are the incredibly tiny LEDs that are included in the nails, which are only 0.5mm thick. The LEDs illuminate when NFC radio waves pass close to the nails. This can occur when the wearer comes in contact with devices equipped with NFC technology are activated. For instance, the nails can light up when an NFC-enabled smartphone is used or when a call is made on a mobile phone. They can also light up if the wearer taps their contactless payment or travel card on a near field communication reader.

NFC tech gives smartphones and POS (point of sale) terminals the ability to communicate at a short range when they are tapped together. Information is sent and received through devices via NFC tags and other tiny transmitters. Although not every company supports the technology, it has received strong backing from Visa, MasterCard, Samsung, GSMA and others.

The NFC technology works best with Android smartphones.

The NFC technology deco nails were primarily developed to work with contactless communication radio waves. For the most effective results, Takra Tomy recommends using their nail products with Japanese and Korean brand Android phones like HTC, NEC, LG, Samsung, Fujitsu, Sharp and Sony Xperia. The Lumi Deco Nail is available for purchase in Japan. Each pack contains 16 nail stickers and a nail file. The cost is 1,200 yen ($12).

The Australian banking industry has increased its efforts to offer consumers new mobile payments technology.

Throughout the past year, Australia’s major banks have become more and more invested in mobile payments that utilize NFC technology and all if the “Big Four” – Westpac, CBA, ANZ and NAB – now have contactless cards available for their customers.

Over a 12 to 18 month period, contactless payments soared from 10% to 60%, according to Westpac.

The Australian bank also predicted that three million people will make approximately five contactless mobile payments, on average, each month in 2015, which will result in a $3 billion industry.

Mobile payment solutions embedded with near field communication (NFC) technology are believed to be the tech that is the most probable to advance mobile proximity commerce in the years to come. Moreover, with the country’s chief banks getting involved, there has been an increase in consumers adopting NFC services.

NFC solutions, such as Commonwealth Bank’s CommBank app, which enables users to “Tap and Pay” with their smartphone, offer consumers all of the advantages of contactless cards like ease of use, convenience, security and fast payment. What’s more, however, they make a user’s mobile device even more practical for day-to-day use.

For instance, Commonwealth Bank customers have the ability to withdraw cash from ATMs without having to use a card. All they need to do is login to the financial institution’s mobile app and choose the desired amount they want to withdraw. They will then be provided with a code that they enter into the ATM and a PIN that is texted to their mobile.

Even wearable technology is being used. Recently, St. George became the first bank in Australia to release a banking app created for smartwatches. All of these different trials from the banks are the innovative ways that these institutions are attempting to make it more convenient for consumers to go about their daily lives without having to worry about using cash or plastic cards.

Security will play a significant role in the adoption of NFC technology.

Security is the heart of every payments platform. For this reason, consumer trust is essential in order for a payment method to do well and survive. In a newly conducted survey by RFi Consulting, 55% of survey respondents cited security as one of the three main factors that affect how they choose to pay for merchandise. Thus, it should come as no surprise that security has been a top priority for banks in the creation of their latest mobile payment technologies. If a phone equipped with NFC technology was stolen or lost, for example, the consumer is safeguarded from fraudulent account activity in the same way they would be with a credit or debit card.