The Rise of Near Field Communications
Tuesday, January 03, 2012 • Mobile Commerce, Mobile Technology, Near Field Communications, NFC, Olympic Games 2012 • 0 comments
After many years of false dawns, Near Field Communications (NFC) has finally gained some traction. 2011 has proved to be a year of acceptance for NFC with it slowly but surely becoming more mainstream. Several telecommuncations and financial services companies are working together to promote NFC throughout Europe. Put simply, NFC is a wireless connectivity technology that enables two-way communcation between electronic devices such as the transfer of contact details or credentials. It is also possible to perform contactless transactions, access digital content and connect devices with a single touch or "tap".
There are many advantages to NFC, primarily consumers will be able to access new services conveniently. It will give them an option to use their mobile device as a travel card, debit/credit/loyalty card or even as a ticket to an event. From a marketing point of view it will provide easy access to digital content and greater consumer engagement.
It looks as if 2012 will provide huge opportunities for NFC. ISM research indicates that 35 million NFC compatible handsets arrived in 2011 with this set to increase to 80 million in 2012 and will reach 920 million by 2015. There will be a number of high profile occasions in 2012 which will involve NFC. Firstly the rollout of Google Wallet which uses a NFC platform to pay for goods, redeem coupons and earn reward points using a mobile phone. Secondly The Olympic Games in London this summer may become a proving ground for NFC. Organisers have targeted contactless payments as a viable way of crowd control and convenience. Visa the official payment partner of the Olympic Games will be promoting m-commerce and NFC through its mobile app, iCart, which turns a smart phone into a payment device.
NFC is experiencing some teething problems. Such issues exist surrounding unclear business models and disagreements between different stakeholders of the ecosystem. However, some are speculating that NFC may trigger a financial revolution with it being the cornerstone of mobile commerce.
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