The Fast Track to a Cashless Society Using Smart Phones for Electronic Transactions

Confirmed: Google Developing NFC-enabled Mobile Payments for Retailers

"We're working with Google on the development of NFC applications for merchants," the chief executive of POS terminal maker Ingenico has told French reporters.

May 2, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - France-based POS device manufacturer Ingenico has confirmed that it is working with Google on the development of NFC-based services for retailers.

Google wants to be able to deliver coupons to consumers "in the physical world, that's to say in stores," Philippe Lazare, CEO of Ingenico, told French reporters. According to news agency AFP:

"Google wants a system where, when you enter a shop or supermarket, you receive a special offer on your telephone. At the checkout, you can take advantage of this offer" by touching your phone to the Ingenico POS terminal, which will be capable of reading the coupon and will automatically apply the discount to the shopping bill, he explained.

Google isn't planning to make a move into the payments business for now, however, Lazare added.

"But it will do one day or another."

The news follows reports in March that the internet advertising giant, which added NFC functionality to its Android mobile operating system in December, is working with Citigroup and MasterCard to make mobile payments easier in a bid to boost its advertising business. Reports suggest that Google is also working with POS device maker Verifone on the project.

Visa Unveils Mobile Payment Best Practice Guidelines

May 2, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - The card giant has set out best practices and minimum standards for encryption and made clear the solution provider's responsibilities to secure cardholder data when mobile devices are used to accept payment.

Visa has released a best practice guide for retailers, software developers and device manufacturers who are using smartphones and tablet computers to accept mobile card payments.

The payments giant has stepped in to spell out minimum standards and best practices as the use of mobile devices to accept payments continues to proliferate.

"Because mobile devices and acceptance attachments today are not designed to the same security requirements as traditional payment terminals, and merchants do not control the security of the network environments to which their acceptance devices connect wirelessly, there are important security considerations above and beyond those for traditional acceptance solutions," says the firm.

Eduardo Perez, head of global payment system risk at Visa, adds:

"Mobile devices that can facilitate acceptance of payments are an important advancement in payments that must balance the promise of an enhanced consumer and retailer shopping experience with enhanced security measures to protect sensitive cardholder information."

Among the best practice guidelines are demands for:

• Encrypting all account data at the card reader level and in transmission between the acceptance device and the processor — especially important given the use of wireless or public networks;
• Enabling truncation or tokenisation of card numbers, allowing the merchant to identify the cardholder without storing the full account data;
• Ensuring that payment data read from cards is protected against fraudulent use by malicious or unauthorised applications on the device.

The document, Visa Best Practices for Mobile Payment Acceptance Solutions Version 1.0 (PDF), can be found on Visa's website.

The news comes after it emerged Visa has invested in Square, the mobile payments start-up — set up by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — that turns phones and iPads into credit card readers.

A member of the Visa executive will join Square's advisory board to help create a partnership that will allow Square to convert some 27m businesses in the US that don't accept credit cards into Visa customers.

Square has now announced it will begin distributing a new version of its card reader featuring data encryption this summer.

Gemalto Gets MasterCard Approval for NFC Mobile Payment Solution

March 30, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - The digital security giant Gemalto has become the first company to have its NFC mobile application certified by Mastercard, paving the way for a global roll-out of mobile payments based on MasterCard's PayPass technology.

Gemalto's UICC-embedded software application is compliant with Mastercard's mobile PayPass M/Chip 4, the new payment specification designed for mobile NFC. The application and the UICC have both achieved Mastercard's compliance assessment and security testing certification.

"This new certification from Mastercard makes Gemalto the first on the market for this mobile product and will enable banks and wireless operators to offer a secure, innovative and convenient payment means to their entire customer base," says Jean-Claude Deturche, senior vice president of mobile financial solutions at Gemalto.

Gemalto's software application is embedded in the SIM and incorporates the trusted service management interface for Paypass, enabling over-the-air account provisioning and management.

It can be configured to offer debit, credit and prepaid functions, and in the latter case the application enables consumers to top-up their account directly from their mobile phone.

Mastercard's James Anderson says the collaboration will help to "add ease" to the fast-paced lifetsyles of consumers around the world.

"We are pleased to collaborate with Gemalto to broadly expand the use of mobile payment services," he says. "Leveraging the interoperability of Mastercard PayPass, Gemalto's effort will enable cross-border mobile NFC payment, adding ease to the fast-paced lifestyles of more and more consumers across the world."

The move comes after last December's announcement that DeviceFidelity's In2Pay microSD NFC solution had been certified by Visa for commercial usage.

The collaboration was described at the time as a "historic milestone for Visa and its clients".

Samsung and Visa to Bring Mobile Payments to the London 2012 Olympics

March 31, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - Samsung and Visa have announced a strategic alliance designed to bring NFC payments to the London 2012 Olympics, enabling consumers to make mobile payments using a special Samsung Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile phone.

The phone manufacturer and payments network, both Worldwide Olympics Sponsors, are to enable athletes and visitors at the London 2012 Olympics to make payments using a special Samsung Olympic and Paralympic Games mobile handset.

"In London there are already more than 60,000 locations where contactless payments are accepted and contactless and electronic card payments will be available in the run-up to and during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games," the partners say.

"Samsung and Visa will work together to provide the contactless enabled Olympics handset to Visa and Samsung sponsored athletes as part of this initiative," they add. "Samsung and Visa also plan to make the handset available for consumers to purchase through mobile network operators and other distributors."

Peter Ayliffe, CEO of Visa Europe, explained the thinking behind the project.

"Visa, like Samsung, shares the vision of leveraging our Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsorship to leave a lasting legacy in the market for banks, retailers, mobile operators and consumers. We are not only breaking new ground for Olympic partnerships, we are committed to enabling consumers to connect with mobile and contactless payments technology for 2012 and beyond. We look forward to working with financial institutions and mobile operators alongside Samsung to make this initiative a success."

Seokpil Kim, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics Europe, added that

"Samsung is striving for long term change in the way we use mobile payments. In London next year, we regard the greatest show on earth as the perfect opportunity to showcase how this technology can make a positive difference to people's lives — enabling them to feel closer to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This mobile payment device will be available in the UK initially, and we plan to expand the service to other countries in Europe and around the world where contactless payment facilities are available in the near future."

One Million Chinese Consumers Adopt NFC Technology for Mobile Payments in Just Four Months

April 4, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - Growth in the Chinese mobile payments market has helped Watchdata sell another million of its NFC Simpass devices in just four months.

While the rest of the world remains firmly in the pre-rollout stages of NFC technology, the adoption rate in China is running at an ever higher rate, according to Watchdata.

Four months ago, Watchdata produced its two millionth Simpass device, an NFC add-on that provides almost any standard mobile phone with the ability to make mobile contactless payments.

Now, the company says it has broken the three million unit mark for the rollout of its Simpass technology.

The majority of Watchdata's devices are being distributed via China Telecom which officially launched an NFC version of the Yang Cheng Tong Card, for public transport and other local payments, in Guangzhou and Foshan provinces in February.

China Telecom has issued almost two million Simpass devices to date in more than 20 provinces in China, says Watchdata, and a recent survey conducted by China Telecom has found that:

• 90% of Simpass users are actively using the service to make payments
• 32% of subscribers switched to China Telecom to access mobile payments

Simpass works with 80% of handsets on the market and can be used to make payments at more than 20,000 points of sale across China, including farmers' markets where consumers can pay for fresh vegetables and seafood with their mobile phones.

Speaking at the Cartes Asia conference, Dr Sean Gao, Watchdata's vice president of product and marketing, said the firm was looking for global expansion.

"We are looking to replicate the success of Simpass in China around the world," he said, "making it the unifying solution for different stakeholders that would hopefully become a mobile payment standard in the industry."

Google Joins the NFC Forum for Mobile Payments Worldwide

March 31, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - Google has joined the NFC Forum as a Principal member and existing members CSR and Intel have raised their membership status to Principal level.

The internet giant is one of 32 new members of the NFC standards organisation. Other well known names to join the association include car maker Daimler and electronics giant Hitachi.

Principal membership is the second-highest level of membership in the NFC Forum. Each Principal member is entitled to appoint a voting representative to each of the technical, marketing, and compliance committees and working groups. Principal members can also designate individuals to run for positions leading committees or working groups.

Crucially, only principal and sponsor level members are able to use their own in-house facilities to conduct NFC Forum certification testing, rather than having to send devices out to a third-party testing facility.

This can make an important difference, Koichi Tagawa, chairman of the NFC Forum, told NFC World. While confidentiality is key part of the service offering of independent testing labs, the nature of devices submitted for NFC Forum certification testing may often be highly confidential, he explained.

But, if you are able to do the testing in-house, "you're not exposing your product to anyone outside your company."

A further 31 organisations have also joined the NFC Forum. New associate members include: A&D, AQ Corporation, China Telecommunication Technology Labs, Communications Global Certification, Daimler, FIME, Hitachi, ICT Korea, Kovio, KTC (Korea Testing Certification), National IT Industry Promotion Agency RFID/USN Center, Rohde & Schwarz; SK C&C USA, Soliatis, Sporton International, TA Technology (Shanghai), TTA and VI Service Network.

Recent additions to the Forum's membership at Implementer level include 3A Logics, DeviceFidelity, HOTech, i-Free, MagTek, MStar Semiconductor, MtekVision, Poken, Sysnet Group, Tuomi IT, Via Licensing and Waldemar Winckel. Logyca has also joined as a non-profit member.

"The NFC Forum thrives on the active participation of global industry leaders and innovators such as CSR, Google, and Intel," Tagawa added. "Their energy, ideas, and influence will greatly enhance the work of the Forum, as will the support of our new associate, implementer, and non-profit members from around the world."

NFC Business Models White Paper Sets Out the Key Issues Involved in Introducing Mobile Wallet Services

March 15, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - A white paper based on the executive summary and key findings from our NFC Business Models research report is now available to download free of charge.

The new white paper introduces a number of concepts that are fundamental to understanding the NFC market opportunity and includes details of ten of the most important findings from our NFC Business Models research report.

"NFC is attracting interest from an ever growing number of banks, retailers, transport operators, advertisers and other businesses around the world," says Sarah Clark, editor of NFC World and author of NFC Business Models.

"Understanding of the business models that will succeed is still in its infancy, however, and there is much confusion over what is actually involved in successfully delivering NFC services, who needs to be involved in planning the infrastructure required and the kind of company that is best positioned to profit from NFC.

"Our NFC Business Models research report sets out the latest thinking from around the world on what successful NFC services will look like, the building blocks that will need to be put in place in order to drive adoption of NFC services, the roles and responsibilities of each of the numerous players in the market and the business strategies that are most likely to succeed," Sarah explains.

"With this white paper, our aim is to provide everyone with a basic grounding in the key issues involved and, we hope, to clear up some of this confusion."

The NFC Business Models white paper is based on the executive summary and key findings from the full research report. It introduces a number of concepts that are fundamental to understanding how the NFC market will evolve and includes details of ten of the most important findings from the full report.

The white paper can be downloaded free of charge from the SJB Research website.

Think&Go Introduces NFC Shopping Engine

April 24, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - French start-up Think&Go NFC has introduced NFC Commerce, a new retail solution that includes a wide range of applications that retailers can use to enable shoppers to interact in their stores via NFC.

The new system combines NFC tags placed on product labels and shelf-edges with a 'preference engine' stored on a consumer's mobile phone so that, for instance, shoppers can be alerted if a food product contains an ingredient they are allergic to or does not meet their pre-set shopping preferences.

NFC Commerce includes a shopping preference engine, coupon collection, in-store navigation and relational advertising modules, Think&Go NFC's Tim Baker told NFC World at the Wima conference and exhibition in Monaco last week. Here, the system can be configured so that, for example, when the shopper chooses to buy spaghetti, an advert for a particular brand of bolognese sauce is delivered instantly to their mobile phone.

The shopping preference engine, meanwhile, allows information stored on NFC tags to be filtered so that consumers can be alerted when an item for sale does or does not meet their purchasing needs.

In an example on show at Wima, the preference engine can be used to set up a list of items to which the user is allergic, does not like or prefers not to eat. When a shopper reads the NFC tag for a particular product, its ingredients are transmitted to their mobile phone.

They are then run through Think&Go's shopping preference engine and the results are displayed on the handset. These can also be configured by the user in a number of different ways but, in this instance, can be set so that the phone displays a red 'not recommended' flag if the item contains an unsuitable ingredient.

Think&Go is working closely with the St Isidore, Nice branch of the Leclerc supermarket chain — where the system is on test — on the development of NFC Commerce.

"The advantage of NFC is a personalised communication to the customer," says Thierry Cornac, managing director of the store.

"We help the customer through the special offers, from the entrance to the cashier."

Cornac has participated in the production of a video showing the ways in which NFC is being used in the store, by both consumers equipped with an NFC phone and by those equIpped with a Leclerc branded NFC add-on affixed to their existing phones:

The goal, says Baker, is to continually evolve new modules for NFC Commerce, based on feedback from retailers, to ensure that the system meets the widest possible range of retailing needs.

Potential application include easy access to product information, special dietary needs and context-aware needs, in-store navigation, personalized marketing, cross-selling, up-selling, consumer behaviour tracking, loyalty cards, coupon capture, advertising channels and more.

"The simple gesture of reading a tag with a NFC enabled mobile phone means that interaction with products and in-store information systems becomes so easy that any consumer can use it with pleasure," Think&Go explains. "With opt-in consumer tracking, retail stores can understand detailed consumer activity and better serve their needs with targeted special offers and information."

Google Launches Las Vegas NFC Service as ‘Ultimate Tourist Guide’

March 10, 2011

NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com - The internet giant is offering visitors 10,000 free monorail tickets as it expands its NFC-enabled Google Places and Hotpot marketing system to a third US city.

Google has announced it is rolling out its NFC-based marketing system to Las Vegas and is pitching the service as the ultimate tourist pocket guide.

Following on from the introduction of the service in Portland, Oregon, and Austin, Texas, Google has now begun distributing its 'Recommended on Google' NFC and 2D barcode-enabled window decals in the Nevada city, allowing visitors to find more information about the business by swiping their NFC-enabled mobile phone against the window sticker or scanning the 2D barcode with their phone's camera.

The campaign is part of the internet search giant's new local marketing project, which sees it teaming up with the Las Vegas Monorail to distribute 10,000 free single-ride tickets. The Google Places app, which allows users to rate and recommend businesses such as cafes, shops and restaurants, will be promoted to busy tourists who don't want the inconvenience of wasting precious time by trying to find out which are the best places to visit.

Las Vegas businesses are also able to order customised kits via the Google Places Catalog to receive basic cards and stickers as well as more high-tech gadgets with the aim of encouraging customers to rate the business on Hotpot.

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