Google Wallet is now live….in America anyway

September 21, 2011

Well here it is. The long awaited Google Wallet went live today, and will be pushed to owners of the Sprint Nexus S 4G phones in an over-the-air software update, meaning it will only be available to a very select few people in the US this week. It’s expected to grab momentum quickly, but at the same time, I know there is a huge debate around its relevance and potential scale. But perhaps, the best thing to do is just watch the video…

Yes, NFC is stupidly limited right now, but, I’ll admit, it’s potential is vast and from the quick Google demo video, it looks like there is some serious power to be delivered by Google Wallet, and interestingly, a new way for Google to control your money via their own virtual Pre-Paid Mastercard that will come by default with the app.

Well it has arrived, we will look forward to the UK launch.


The growth of mobile payment infographic. NFC, Google Wallet and the rest……

July 12, 2011

We have mentioned several times the fact that mobile phones will be playing an ever-increasing importance when it comes to the way that we pay for goods and services. The infographic below highlights what appears to be 4 of the main contenders and the type of technologies they are using.

All we can say is that the market is going to be significant, with equipment sales hitting $75 billion by 2013 with in 1 in 5 phones using NFC and by 2015 the value of goods transacted will be around $670 billion.

For those of you in retail and software development this is certainly a gravy train that you need to be riding.

Thanks to: thenextweb: How mobile phones are becoming the new credit card [Infographic]


NFC wave and pay cards are coming

March 23, 2011

Contactless payment via cell phone 8)

Image by kalleboo via Flickr

As mentioned a number of times on this blog, NFC payment systems are going to become increasingly visible in everyday life. This  is being confirmed by moves being made by a number of companies around the world.

Verifone

Verifone one of the biggest players in handheld credit card units has just set out exactly how and why it’s making this move. There will be a number of competiting NFC protocols and Verifone intend to make their handsets compatiable with a broad range of them; at least until the market settles on a standard. By working hard on the design, Verifone’s reduced the cost of including NFC processing equipment in its point of sale terminals to just $30 to $35, from an initial cost of around $100.

Apple

The on-again, off-again Apple NFC rumor, centering on the upcoming iPhone 5, has resurfaced again. Is Apple unofficially “leaking” information to keep the rumor alive and drum-up market intrigue in the weeks before the device is unveiled? That’s speculation, but it’s not beyond the plausible considering how often this rumor has returned. This time it’s data from inside Apple’s Chinese supply chain that again suggests the new (metal chassis) iPhone 5 will include an NFC processing chip and associated flat spiral antenna to take part in smart payments systems as well as clever password-free Mac logins.

Apple’s such a big player in the smartphone industry globally that if it does include NFC in the new iPhone it could provide a massive jolt to kick-start the tech around the world.

An example of other companies getting involved are Orange, Telefonica, Vodafone and Barclays

This space is really going to be significant and the market has not yet settled on who is going to be the significant players.


Near Field Communication (NFC)

November 16, 2010

Hand with planned insertion point for Verichip...

Image via Wikipedia

Overview:

In last weeks presentation at a conference in Birmingham, one of the areas that is  primed for growth was NFC, for those of you who are new to this technology there is a brief description of it below, the text was taken from the NFC Forum website:

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a new, short-range wireless connectivity technology that evolved from a combination of existing contactless identification and interconnection technologies. Products with built-in NFC will dramatically simplify the way consumer devices interact with one another, helping people speed connections, receive and share information and even make fast and secure payments.

Operating at 13.56 MHz and transferring data at up to 424 Kbits/second, NFC provides intuitive, simple, and safe communication between electronic devices. NFC is both a “read” and “write” technology. Communication between two NFC-compatible devices occurs when they are brought within four centimeters of one another: a simple wave or touch can establish an NFC connection, which is then compatible with other known wireless technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The underlying layers of NFC technology follow universally implemented ISO, ECMA, and ETSI standards. Because the transmission range is so short, NFC-enabled transactions are inherently secure. Also, physical proximity of the device to the reader gives users the reassurance of being in control of the process.

NFC can be used with a variety of devices, from mobile phones that enable payment or transfer information to digital cameras that send their photos to a TV set with just a touch. The possibilities are endless, and NFC is sure to take the complexities out of today’s increasingly sophisticated consumer devices and make them simpler to use.

C24 are looking at this technology with a number of partners as we believe that this area has massive potential. Watch this space….


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