NFC Is The New GPS, Was The New Camera.
Mobile NFC (Near Field Communication) is about to properly arrive on you phone. Nexus S has a chip installed, Blackberry are saying all their new handsets will carry the tech, the latest Android supports it across numerous devices and iPhone 5 will almost certainly follow suit in the summer. That, twinned with the emergence of contactless pay points in a few common retailers, like EAT (in the London), is a big indication of the inevitability of a mass mobile payment system.
If you’re not familiar, NFC is a short-range wireless technology that enables transaction over close physical proximity – typically requiring a distance of 4cm or less for an exchange. Basically it’s the tech that lives in your Oyster card – but in your phone, making it much more accessible and practical. The chips involved are small, which means the variations can take very simple forms in stuff like tags, stickers, key fobs, card receivers (Oyster) etc – none of which require batteries. NFC peer-to-peer communication is also possible, so by putting you phone next to another you can swap data – not unlike Bump.
All of that basically means that your phone will be able to talk to payment terminals, so, against the wishes of the Daily Mail, there’ll no longer be a need for any debit cards, credit cars or cash. And eventually this tech will replace your whole wallet and your keys. None of which is really news, and I’m pretty sure you all already know about it – which kinda brings me to my point.
It’s not that it is happening, it’s what can be done with it that is interesting.
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Smart Posters that link with NFC devices are set to revolutionise how we receive marketing messages and interact with brands. Trials are already taking place worldwide so expect to see a Smart Poster appearing at you bus stop or in a shopping mall near you.