NFC or Near
Field Communication has started to pick up momentum after Apple released their
new phone. The newly launched iPhone 6
and iPhone 6 Plus features a NFC chip that Apple are hoping will change the
way consumers pay for products in store.
NFC is a set
of standards for mobile devices to establish a radio communication with other
NFC devices just by touching or tapping them against each other. The
communication is completely wireless and sends data instantly. NFC chips are embedded inside smartphones and the chips are also used to create NFC tags.
Contrary to
what some of the public might be thinking, NFC is not a new concept. The first
NFC enabled phone was released in 2006 by Nokia.
NFC Pay Points
Paying for your shopping on the high street has changed over
time and paying
by cash is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Chip and pin is now the
preferred payment method because it saves consumers from carrying around a
pocket full of cash.
Chip and pin machines can be found in almost every retailer
and fast food chain wherever you are, however, the machines are getting ready
for an upgrade so they can keep up with the latest technology developments.
Apple’s keynote focussed a lot of paying via NFC through Apple Pay technology. Chip
and pin machines will have to be upgraded with NFC chips to enable users to pay
with their new Apple smart phone.
Visa, Mastercard and American Express are already on board
with this new idea and banks will follow shortly as the popularity of Apple pay
grows.
More uses for NFC
Smart bands and rings have started to enter the market over
the past 24 months. The smart devices include an NFC chip that can be used to
access your NFC enabled smart phone and even give you access to your NFC
enabled car or home.
Event planners are opting in to give attendees smart badges
instead of other forms of identification. An Attendance
Management System allows users to access personalised information about the
event, the schedule, table plans and event logistics. The host of the event can
also access information on the attendee’s patterns at workshops and seminars.
The badges work with NFC enabled devices and the attendees
can access a host of information with just a simple tap.
Investing in NFC
NFC technology has seen a significant boost in popularity.
Retailers will need to begin investing in NFC pay points if they have not done
so already. The new payment method is set to dominate the high street and
near-field communication is set to replace the humble chip and pin.
Analysts
at Gartner estimate the value of mobile payments are set to rise to almost
$22billion by 2016.
The world has seen a big
surge in sales of NFC enabled smart phones since 2013 and Intel wants to
benefit from this increase. Intel acquiring NFC assets from Inside Security may
help the company sell more NFC chips to the mobile industry. iDATE forecast the
sales of NFC-enabled phones will reach 1.9 billion by 2018 and this is great
news for Intel and their future revenue.
Investing in new technology is always a gamble, however, NFC might
be worth looking into.
If you enjoyed this article, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for all the latest on technology and gadgets - @JeffNevil
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