Mobile phones have increasingly become tools that consumers use for banking, payments, budgeting, and shopping. Given the rapid pace of developments in the area of mobile finance, the Federal Reserve Board began conducting annual surveys of consumers’ use of mobile financial services in 2011. This 78-page report, “Consumers and Mobile Financial Services” (March, 2015) examines trends in the adoption and use of mobile banking, payments, and shopping behavior and how the emergence of mobile financial services affects consumers’ interaction with financial institutions.
Google NFC Mobile Payment System Announcement May Come This Week, Says Analyst
Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Marianne Wolk believes Google could unveil a mobile-payment system, based on near-field communication (NFC), at Mobile World Congress this week. The conference is being held in Barcelona, Spain from February 14-17, 2011.
“We see several challenges to Google as a mobile-payment platform. Merchant acceptance is critical, and even with a well-connected merchant acquirer such as First Data or GPN, merchants are reluctant to adopt an offering that is not an industrywide standard,” Wolk wrote in a research note Feb. 14, 2011. Google declined to comment.
via eWeek.com.
On Track Innovations (OTI) Receives Orders for New Contactless Mobile Payment Product
On Track Innovations Ltd., a provider of contactless smartcard card solutions, has received initial orders for its recently announced contactless mobile payment product.
OTI’s COPNI (Contactless Payment and NFC Insert) enables mobile network operators (MNOs) to support Near Field Communication (NFC) functionality and contactless payment applications from major card associations, mass transit ticketing (with MIFARE support) as well as loyalty programs and other proprietary programs. COPNI is an NFC add-on to mobile phones and is independent of the SIM, handset type and model.
A COPNI-enabled mobile phone is a platform that enables MNOs to dynamically manage applications such as e-coupons and loyalty programs. Simply tapped near a contactless reader, the COPNI-enabled mobile phone can be used in a broad range of payment transactions including prepaid, credit and debit, as well as loyalty programs and other NFC related applications.
“The demand of MNOs for NFC, payment and enhancing their value proposition and the lack of hardware-ready phones creates an opportunity for our COPNI product,” said Oded Bashan, chairman and CEO, OTI. “Our innovative solution for NFC provides mobile network operators with an after-market, cost effective solution to get there.”
Source: Global News Wire
Google and Apple NFC Mobile Payments Battleground
Recent reports have suggested that the Apple iPad and the iPhone 5 will have integrated Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities that can be used for mobile payments, as well as other applications. NFC involves a chip that transmits a short range, high frequency signal in order to communicate with nearby devices or transfer payments.
Google also has grand plans in the mobile payment space through Android OS phones. Google’s Eric Schmidt talked about Google and mobile payments at the recent Web 2.0 Summit when he announced that the “Gingerbread” Android release will have integrated NFC.
More via Search Engine Watch.
Partnership Between NTT DOCOMO and KT Corp Will Bring Cross-border NFC Services to Japan and South Korea
NTT DOCOMO has partnered with South Korea’s leading telecom operator, KT Corporation, to use near field communication (NFC) technologies to develop cross-border services for mobile payments, mass-transit ticketing, promotional coupons and other NFC applications. The services will launch in their respective markets of Japan and South Korea from around the end of 2012.
Through their joint Business & Technology Cooperation Committee, the two companies are developing NFC common specifications that will be incorporated in devices, networks and billing platforms for seamlessly connected mobile NFC services. Customers travelling between South Korea and Japan will access the services using compatible Android handsets embedded with contactless IC chips.
DOCOMO also plans to submit an outline of the common specifications to global industry associations and standardization bodies, such as the GSM Association.
With the ultimate goal of building an international environment for compatible NFC services, DOCOMO has formed strategic tie-ups with payment technology company brand Visa Inc., NFC chip and mobile handset manufacturer Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and SIM card vendor Gemalto N.V. In addition, DOCOMO will collaborate with Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd. and bitWallet, Inc. for enhanced cross-border services.
To prepare for the services, DOCOMO and KT will accelerate development of their existing infrastructures, as well as solicit the participation of NFC-based service providers in various industries. DOCOMO has been providing NFC-based Osaifu-Keitai™ mobile-wallet services in Japan since 2004. KT has been operating a post-paid mass transit service in South Korea since 2002.
DOCOMO will demonstrate the envisioned international NFC services at its exhibition booth during Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona, Spain from February 14-17.
Hyunmi Yang, Executive Vice President of KT, said, “Based on our long commercial experience in various financial-convergence services, the NFC collaboration between KT & DOCOMO will contribute to building a sustainable global ecosystem.”
Bill Gajda, Head of Visa Mobile, Visa Inc., said, “Visa has been instrumental in developing the global standard for mobile payments based on NFC technology. We welcome this project and see great value in extending the security, convenience and global interoperability of NFC-based mobile payments to consumers in Japan and Korea.”
“We are delighted to work with NTT DOCOMO by providing competitive NFC IC technology to develop an NFC ecosystem that offers retail and commercial customers a very high degree of convenience, services, interactivity and security on their mobile devices. Thus, we believe this business collaboration will lead to a market-leading solution, new innovation and broad commercial acceptance around the globe,” said Dr. Dojun Rhee, Vice President of the Marketing Team, System LSI Division, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
“Gemalto is delighted to contribute its world-leading NFC expertise for DOCOMO’s deployment of cross-border mobile contactless services,” commented Tan Teck-Lee, President, Gemalto Asia.
Hideo Otsuka, General Manager of the IT Business Dept. of Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., Ltd., said, “We’ll aggressively collaborate more with DOCOMO so that we could develop new, fascinating cross-border payment services based on NFC technologies.”
Kazumasa Miyazawa, Chief Strategy Officer, Head of the International Business Dept. of bitWallet, Inc., said, “The specifications announced today are an ideal solution for the development of NFC services worldwide. Through their adoption, we aim to introduce seamless Edy services worldwide.”
LG to Launch NFC European Mobile Payment System in 2012
LG Electronics has announced plans to launch an NFC mobile payment system in Europe in 2012, enabling consumers to pay for products and services using their smartphones. Near Field Communication (NFC) will be the dominant system for mobile phone payments by 2015 according to Frost and Sullivan.
Near field communication or NFC, is a short-range high frequency wireless communication technology which enables the exchange of data between devices over about a 10 centimeters (3.9 in) distance.
The technology is a simple extension of the ISO/IEC 14443 proximity-card standard (proximity card, RFID) that combines the interface of a smartcard and a reader into a single device. An NFC device can communicate with both existing ISO/IEC 14443 smartcards and readers, as well as with other NFC devices, and is thereby compatible with existing contactless infrastructure already in use for public transportation and payment. NFC is primarily aimed at usage in mobile phones.
via LG to launch European NFC mobile payment system in 2012 – Business News – Business Review Europe.
Additional sources: Wikipedia
BMW SmartKey Can Act as NFC Electronic Payment Device
BMW Group Research and Technology has developed a multifunctional car key which enables cashless payment and personalized vehicle access, bringing another device–the car key–into the running to be the next cashless wallet.
“As part of our research project we first integrated a security chip into the key casing, which communicates across short distances by radio with a card reader,” says Hans-Jörg Vögel, project manager at BMW Group Forschung und Technik. In future the key could also be used for other transport systems. Indeed, electronic tickets for bus, train and air travel could all be stored on the chip. The credit card function in the security chip allows electronic payments to be carried out quickly, securely and conveniently from the prototype key.
Adding a personalized credit card function to the car key opens the door to a wealth of other mobility scenarios. For example, the holder of the key can enjoy secure in-car access to personal data since the key gives the driver authorized online access to his personalized ConnectedDrive services inside a BMW–not only when he’s traveling in his own car, but also from a BMW hire car, for example. Here, the driver identifies himself using his personal key and the car adopts his individual settings. Access to personal data such as address books, favorite radio stations and personal subscriptions to services and content providers is activated through the multifunctional key.
Because the driver can be identified with total certainty, the key can now–for the first time–be linked to the car owner rather than any particular car. This also makes hiring cars and car sharing, for instance, even easier.
“With the concept of integrating a cashless payment function into a car key, we are working on ways of linking up vehicle technology and lifestyle,” says Prof. Raymond Freymann, Director of BMW Group Research and Technology.
NFC Technology in Smartphones Spurs Commercial Vialbility of Mobile Payments
The near field communication (NFC) market has moved from an ‘innovator’ to an ‘early adopter’ phase and from trial development to the first commercial roll out.
The key driver for the market is the wide adoption of the NFC solution in mobile phones, as without massive number of NFC-enabled mobile phones in use, the market will not be able to realize its immense potential.
According to industry analysts at Frost & Sullivan, NFC-enabled mobile phones will reach 863 million units in 2015. At this time, NFC-enabled mobile phones will represent more than 53 per cent of the overall market.
A recent report from the company entitled :NFC: When Will Be the Real Start?” states that in 2015, NFC will clearly be the most-used solution for mobile payment, and analysts expect that the total payment value for NFC globally to reach approximately $180 billion in 2015, while the NFC payment value in the EU is expected to reach $67.55 billion.
Frost & Sullivan forecasts a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 118 per cent between 2010 and 2015.
“There are two possible business models for the NFC market; the first one is based on a memory rental model where the NFC application will rent the memory space used by its application and the second is a pure rental model coupled with extra cost per use where the application will pay a cost per year with a given number of actions,” explains Frost & Sullivan Global Program Director Jean-Noël Georges. “When this number of actions on the application such as update, patch, read and write is reached, extra costs are charged to the application provider.” Frost & Sullivan anticipates the second model to be the most applicable. The pure rental model will probably be the most widely used in future.
“Different secure elements for NFC methods have allowed different technology players in industries such as telecoms operators and electronic device manufacturers to establish their own payment infrastructure,” remarks Jean-Noël Georges. “This lack of harmonization has been an obvious restraint for the NFC industry.”
For nearly a decade, the NFC solution has been facing political and commercial problems. Most industries involved in NFC trials did not want to share the substantial revenues generated by this solution. Illustrating this point was the commercial discussion between banks and network operators, neither of whom wanted to share revenues. At the beginning, each wanted to force the other to adopt their business model. At the end, after network operator acquisition of banks and financial company acquisition of network operators, they were forced to admit that cooperation was the best compromise.
The NFC market also has the potential to create revenues for the entire NFC ecosystem. Even if it seems that purely hardware–SIM card and NFC controller–revenues will decrease, the gain will still be really important.
However, most technology providers have been able to offer new services directly linked with NFC. Handset manufacturers, trusted service management system providers and marketing and commercial NFC service providers all stand to benefit.
“Many marketing companies are already involved in the NFC ecosystem,” concludes Jean-Noël Georges. “This is a good signal because, in the past, marketing companies were involved in new technology roll-outs only when the transition occurred from purely trials to first commercial deployments.”
More information: NFC: When Will be the Real Start?
Source: Frost & Sullivan
NFC for Apple iPhones and iPads Could Disrupt Mobile Payment Industry
Apple could cause some serious disruption in the mobile payments market if it enters that arena as reported, say analysts.
Reports noted earlier this week that Apple is planning to embed Near-Field Communications NFC technology into its next-generation iPhones and iPads. What’s likely to make Apple’s offering vastly different, however, is the company’s huge base of 160 million iTunes users, said Avivah Litan an analyst at Gartner. That base gives Apple the ability to operate largely as a “closed payment system” with minimal need to interface with credit card companies and banks, she said. “They can largely shut out credit card companies if they choose to,” and operate in much the same way that PayPal has done in the virtual world, she said.
via Computerworld
Visa and Wireless Dynamics to Introduce iPhone Contactless Payment Solution for Europe
Visa Europe and Wireless Dynamics Inc. have developed a mobile contactless payment solution that will bring Visa contactless payments to iPhone users across Europe.
The solution relies on Wireless Dynamic’s iCarte accesory. iPhone users simply attach the Wireless Dynamics iCarte, available through their bank or mobile operator, to their iPhone and download the companion Visa Mobile application for iCarte App from the App Store.
The iCarte accessory contains an antenna and an embedded Secure Element where the Visa mobile card is safely stored. This “card”, in turn, works with an app from the App Store to enable payments on the iPhone. Once the Visa mobile card is activated, consumers can start making purchases by simply launching the app and touching their iPhone on any contactless-enabled point of sale terminal across Europe, without the need to enter their PIN.
The iCarte accessory is designed to equip iPhone users with the tools they need to buy goods using mobile contactless technology from a growing number of European retailers. Visa Europe’s first deployment has been launched in collaboration with Yapi Kredi bank and Turkey’s largest mobile operator, Turkcell. Yapi Kredi customers equipped with a Turkcell mobile plan will be the first who can purchase directly from their iPhone at 40,000 contactless point of sale terminals in Turkey using their iCarte payment accessory.
The product is also being used in the UK with Visa staff in London with partners FIS, a leading provider of prepaid platforms, and Coventry Building Society. To further commercialize the accessory, Visa Europe will engage its member banks and partner mobile operators in Italy, France, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the UK, all of which have rapidly maturing contactless payment infrastructure.
Sandra Alzetta, SVP, Head of Innovation at Visa Europe said: “It’s clear from trials across Europe that mobile contactless payment is a strong and compelling customer proposition. Visa recognizes that consumers who use smart phones like iPhone are more likely to be early adopters of advanced payment technology. Given that the availability of a wide range of mobile devices supporting contactless services remains a key hurdle for take-up, we are overcoming this obstacle by bringing the capability to the iPhones already in their pockets.”
Ambrose Tam, President and CEO at Wireless Dynamics commented: “Working with Visa Europe to commercialize our iCarte accessories is a leap forward in increasing the number and types of mobile payment solutions. We’ve worked hard to design and build a feature-rich and appealing product for our partners and iPhone users across Europe.”
Recent consumer research of 4,200 people across Turkey, the UK, Italy and Poland confirms strong consumer demand for mobile contactless payments with 41 per cent of respondents stating that they “definitely would” or “probably would” sign up to use Visa mobile payments. Critically, this percentage increased to 57 per cent when directed to iPhone users, which demonstrates that the device is the ideal cross-over of target mobile users and consumers with positive attitudes to new payment technologies. The research also indicated that 87 per cent of this iPhone users surveyed would be willing to use an accessory to enable their device for mobile contactless payments.
The Wireless Dynamics iCarte accessory is compatible with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPhone3G on iOS 3.1 or higher. The iCarte Secure Element can be associated with multiple Visa accounts.
Source: Wireless Dynamics, Inc.
iPhone and iPad Will be Equiped with NFC for Mobile Payments, Says Consultant
Apple Inc. plans to introduce services that would let customers use its iPhone and iPad computer to make purchases, said Richard Doherty, director of consulting firm Envisioneering Group.
The services are based on “Near-Field Communication,” a technology that can beam and receive information at a distance of up to 4 inches, due to be embedded in the next iteration of the iPhone for AT&T Inc. and the iPad 2, Doherty said. Both products are likely to be introduced this year, he said, citing engineers who are working on hardware for the Apple project.
via Bloomberg.