Near field communication (NFC) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimeters. Present and anticipated applications include contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup of more complex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is also possible between an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a “tag”.
NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats, and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID) standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa. The standards include ISO/IEC 18092 and those defined by the NFC Forum, which was founded in 2004 by Nokia, Philips and Sony, and now has more than 160 members. The Forum also promotes NFC and certifies device compliance. It fits the criteria for being considered a personal area network.
Apple is delving into mobile access control, in collaboration with HID Global and ASSA ABLOY. The companies are developing a mobile ID solution that will essentially create a virtual smart card for students in the Apple Wallet app. The virtual student ID card is designed to take advantage of NFC technology, allowing students to open…
Users of Google Pay in Japan can now add their Suica and WAON cards to the app. These are two major prepaid payment cards in the country, both based on Sony-developed FeliCa NFC technology. While both cards enjoy popularity, the Suica support could prove particularly advantageous to Google Pay users as the card is accepted…
The Apple Watch is only weeks away from release and this week brought with it the device’s first wave of reviews and a heightened level of anticipation. While the release of Apple’s wearable is an exciting prospect for iPhone owners, it is also an event that will be carefully scrutinized by the company’s competitors. For…
Apple has added 10 new merchants to its list of Apple Pay supporters, according to an AppleInsider article. Among the new additions are such high-profile companies as Gamestop and T-Mobile. That brings the official merchant partner count on Apple the Apple Pay website to 68, but, as the article notes, there are many others that…
Vodafone has announced that it’s going to let customers add their bank cards to the Vodafone Wallet app, thereby letting them use their smartphones for contactless NFC payment at POS terminals. The development is the product of collaboration between Vodafone, Visa, and Carta Worldwide. It will be a relatively simple process for customers to sign…
Another bank has begun supporting Apple Pay, according to a Buffalo Business First article by Allissa Kline. Keybank N.A., in Buffalo, New York, has announced that its customers can use their iPhone 6 devices to make mobile payments. Keybank N.A. is the third-largest bank in Western New York, according to Kline, and it’s also the…
Rugged computer developer AMREL has announced the launch of a new mobile device. Called the APEX AH53, the mobile device runs on an Android 4.2.2 OS, and features a 5.3″ display. The device also sports Bluetooth and NFC technology, a Quad-core Cortex A7 1.2 GHz processor, and a camera. Those specs are fairly standard these…
Samsung has made a splash with its new Galaxy S6 smartphone, reports Matt Kwong in an article for CBC News. Unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the mobile device is getting some extra attention for its unique curved screen, which overflows from the phone’s face onto two of its sides. The company revealed…
Samsung has selected Oberthur Technologies (OT) to provide the NFC embedded Secure Element it will use in its newest Galaxy smartphone. OT’s PEARL will be used in all new Samsung Galaxy S6 devices. PEARL boasts of a few key advantages over other eSE’s. For one thing, it offers the largest memory space. But perhaps more…
Samsung has acquired mobile payment solutions provider LoopPay, the companies have announced. The acquisition will see LoopPay’s management team enveloped in Samsung’s Mobile Division. LoopPay’s innovative mobile payment solution could be a major boon for Samsung as it wades into an mCommerce war with other giants like Apple and Alibaba. LoopPay’s technology essentially turns existing…
SuperCom has announced that it will be exhibiting its digital security solutions at the upcoming Mobile World Congress, running from March 2nd to 5th in Barcelona. The company is going to highlight its SuperPay suite of mobile payment solutions. With SuperPay, SuperCom’s aim is to provide a range of device agnostic security solutions for the…
When it comes to the ideal use of mobile identity management technology the name of the game is security plus convenience. On a user level, mobility is a life-changing paradigm shift, allowing for online operations that used to require a notebook or desktop computer anywhere under the umbrella of cellular reception. Taking those operations on…
Have you caught a glimpse of the Apple Watch? The high end wearable designed for use with your iPhone won’t be hitting the wrists of consumers until April, but that doesn’t mean a few Apple employees haven’t been the privilege of showing off the new smart accessory. Reports out of Cupertino have detailed Apple Watch…
The Fast Identification Online (FIDO) Alliance announced today the results of its annual officer election. Dustin Ingalls of Microsoft has been appointed as the consortium’s new presidents while Brett McDowell has been elected to the position of FIDO’s first executive director. Outgoing FIDO president Michael Barrett is being honored as chairman emeritus. Along with those…
This week at Mobile ID World we saw continued interest in the machine to machine network better known as the Internet of Things while newly released biometric software began to herald a new era of consumer facing authentication solutions just in time for those embarrassed by their contribution to 2014’s most commonly used passwords (which…
Mobile industry advocate GSMA has announced that at this year’s Mobile World Congress it will construct an immersive showcase called GSMA Innovation City. The project is a larger follow-up to last year’s Connected City exhibition. The general idea is to create an environment simulating a real city setting in which a number of mobile technologies…
United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a financial services company focusing on customers in the military, has released a new mobile app with some impressively advanced functions and features. The app includes both biometric user authentication and NFC payment functionality. The app’s biometric logon system is based on face recognition. To set it up, the user needs…
In that timeworn tradition of youthful rebellion, young people today are keen to reject the archaic password-based security systems of their parents in favour of biometric authentication, according to a Telegraph article by Sophie Curtis. These are the findings of a survey of 2000 Brits between the ages of 16 to 24, conducted by Visa…
Deloitte has named smartphone mobile payments its top predicted tech trend for the coming year, according to a Canadian Press article appearing on CBC News. The announcement comes via a new report that features a number of interesting and perhaps surprising figures on the rise of mCommerce. For one thing, last year saw a 1000…
