Nokia introduced a new technology called Near Field Communications (NFC) which will allow mobile phones to replace keys and credit cards at the Nokia Connection 2007 conference in Singapore from June 19-22, 2007.
According to Nokia’s chief technology officer Dr Tero Ojanpera, phones equipped with NFC technology can download or exchange information with other NFC devices when they touch.
“To touch a device to an object is quite natural. We are used to touching things so, thinking about it, you might touch your device to someone else’s device to swap pictures or synchronise some data. That kind of capability can introduce some new ‘wow’ experiences and ease of use,” added Ojanpera.
One of those new experiences could be using your mobile phone as a credit card. Ojanpera says to pay for items, consumers could simply touch their mobile phone to a scanning device. They would then be asked to sign a receipt and enter a PIN code for extra security. “In this way the mobile phone credit card has higher security than a normal credit card,” he says.
“Mobile payment, technically we have been able to do that for years but only now we are starting to see the banks and other companies are ready to move in that direction.”
Nokia recently teamed with Visa, Mastercard and AT&T to trial mobile phone payments with 300 participants in New York City.
Nokia spokeswoman Tina Nieminen says NFC technology has also been tested in other countries including Finland, Germany, Singapore and Malaysia, and is currently available in parts of Europe, with similar technology being used to make credit card payments in Japan.
She says the technology can also be used to download information stored in NFC tags on items like posters, signs, medicines or food packaging, so consumers can read more about products or call companies.
