Near Field Communications – Your Mobile Phone as a Credit Card

Near Field Communications (NFC) allows a mobile phone to be used as a credit card by swiping the phone over a plate on a vending machine for example. Of course any machine that accepts it will need to be modified to accept payment via this method. As the mobile phone over the last few years has become more popular and converged with other devices such as cameras, radio, video players and web browsing it makes sense that the wallet also be combined with it since you carry your phone around most places you go.

As mentioned above, using the service just takes a swipe of your phone and the goods are yours. It is actually a little more secure then that in the way of a password being needed to initiate the sale much like a PIN code works. Unfortunately it does not use Bluetooth or any kind of cellular signals to work. It needs a chip inside the phone with NFC compatibility to communicate with the vending machine. If companies such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson and others jump on to this we could see the way we pay for goods dramatically change. NFC will allow more then just the purchase of goods though. It could be used to unlock and start your car, open your home and even tap on a poster in the street to initiate a downloadable movie of the poster you are looking at. The possibilities are endless with this device and I for one am excited to see this develop.

Via: NetworkWorld