Near Field Communication
Near Field Communication or NFC is an RFID-based technology for mobile devices enabling both emulation and reading of RFID tags.
Features
Card Emulation. This feature enables the NFC equipped device to dynamically generate an identifier that can be read by any RFID reader. This feature is intended for conducting transactions transmitting financial account data to a RFID reader.
Tag Reading. The feature allows the NFC equipped device to read RFID tags. This feature is intended for reading RFID that may be embedded in presentation material to receive personalized or enhanced data.
Uses
Near field communication has the following potential applications:
Commerce Transactions. Used as an stored value or a debit account to conduct transactions with public transit or a merchant by providing an contactless touchpoint.
Marketing Posters. RFID tags embedded in marketing posters allow NFC mobile devices to scan the poster and redirected to a web site or execute an installed application to provide more information or run a program.
Virtual Key. Allow NFC devices to replace physical RFID cards used for accessing hotel rooms and employee access areas.
Availability
United States. NFC mobile devices are very limited to only a few phones currently on the market.
Europe. NFC is sparse with many trials and pilot programs testing out the service.
Asia. NFC has been in existence for nearly a decade and has matured.
