What is NFC and How to use it ?
NFC technology is used by many mobile phones to make payments. It works by simply tapping your phone to a point-of-sale terminal. The NFC-enabled device exchanges information with the POS terminal and the funds are deposited directly into the account linked to that device.
NFC refers to high frequency near distance wireless communication technology used extensively in radio frequency identification (RFID)- based applications. Its working is similar to Bluetooth, as it allows two local devices equipped with NFC technology, placed within a few centimetres to exchange data over a secure network.
Most Android phones are pre-equipped with NFC technology and were the early adopters of Mobile payment gateway when Google started using NFC technology for this purpose in 2001 with the launch of the Wallet.
NFC enabled phones can allow users to make payments using their phone by just tapping their phone against a payment terminal. This process is faster than swiping credit cards or using cash because it reduces the need for human intervention at the point of sale (POS). The user simply needs to hold their phone near the POS terminal and then confirm the amount they want to pay before they leave the store.
NFC is short for Near Field Communication and refers to high frequency near distance wireless communication technology used extensively in radio frequency identification (RFID)- based applications. Its working is similar to Bluetooth, as it allows two local devices equipped with NFC technology, placed within a few centimetres to exchange data over a secure network.
The NFC payment system is a secure, easy to use and convenient method of making payments. The technology allows users to make contactless payments by simply tapping their NFC enabled devices at the point of sale terminals.
To use the service, the mobile payment application has to be launched on the handset, the smartphone has to be tapped in front of the checkout terminal, thus enabling the NFC connection between the smartphone and the terminal. The terminal will then ask the customer for the unique PIN, passcode or even their digital signature which could be in the form of scanning their finger for the transaction to be processed. Once the transaction is approved, the amount gets automatically debited from the customer’s wallet once validated by the Secure Element, another chip that works to relay the authorization back to the NFC terminal.
How secure are NFC Payments?
NFC, or Near Field Communication, is a technology that allows two devices to communicate by bringing them into close proximity. It’s similar to RFID, but operates at a much lower frequency (13.56 MHz instead of 915 MHz). This makes it possible to embed the chip into a phone or card.
NFC has been used for mobile payments in Japan since 1997. In 2001, Hitachi developed the first NFC in mobile phones, which was released in 2003 by NTT DoCoMo in Japan. The company then followed up with another NFC-ready phone in 2004.
In 2005, Sony Ericsson released an NFC-enabled camera phone in Europe and Asia called Xperia Pureness Pro that could send photos to other phones using NFC. The handset also came with an app store called PlayNow that allowed users to download games and music from their phones through NFC tags placed around the store. This was a clever way to get users interested in downloading things from PlayNow without having to go through any sort of registration process or account creation — just tap your phone against the tag and you’re good to go!