Near Field Communications World

Wells Fargo to run NFC field trial

Sarah Clark — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:04:42 +0000

US financial services giant Wells Fargo & Co has become the fourth bank to reveal that it is to take part in Visa's series of NFC trials. And Visa could be ready to launch commercial NFC-based services from early 2011, according to a Reuters report.

In June, US Bank was the first to say it would take part in Visa's trials of DeviceFidelity's microSD-format NFC device. Last month, Bank of America became the second US bank to confirm it was to take part in the tests and Turkey's Akbank also announced it would trial DeviceFidelity's In2Pay device with Visa.

Other banks are also being lined up for the trials, according to Reuters:

Visa is also working with other banks to test the technology, Bill Gajda, Visa's head of global mobile products, said in an interview on Wednesday.
"We want to be commercially ready early in 2011" to let consumers use their cellphones to make purchases in stores, he said.

Visa partnered with DeviceFidelity in February this year, with the aim of running a series of trials of microSD-based NFC technology before the end of 2010. DeviceFidelity's In2Pay product includes both an antenna and an industry standard dual interface contactless smart card chip that can be loaded with a certified payment application — such as those from Visa or MasterCard — using standard bank card personalisation and card issuing systems. This allows banks and other service providers to offer NFC services to their customers with minimum amendments to their existing infrastructure.

Once an In2Pay microSD card has been personalised with a cardholder's details, it can be inserted into one end of a specially designed plastic 'card' which can then be distributed to customers using a standard bank card mailer.

When the customer receives his new device in the mail, he simply detaches the card from the carrier, removes the NFC microSD device from the card and inserts it into his mobile phone. Software then installs and a prompt appears on the screen instructing the customer to enter a password on the phone's keypad. Once that has been done, the customer's handset is NFC-enabled for whatever applications the bank has chosen to install on the In2Pay device.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Broadcom sets out its plans for NFC

Sarah Clark — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:12:28 +0000

Three months after it announced plans to buy NFC specialist Innovision for US$47.5m, the deal has completed and Broadcom VP Craig Ochikubo has spoken to NFC World about the company's ambitions for Innovision and for the NFC market as a whole.

OCHIKUBO: Increased interest in NFC from customers led to $47.5m purchase

Craig Ochikubo, VP and general manager of Broadcom's Wireless Personal Area Networking division, is in charge of all the company's short range communication technologies, including its market leading Bluetooth and WiFi products and, now, NFC.

In June, Broadcom snapped up NFC semiconductor IP leader Innovision for $47.5m — the first time a major mobile industry supplier has acquired a near field communication specialist. Now, the mobile chip manufacturer is ready to talk about its plans for NFC and Ochikubo spoke to NFC World last week about the reason for the company's acquisition of Innovision, the timing of the deal, future product introductions and plans for the Innovision team.

Broadcom and Innovision had been talking together for about four years, Ochikubo explains, trying to decide how best to work together. This year, however, Broadcom began to realise that the NFC market was evolving fast, a much more mature infrastructure was being created and there was increased interest from Broadcom's customers — mobile device and PC manufacturers — as well as from carriers. "They're looking to us to make things happen quickly," says Ochikubo. "There are multiple motivations to put the technology into products."

"Broadcom has always been very interested in the very best companies," Ochikubo continues, and the company has made over forty acquisitions to date. "I came to Broadcom via an acquisition ten years ago," he adds, "so I am aware of the challenges of integrating a company."

The company's goal is always to become the number one provider of a technology, says Ochikubo, and Broadcom is already number one in Bluetooth and WiFi and its products are present in five of the top five handsets and in the products made by all of the top ten PC makers. "We are hoping we can create that same kind of success in the NFC market," he explains.

The plan is to keep the Innovision team together in the UK and, says Ochikubo, "I'm expecting the majority of the team to remain here... We're not a Gordon Gekko type of company," he continues, referring to the ruthless asset stripper in 80s movie Wall Street. Rather, "we're after the team that created the technology... I love it that the team is so strong and compliments Broadcom so well."

While Ochikubo was reluctant to be drawn into discussing specific new products, Broadcom does expect to announce the first product to be developed by the new Broadcom/Innovision team in late 2010/early 2011. "We're not interested in selling PowerPoint," says Ochikubo, and it's "premature to talk about specific products." But, he adds, there is "a set of products we are working on with the Innovision team."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Qualcomm hunts NFC specialist to head up digital development

Mike Clark — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 17:11:28 +0000

Wireless telecomms technology and chipset giant Qualcomm is set to become the latest mobile industry player to put an NFC expert at the heart of its digital development strategy.

Qualcomm CDMA Technologies is looking for a 'director of digital development' to be responsible for leading "near field communications and digital development for other wireless connectivity technologies." The position involves overseeing chip development, testing and certification.

The company is seeking candidates with an "in-depth understanding of the various NFC standards, usage model, and market place." As well as 10 years experience in digital hardware development, applicants will also have "had experience with successful development and launch of an NFC product" and have an in-depth understanding of NFC systems extending to the analog, digital, firmware, and software aspects.

The news comes just weeks after Apple hired an NFC expert to manage its mobile commerce activities. Rival chipset supplier Broadcom has also recently spelled out its intention to offer support for near field communication with the acquisition of UK-based NFC specialist Innovision.

• For details of this and other current industry openings, please visit NFC World's NFC Jobs Board.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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First Data joint venture to offer mobile contactless loyalty service to merchants in UK and Ireland

Sarah Clark — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:01:24 +0000

AIB Merchant Services' new Loyaltyplus service integrates Zapa's mobile contactless technology into merchants' POS terminals, enabling even the smallest retailer to offer an NFC-compatible customer loyalty programme — from only €30 a month.

STICKERS: AIB Merchant Services will offer Zapa's NFC-ready loyalty technology to UK and Irish retailers

Mobile loyalty specialist Zapa Technology has signed a deal with AIB Merchant Services (AIBMS), a joint venture between Allied Irish Banks, Ireland's largest financial services provider, and US payments processing giant First Data, that will see AIBMS promoting Zapa's NFC-compatible loyalty system to its merchants across the UK and Ireland.

Zapa's technology combines contactless point-of-sale terminals with ZapaTags, contactless stickers costing around €1 each, to enable merchants to offer a range of loyalty points and promotions to their customers.

Key to Zapa's technology is that consumers can use a single ZapaTag attached to their mobile phone as their ID for multiple loyalty programmes offered by a wide range of merchants. The system has been designed from the beginning to be compatible with NFC phones so that, once they are in general circulation, the ZapaTags can be phased out.

The new deal with AIBMS will see the payments processor's merchants being offered a single POS terminal that comes with Zapa's technology built-in, eliminating the need for a separate terminal to handle the loyalty programme. The terminals are also compatible with contactless payments cards, although Irish banks are yet to begin rolling them out. Merchants with an existing contactless POS terminal will pay just €30 a month to run their loyalty programme, although those needing to upgrade to a new terminal will need to pay an extra fee for a new POS device.

"We developed this programme specifically with small to medium sized retail outlets and service providers in mind, to allow them to operate a loyalty programme on a par with larger retail chains," says Chris Mason, managing director of AIBMS. "We have had great success with our pilot customers, which included a dog grooming service, a florist and a restaurant — proving indeed that AIBMS Loyaltyplus is suitable for all types of shops and services. Each customer, all of whom have experienced the ease-of-use and benefits first hand, was delighted with the solution."

"The solution also assists businesses by providing information and analysis of their own customer base and enables them to address specific consumer profiles with integrated communication tools," he added. "We are now ready to roll out the programme across Ireland and the UK."

Zapa was founded by Irish payments systems entrepreneur John Nagle and raised €2.5m in funding from Delta Partners in July 2009. In November, the town of Tuam adopted Zapa's technology for a loyalty scheme aimed at encouraging local people to do more of their shopping in the town.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Consumers Union calls on US government to regulate mobile payments

Sarah Clark — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:42:22 +0000

As the US begins the move to adopting NFC, the government must act to ensure that consumers get full protection against fraud, processing errors and merchant disputes — especially if they are using a prepaid account or if they are charging their purchase to their mobile phone bill — says Consumers Union.

ADVOCATES: Consumers Union publishes the influential Consumer Reports magazine

Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of independent information and advice for US consumers, has called on government regulators to take action to ensure that consumers making payments with their mobile phones will be covered by the strongest possible level of consumer protection.

"Recent news stories have highlighted how consumers in the US soon will be able to pay for products and services with a wave of their smart phones," says Consumers Union. "But while mobile payment technologies may offer a convenient new way to pay for goods and services, consumers could be at risk of losing money when mistakes are made by merchants and processors or as a result of fraud."

"Federal law protects US consumers in the event that their credit card or debit card is lost, stolen or misused," the Consumers Union continues. But current protections are badly fragmented and don't apply to all new types of payments, it explains:

Credit cards carry a $50 limit on consumer responsibility for unauthorized use, but fraud on debit cards can expose cardholders to $500 or more in liability, depending on how soon consumers report it. Voluntary payment network "zero liability" policies offered by debit card issuers contain significant loopholes. Prepaid cards where funds are pooled from many cardholders may lack even the protections that apply to traditional debit cards.
Consumer rights involving disputes with merchants can be even more confusing. Credit cards provide protections in case of bank errors, unauthorized use, and disputes with merchants, but debit cards provide only protections for bank errors and unauthorized use, not for disputes with the merchant.
These varying protections make it difficult for customers to determine what protections apply to new payment services. If mobile payment transactions are backed by a credit card and appear on the credit card bill, then consumers are entitled to all available protections. If the transaction amount is deducted from the consumer's deposit account with a financial institution like with a debit card, it should receive the same protections as any other electronic fund transfer. This means consumers receive a legal right to get back money for errors and theft, but not for a dispute with a merchant about the goods and services.
However, if the transaction is funded by a prepaid card, even the protections for unauthorized use may be missing, and there also will be no legal guarantee of protection in the event of a dispute with a merchant. If the payment service is provided directly by the mobile carrier and the charges appear on the customer's cell phone bill, the way it is done in Japan and South Korea, the product might escape consumer protections entirely. If the cell phone company asks the consumer to make a prepaid deposit to the phone company to cover future charges, protections also will be missing unless the contract provides them.

"Consumers should not be expected to figure out what protections apply to each competing new payments venture," says Michelle Jun, staff attorney for Consumers Union. "Regardless of the technology or business organization involved, the same high level of consumer protections should be guaranteed by law and contract for any payment service. Now that mobile payment ventures are emerging in the US, it's time to harmonize and extend consumer protections for all payment services."

Consumers Union called on companies offering mobile payment systems to include in their contracts the full consumer rights provided under existing federal law for both debit and credit cards, and to provide true voluntary 'zero liability' assurance for consumers without loopholes.

The consumer group also noted that regulators need to use their current statutory authority to ensure that existing consumer protections are applied to all new payment methods. For example, the Federal Reserve Board should apply full debit card protections to payments backed via a prepaid card through a simple interpretation of Regulation E.

If the Federal Reserve Board fails to act, says Consumers Union, the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created under the recently passed financial reform legislation has the authority to address unfair payment practices.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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China Unicom signs up second banking partner

Sarah Clark — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:01:04 +0000

China Unicom has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Agricultural Bank of China (ABC). The deal is expected to see the bank and the mobile operator working together to introduce a wide range of new services to ABC's customers including personal financial services, e-commerce, mobile banking and mobile payments.

China Unicom is the country's second largest mobile network operator and is already heavily committed to the introduction of near field communication technology. It is working with payments card association China UnionPay to develop NFC standards, signed up Bank of Communications in June as its launch partner for commercial NFC services and, earlier this month, signed a strategic partnership with the Chongqing Municipal Government which is aimed at turning the region into a $7bn world leader in NFC manufacturing and innovation.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Verizon invests in mobile loyalty and coupons specialist CardStar

Sarah Clark — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:45:39 +0000

Verizon Ventures has invested US$400,000 in mobile loyalty card and promotions start-up CardStar, The Wall Street Journal reports:

CardStar is just one of many companies with an app to organize membership and loyalty cards. But the company differentiates by also offering a back-end system that functions like a portal for merchants. Merchants, no matter small, can launch their own promotions, discounts and loyalty programs with CardStar, alerting users to the deals via the application.
CardStar has 2,000 merchants — from major airlines and chain stores to mom-and-pop operations — signed on to use the system. Some of these merchants have point-of-sale scanners that can read bar codes, and others don't. The merchant portal offers various other options for merchants with low-tech point-of-sale systems.

The investment follows the news last month that Verizon Wireless has formed a joint venture with AT&T and T-Mobile to introduce NFC services in the US. The joint venture has partnered with Discover Financial Services and Barclays for payments services, but observers believe the companies' main focus is on the creation of a next generation advertising platform that would tie together consumers' transaction histories and their current locations to deliver highly targeted location based mobile advertising solutions.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Bank of America to run NFC payments trial in New York

Sarah Clark — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 23:39:28 +0000

Bank of America will begin a field trial next month in partnership with Visa that will enable customers to use their smartphones to pay for purchases in stores, according to a Reuters news report.

"The program, set to run from September through the end of the year in the New York area, is the biggest step yet by the biggest US consumer bank toward creating a 'digital wallet' with a host of financial capabilities built into the latest, most sophisticated mobile phones," says Reuters.

Reuters says only that "the program will allow selected New York-area employees and customers to install small chips in their smartphones that emit radio signals over very short distances." A MicroSD-based solution is most likely, given that Visa partnered with DeviceFidelity in February this year.

Bank of America ran its first NFC trial back in 2007 and industry rumours suggest that the banking giant hired IBM to custom build a Trusted Service Management platform some time ago. According to Reuters, however, the company is not revealing how large the pilot will be or which other companies will be involved:

For now, cell phone payments are used primarily for small-dollar, high-volume transactions — like cups of coffee or subway fare — that customers make every day, said Michael Upton, BofA's customer solutions executive for mobile banking.
"We want to learn how folks incorporate this into their day-to-day lives," Upton said. "But we do believe adoption happens at a pretty quick clip."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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Tyfone picks up $5m investment

Sarah Clark — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 22:59:00 +0000

NFC specialist Tyfone has raised additional funding of US$4,963,364, according to a newly published SEC filing.

Tyfone first announced in January 2009 that it had developed a microSD format NFC solution that could be retrofitted to existing mobile phones and was granted a patent covering the use of a memory card as an electronic wallet and the ability to use that memory card for the secure transmission of financial information later the same year.

In March this year Tyfone announced it would be ready to field test its technology during the second half of 2010 and signed a deal with First Data that was expected to lead to the payments processing giant providing its customers with near field communication solutions based on Tyfone's technology.

"We aren't making a public statement on this just yet," Tyfone's Carol Grunberg told NFC World when contacted for details of the investment, but further information is expected to be made available in the near future.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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US NFC payments market heats up — but advertising revenues will be the way to make it pay

Sarah Clark — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:57:51 +0000

OPINION: Almost from nowhere, interest in near field communication technology has exploded in the US over the last few weeks as key potential market players have begun to reveal their hands.

Mobile network operators AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile are reported to be working on NFC with Discover Financial Services and Barclays. The US banks, on the other hand, are working with the Federal Reserve in a bid to come up with an NFC infrastructure that works for them and Visa is due to begin testing a microSD format NFC solution with US Bank later this year.

Online payments giant PayPal, meanwhile, has committed to a major move into the retail payments arena and is already field testing Bling Nation's NFC-ready mobile payments system and Apple has hired an NFC expert as its new product manager for mobile commerce.

Attention so far has focused on the implications of all this activity on the US payments market. What's really at stake, though, is far more than just a slice of merchants' transaction fees.

What's of most interest to these new entrants to the payments market — and to Google, Microsoft and others yet to show their hands — is NFC's advertising potential. By linking a consumers' transaction history to their current location, NFC offers the ability to deliver the kind of highly targeted, location based advertising solutions that marketers will pay top dollar for. And that could well turn out to be a market worth fighting over...

Sarah Clark, Editor

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

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