Abstract:

In the realm oI new technologies, near Iield communication (NFC) is not a new concept,
it does have clear potential and practical uses. This is why it`s been holding the attention oI a
slew oI big-name companies Ior a long time. Nokia, Sony, and Royal Philips Electronics
Iounded the NFC Forum in 2004 in order to promote the short-range wireless connectivity
technology. Samsung, Motorola, MicrosoIt and more than 140 other organizations all joined the
party shortly aIter.NFC allows a device, usually a mobile phone, to collect data Irom another
device or NFC tag at close range. In many ways, it`s like a contactless payment card that is
integrated into a phone. In other ways, it`s similar to Bluetooth, except that instead oI
programming two devices to work together, they can simply touch to establish a connection.
Introduction:
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology that enables the
communication between devices over a distance oI less than 10 cm. The NFC standard is deIined
in ISO/IEC 18092. NFC operates at 13.56 MHz and supports the existing ISO/IEC standards
14443 (Types A/B/Felica) and 15693 (tags). An NFC device can work in two modes: active
(battery powered) and passive (radio energy powered).
NFC, short Ior Near Field Communication, is a short range wireless RFID technology that makes
use oI interacting electromagnetic radio Iields instead oI the typical direct radio transmissions
used by technologies such as Bluetooth. It is meant Ior applications where a physical touch, or
close to it, is required in order to maintain security. NFC is planned Ior use in mobile phones Ior,
among other things, payment, in conjunction with an electronic wallet, and Ior setting up
connections between Bluetooth devices (rendering the current manual Bluetooth pairing process
obsolete).
Contactless Payment:
Unlike many other wireless technologies, NFC has a short range oI about 1.5 inches. This
makes it a good choice Ior secure transactions, such as contactless credit card payments.
MasterCard and Visa are both members oI the NFC Forum, and both companies have been
involved in pilot programs that use NFC-enabled phones as a Ilash payment option. Phones
could 'tap and go using inIrastructure already in place Ior credit card systems such as
MasterCard`s PayPass program or Visa`s payWave.

Two MIT students have also come up with a way Ior the mobile phone to replace
customer loyalty cards. Their application Eclectyk, which was submitted in the 2009 NFC Forum
competition, would not only store credit card inIormation, but also automatically select the right
customer loyalty card inIormation Ior your purchase.
The 'digital wallet concept could extend to coupons and other oIIers. The startup MoLo
Rewards recently launched NFC-based coupon programs in San Diego and Toronto. Consumers
can use the site to download coupons, which they exchange by having their phone swiped at the
point oI purchase. Since NFC-enabled phones aren`t widely available in the United States, the
company has started its program by providing radio-Irequency identiIication (RFID) tags that
can be attached to the back oI the phone. The retailers beneIit Irom being able to track who their
coupons are sent to and how they are used. 'Want to send a coupon to a consumer who
purchased a box oI cereal on the 21st oI December at 11am EST? the company asks on its
website. 'MoLo Rewards can provide you with the capability to do just that.


%ransportation:
NFC works with most contactless smart cards and readers, meaning it could easily be integrated
into the public transit payment systems in cities that already use a smart card swipe. In 2008,
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn launched an NFC-ticketing pilot program in which 200
travelers touched their phones to an NFC tag when they boarded the train and then to another
when they got oII. The Iare was calculated and added to their monthly bill. In January 2010, the
successIul program was expanded to an additional 3,000 travelers. Madrid plans to start a similar
pilot program with its bus system in 2010.
Health Care:
Not only can NFC tags provide medical proIessionals with inIormation about what
treatments a patient should receive, but they can also keep track oI when nurses and doctors have
checked in with that patient and when. Each time the tag is scanned, the inIormation about who
scanned it and when can be transIerred to a database. In addition to improving treatment, NFC
tags also have potential in the research realm.
A winner oI last year`s NFC Forum`s 5,000 Euro prize was a program that helps track patients in
low resource areas, and is currently being used in a pneumonia study oI young children in
Pakistan. Each child is given a bracelet with an RFID tag on it. The tag is scanned every time the
child visits a participating health care organization. The clinical and laboratory data associated
with that patient is collected and posted to a secure server in real-time.
Ease of Use:
II NFC-enabled phones become prevalent, you`ll likely be able to initiate a two-player
game by touching your phones together. You`ll be able to link a headset to your phone or print a
photo just by touching your device to a printer. A second-place winner in the 2009 NFC Forum
competition developed a touch-dial system Ior people who have trouble making phone calls. The
user is able to tap a photo oI the person he wants to call. The embedded NFC tag in the photo
transmits the proper number to the phone automatically.
$mart Objects:


An NFC tag oIten contains inIormation like a phone number or URL. One oI the largest series oI
experiments that uses phones to pick up inIormation Irom tagged locations is SmartTouch, a
project Iunded under the European ITEA research program between 2006 and 2008. Most oI the
trials took place in Oulu, Finland, where the city installed about 1,500 'inIotags in buses, at
bus stops, the theater, a restaurant, and a pub that could be read with a mobile phone. For
instance, theater patrons could not only use their mobile phones as tickets, or to order
reIreshments, but they could also scan tagged posters Ior more inIormation about plays.
For another project, inIotags were installed in schools. Students could get their individual daily
schedule, announcements, and inIormation about homework by waving their phones past the
tags. A trial held in one pub allowed customers to tap cards with their NFC-enabled phones Ior
more inIormation about products.
NFC may have similar applications as bar codes do now. You can put one on a poster and let
pedestrians scan it on their phones Ior more inIormation. But being able to add more inIormation
to any object by integrating a tag has led to some interesting applications that go Iar beyond
billboards. A company called Objecs, Ior instance, sells an NFC tablet Ior gravestones. Touching
an NFC-enabled phone to the Personal Rosetta Stone provides additional inIormation about the
deceased.

$ocial Media:

BeIore Foursquare took oII, a German company called Servtag was working towards a
similar concept Ior NFC-enabled phones called Friendticker. The company applied more than
250 NFC-tag stickers at various locations in Berlin that users would swipe their phones past in
order to alert their Iriends that they were 'checked in at that location.
While Foursquare may have stolen the thunder Ior location-based networking, there are
still plenty oI social media applications Ior NFC in the works. Last year, a German university
(Technische Universitt Mnchen) submitted a prototype to the NFC Forum competition that
integrated with Facebook. The application, NFriendConnector, allowed people who met in a
physical space to exchange proIile data through their phones. Their respective statuses would
automatically be updated (Ior example, 'I just met so and so) and they could choose to include
their location ('I just met so and so at this bar). Instead oI stalking a new acquaintance`s proIile
aIter a night out, this application provides an option to run a matching method based on variables
the user provides (such as interest, dislikes, and hobbies) while still chatting with them in the bar.
Conclusion:
The report explores a whole oI range oI opportunities available to the stakeholders in the
NFC eco-system. NFC has been tested and has potential Ior the mass-adoption in almost all
segments oI m-payments such as m-ticketing, m-banking, m-commerce and m-trade.While the
m-payments are projected to reach the critical mass, NFC Ior its compatibility with theexisting
inIrastructure is well placed to leverage the already available m-payment technologies Ior its
robust Iuture growth.
Application:
%here are three main ways to use NFC:
Card emulation: the NFC device behaves exactly like a contactless card and can be used
in transport Iare payment systems based on MiFare, Calypso or Felica as well as open
banking payment systems based on Visa payWave, MasterCard PayPass or American
Express ExpressPay
Reader mode: the NFC device is active and reads a passive RFID tag; Ior example
reading and storing a Web address or coupon Irom a poster Ior interactive advertising
Person-to-person (P2P) mode: two NFC devices communicate with each other
exchanging inIormation
%he key benefits of NFC are:
Compatible with the existing contactless inIrastructure
Simplicity. NFC is characterized by a natural and intuitive 'just touch movement