Two Chinese cellcos line up for NFC
Unicom and Mobile to introduce SIM-based m-payments next year, bringing carrier supporters to 45 worldwide
Published: 16 November, 2011
The latest cellcos to put their massive weight behind NFC payments are China Mobile and China Unicom, with their combined user base of about 800m. As in many other countries, including the US, the UK and France, the two rivals will work together to add momentum to m-commerce and ensure the market does not fragment behind multiple systems. They plan to bring a SIM-based NFC offering to their customers next year.
The Chinese firms join 43 other mobile operators around the world which have pledged support to SIM-based NFC, with their eyes on the customer control that brings, and therefore an enhanced role in the m-payments chain - although some vendors, like Nokia, see greater short term potential in alternative uses of NFC, such as exchanging data by tapping two handsets together, or using the swipe-based technology for ticketing or secure access to hotel rooms or cars.
The GSM Association, which is working on standards so that SIM-based NFC systems will interoperate round the world, talked up the Chinese support and chairman Franco Bernabe said: "Clearly the momentum behind SIM-based NFC is growing rapidly, particularly with leading operators China Mobile and China Unicom supporting NFC services secured by the SIM card." However, it is not inevitable that NFC will be integrated with the cellco's SIM card. It can also be included in a device, and secured, directly on-chip.
Nor does NFC need to be all about physical payments, a fact which has not escaped PayPal - nor Intel, which has announced a reader which can be incorporated straight into its Ultrabook platform and allow NFC transactions online. A related alliance with MasterCard aims to interest consumers and merchants in its new Ultrabook thin-PC platform. The new partners claim they will streamline the check-out process for NFC-based payments, but also for online purchases, and will enhance security. A reader will be available for Ultrabooks, which will enable consumers to make web purchases by tapping an NFC smartcard or handset, in the same way as they make swipe-based payments in physical stores.
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