NFC Ecosystem

Gemalto & NXP to cooperate on NFC solutions

Smart card provider Gemalto and chip manufacturer NXP will jointly develop NFC solutions in connection with SIM cards. The move aims at using the inherent SIM security for NFC applications. The activities will focus on applications that use the Single Wire Protocol (SWP) and the MIFARE contactless payment technology. Both partners plan to define and develop SIM products for SWP-based solutions.

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Selon Atos Origin, l’avenir des paiements mobiles passe par la collaboration entre les banques et les opérateurs de téléphonie mobile

Selon le dernier livre blanc publié par Atos Origin, les banques et les opérateurs de téléphonie mobile doivent collaborer pour garantir l’avenir à long terme des paiements mobiles. Cette étude, intitulée Breakthroughs in the European Mobile PaymentsMarket, avance que ce n’est que par la coopération et des initiatives communes que les banques et les opérateurs mobiles seront en mesure d’offrir aux consommateurs une solution convaincante, sûre et conviviale. Elle milite également en faveur d’une mutualisation des ressources,seule capable de réduire les coûts de développement et de commercialisation.
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WIMA NFC contest finalists

5th April 2007, WIMA Press Office – Organisers of the European Near Field Communication (NFC) Competition to be held on April 18 at the European NFC Developers Summit during WIMA 2007 have announced the competition shortlist.

Each finalist will attend the Competition award ceremony at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Wednesday April 18, where they will have an opportunity to present and discuss their work and where WIMA participants and members of the jury can try out the prototypes. Ten awards will be handed out in total; the two overall winners – one in each Track (Track A for present NFC solutions and Track B for future uses of NFC) – will be presented with a trophy, and eight runners-up will receive certificates.Addressing this year’s theme of ‘the simplicity of touch’, entrants have focused on innovation, commercial potential and usability, as well as the design and implementation of NFC technology, in their designs. Entries for each track have been categorised as City Life, Enterprise Solutions, Personal Wellness & Healthcare and Infotainment.

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NFC: Trials Proceed, But Phones Remain Scarce

Here is an interesting article about the ongoing normalisation of the NFC ecosystem and confirming the 2 important news of the last month: NXP & Nokia are finally backing the SWP standard opening the way to the acceleration of the NFC Ecosystem.

The article also introduce a brief description of the NFC business models: renting space of the SIM card to bank, transit cies, retailers and service companies.

>>> More info here

Gemalto’s viewpoint on NFC

Here is a very interesting interview (in French) of Jerome Sion – Head of contactless at Gemalto, explaining the NFC ecosystem form a SIM vendor standpoint:

>>> more info here

Europeans Band Together to Speed NFC

A new pan-European consortium wants to define next-generation mobile services with Near Field Communications (NFC) and accelerate development of NFC applications. Made up of companies, universities and user groups and funded by the European Commission, the consortium came together to develop an open architecture for the development, deployment and use of NFC-enabled applications in mobile handsets. With more industries employing contactless payment applications, the ‘Store Logistics and Payment with NFC’ (StoLPaN) project aims to define open commercial and technical frameworks for NFC-enabled services that will facilitate the deployment of NFC-enabled mobile applications across a wide range of vertical markets, regardless of the phone type and the nature of the services required.

“With NFC-enabled mobile devices you should soon be able to provide a variety of services, based on either the contactless interface or over-the-air-download, replacing the need for physical credit, loyalty, bank or transportation cards,” says Alan Wright, head of strategy and new business development for Motorola Mobile Devices, Europe. “The StoLPaN project aims to make this vision a reality for many operators, financial service providers, merchants and mobile subscribers.”