nfc

RFID windshield tag drives cashless parking system

Parking technology has finally caught up to our on-the-go culture: pay without paying attention. Researchers have built a device that does for parking lots what radio transponders do for highway tolls. You park, it keeps track.

The near field communications (NFC) system, dubbed Viatag, consists of 0.5 inch by 4-inch RFID windshield tags, parking lot transceivers that read tags, and a central database. The windshield tag signals the parking transceiver as you're entering and exiting a parking lot. A central database tallies your time in the lot and debits your account accordingly.

The tag is unobtrusive compared with bulky highway toll transponders. This is because it's a passive RFID tag--no batteries. Instead it draws power through the air--from radio waves sent by the transceivers.… Read more

The major players in mobile payments

The mobile payments universe is expanding at a terrific rate, but the key players are still working their angles to convert amorphous opportunity into real, viable services that retail-hungry Americans will trust and use.

The companies are getting closer every day, as corporate heavy hitters bring weight, money, and experience to nimble start-ups through a web of partnerships. Traditional credit card brands, online payment companies, carriers, and smartphone manufacturers are all jumping into the game in various ways by joining to form coalitions, buying up tiny mobile payment start-ups, and attacking rivals' credibility by going straight for the panic button … Read more

PayPal exec: It won't be easy to compete with us

Companies hopping into the payments business--with particular focus on mobile--will face unexpected challenges as PayPal did in its early days, according to an executive for the digital payments service provider.

"Being in the payments business is harder than saying you're in the payments business," Sam Shrauger, vice president of global product and design for PayPal, said in an interview with CNET today.

While not naming any specific companies, his warning was clearly leveled at players such as Google, which recently unveiled its Google Wallet feature and plans to roll out a payment system in select cities later … Read more

Gartner: 141 million to use mobile payments in 2011

The number of consumers paying for items via their mobile devices will shoot past 141 million this year, says new data out today from Gartner.

That figure is a 38.2 percent increase over 2010, when mobile-payment users hit 102.1 million. The amount of money generated via mobile payments is expected to reach $86.1 billion this year, up almost 76 percent from the $48.9 million seen last year.

The surge in mobile payments will come despite the slow adoption of mobile-payment technologies.

The mobile, retail, and financial industries have been rushing to roll out near-field communication (NFC) … Read more

Mobile-payments JV strikes more credit card deals

ISIS, the joint venture between three of the national wireless carriers designed to spur the development of a wide-reaching mobile-payment system, said today it had formed a partnership with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

In addition to an existing relationship with Discover, ISIS is the first to strike a deal with all four major credit card issuers. That marks a significant milestone for the venture, which has been slower to deploy its mobile-payment system.

"By working with the nation's payment networks--Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express--we significantly advance the vision of an open and secure platform that provides … Read more

A beginner's guide to telecom jargon

The mobile world moves at a breakneck pace, and it's difficult to keep up--even without the technical jargon most industry insiders throw around. And they do love to toss those terms about.

Whether it's the difference between CDMA and GSM, the importance of backhaul to the speed of your connection, or what metering means, it's easy to have information blow over your head when reading about this field.

So for some light Saturday reading, we thought it would be nice to explain what exactly telecom experts are talking about when they use these terms they assume everyone … Read more

Blaze Mobile awarded patent for NFC sticker

Blaze Mobile said today it had been awarded a patent for its mobile wallet and a sticker that lets consumers to wave their phones in front of a checkout reader to pay for goods.

Blaze was one of the early proponents of mobile payments, which has taken hold thanks to a strong push by the likes of Google, credit card issuers, handset manufacturers, and carriers. Blaze was also one of the first to embrace near-field communications technology, which enables tap-and-pay capability.

Blaze has sold an NFC sticker that would attach to the back of the phone and work in conjunction … Read more

PayPal shows off mobile tap-to-pay

PayPal on Wednesday showed off the ability to transfer money and pay by tapping two phones together as it looks to secure its role in the burgeoning mobile-payments area.

PayPal's senior director of mobile operations, Laura Chambers, demonstrated the tap-and-pay move at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco by placing together two Nexus S smartphones (see video below). The phones are equipped with a near-field communications, or NFC chip, which allows for a quick transmission of information--in this case data about the amount of money transferred. The transfer happens through a special PayPal widget.

The demonstration shows PayPal is … Read more

NFC-enabled car keys do more than open doors

You carry your car keys everywhere, so you may as well put them to work. NXP Semiconductor launched KeyLink Lite, a near field communications-enabled car key that can do a lot more than just unlock doors and start the car.

The KeyLink Lite transfers data between a vehicle and mobile devices or computers. Based on NFC standards and utilizing the 13.56MHz frequency and cryptography, the multifunction car key lets users wave the smart key over an NFC-enabled device to access data. The KeyLink Lite securely stores sensitive data, such as the car's GPS coordinates or destination directions, and … Read more

Eric Schmidt: Mobile payments at retail to explode

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt is bullish on the growth of mobile payments in the coming year.

Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity today, Schmidt said he believes one-third of all restaurants and retail outlets will allow for mobile payments within the next year, the Financial Times reports him as saying. He reportedly told those in attendance that that number should be enough for widespread adoption of mobile payments.

"I judge that based on how long I think it takes, because the terminals are available now, the software is available now or this summer," the … Read more