A Quantitative Evaluation of NFC Based Contactless Payment Systems in Retail

The term "Near Field Communication" (NFC) denotes a wireless communication technology that operates at 13.56 MHz and is compatible to the international industry standards ISO/IEC 14443 and ISO/IEC 18092. The integration of a NFC module into mobile phones or PDAs enables these devices to act as contactless smartcard as well as to read from and write onto such cards. Possible applications include the use of NFC devices for mobile payments, as electronic tickets, for the participation in loyalty programs, and for the storage of rebate coupons. The fact that NFC compatible devices can hold a large number of virtual smart cards in the form of secured applications allows for providing their owners with access to a wide variety of contactless services without the need to carry numerous plastic cards.