Near Field Communication – NZ trials start

30 January 2012: Much is being made of mobile payment abroad but things are also happening in New Zealand.

For example, starting in late November last year, a trial by Bank of New Zealand and Vodafone, along with Visa and Paymark involves staff from BNZ and Vodafone in Wellington and Auckland using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology.

Some 44 BNZ and Vodafone staff are testing this technology on NFC-enabled Samsung Galaxy S2 handsets over a three-month period. Other handsets with NFC built-in will be available in the coming months.

NFC allows payment transactions to take place without having to swipe, insert or even possess a physical card. Instead, payment card data is stored on a secure chip which is embedded into the SIM card inside an NFC-enabled mobile phone meaning trial participants can, effectively, replace their card with their mobile phone.

The trial differs from other contactless payment methods currently available in that the NFC chip resides inside the phone (instead of in an external case, on a credit card or on a sticker outside the phone) enabling a greater level of integration with the phone itself.

Participants on the trial can access an app on their smartphone to view their transactions, which are updated in real time.

NFC is currently available on smartphones from Google, Samsung,  RIM, HTC, Nokia and others.