New features for contactless payment: NFC Multi-Purpose Tap
I love paying with my watch. Press the side button twice and I can already hold my watch up to the reader at the checkout. And I have often thought: why can’t I get my receipt on my watch or phone right away?
There is a simple explanation. It’s because NFC, i.e. the technology behind it, has so far only ever allowed one transaction per touch. NFC stands for Near Field Communication, i.e. contactless data exchange in a small, limited field. I have to hold my watch very close to the scanner for the communication to take place. And until now only a single action was possible per tap. So: the register at the bakery says “I’ll get €7.30” and my phone answers “Here you go!”
Now NFC is a standard that is promoted and developed further in the NFC Forum by several large companies. They include Apple, Google, SONY, Infineon and HUAWEI, among others.
These here are all RFID / NFC chips and readers too.
To explain: NFC is a subcategory of RFID chips. That is: Radio Frequency Identification chips. They reach up to 8 meters. NFC chips, though, only work up to a maximum of 10 centimeters. You surely know cards like these from hotels, and key fobs like these are often used in companies for clocking in and out. This little part here is an NFC chip too. You find it, for example, in pedigree dogs to identify them uniquely. But there are also pre-configured syringes for people, to implant the chip in your hand, for example. More on that in my post about biohackers, body modders and cyborgs.
For almost 10 years now I’ve had one of these myself, right here between thumb and index finger.
Apple first used the technology in the iPhone 6 and the first Apple Watch. Mainly so you could pay contactlessly with Apple Pay. And since Apple was apparently instrumental in the latest NFC development, the NFC Multi-Purpose Tap, Apple users can surely already look forward to the new feature.
But what can the new NFC Multi-Purpose Tap do? This technology makes it possible to trigger several actions with a single tap, making NFC applications more convenient. More convenient? Exactly. Because the conversation between my phone and the register isn’t over once I’ve paid. Even BEFORE paying, the register checks whether I take part in a loyalty program, deducts for example my 5% loyalty discount and gives me a message: “Congratulations, you just saved 37 cents.” So in my bakery example with €7.30. Then the actual payment process starts. And – you already guessed it. Yes! I get my receipt directly on my watch/phone. For all I care straight to the tax office to deduct input VAT.
But also for train tickets, restaurant visits or identification. The new uses will develop very, very quickly once the technology is available.
What ideas do you have about what else could be done with this technology? Write it in the comments.
LINKS:
NFC FORUM: https://nfc-forum.org/
NFC CHIPS FOR HUMANS: https://dangerousthings.com/product/xnt/
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