NFC (near field communication), in case you missed the memo, is all the rage in mobile these days. It’s natively supported in Android 2.3, Samsung‘s putting it in its cheapo feature phones and patent applications suggest Apple could join the party with the iPhone 5. The thing is, contactless payment tech is all good and well, but what’s the point when no shops support it?
That’s where Verifone steps in. One of the world’s biggest payment companies, it’s just revealed that all of its new payment machines will come with NFC support built in. Can anyone say critical mass?
In an interview with NFC World, Verifone CEO Douglas Bergeron revealed that NFC support will be rolled out in “in all its new point-of-sale hardware”, meaning it no longer needs to be a question of whether shopkeepers have to opt in – the tech will be there ready and waiting for them when they’re ready. Clinton Cards, Thornton’s, Costa Coffee and the London Underground are some of the big names in UK business that currently use Verifone payment systems.
“The retail point of sale represents a point of convergence for smartphone-initiated payments, social networking and electronic couponing, but it won’t happen if retailers are expected, on faith, to absorb the costs of making it work,” he said.
High street food chains McDonalds, Pret A Manager and Eat already have NFC equipment set up in stores, while Tesco is reported to be rolling out NFC gear within six months.
Yesterday, Verifone director of marketing for EMEA Tony Saunders told Wired.co.uk however that he expected NFC to make the big time next year, rather than 2011. “There’s not enough noise in the media around NFC, not enough excitement at a consumer level. It might be nearer the end of the year, but if I was putting money on it, it’d be early 2012.”
Frankly, it can’t come soon enough, and we can’t wait to start hopping on the bus with a wave of our Nexus S – hopefully, this will help usher this bright new era in.
Out TBC | £TBC | NFC World (Via Slashgear)
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Breaking: Google has acquired the financial product comparison site BeatThatQuote.com for £37.7m. The news was first outed by the blog money.co.uk but has since been made official.
Writing on the UK company’s site, BeatThatQuote Managing Director, John Paleomylites, says that the acquisition offers the opportunity to “develop new and innovative options for personal finance in the UK” by making use of Google’s engineering muscle. Of course, like almost any Google purchase these days, the deal could raise the eyebrows of regulators, especially in regards to how it places the comparison site’s content in its search index.
With that in mind, perhaps, Paleomylites talks up the possibility to “offer more transparency and better pricing information than existing online offerings.”
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