A Window of opportunity for a new wallet
Microsoft may be a little late to the party following Apple, Samsung and Google but where there’s a will, there’s a (mobile) wallet. Yes, Microsoft has gone all macrohard (my pun) for a wallet inclusion in their new Windows 10 build for smartphones as well as a new secure login called ‘Windows Hello’.
Last week, during the WinHEC event in China, the company shared some of the secrets behind Windows 10 for handsets. One of them is a new way of handling mobile payments, as Microsoft appears to be interested in competing against Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and other similar products. A short demo video, revealed that Microsoft will enable a “Tap to Pay” functionality in Windows 10. In addition to NFC support, the company will also include Host Card Emulation support in Windows 10 in order to implement mobile payments on mobile devices without requiring a Secure Element present on a phone or SIM card and, perhaps, in order to skip some of the agreements with carriers. This means that Microsoft can work directly with VISA, Mastercard and American Express to bring its own NFC payments service into the market. It will work with all contactless card readers, similar to Apple Pay and Google Wallet.
It’s not clear at this time whether Microsoft will also add fingerprint protection to its wireless payments product, thus potentially limiting the feature only to certain Windows 10 smartphones that will have built-in fingerprint sensors. The company, however, has already announced that it’ll offer Windows 10 users across devices a new way of logging in, called 'Windows Hello', which uses biometric sensors, including fingerprint, iris and face sensors. Windows Hello is going to offer “enterprise-grade” security, Microsoft said, "that would be good enough for companies and governmental agencies in various branches including defense and health."
“A combination of special hardware and software will be used to accurately verify it is you, not a picture of you or someone trying to impersonate you,” Microsoft said. “The cameras use infrared technology to identify your face or iris and can recognize you in a variety of lighting conditions.” The company also revealed that Windows 10 devices shipping this fall will have built-in Windows Hello features, and devices that already have fingerprint readers will also support the technology. “OEM systems incorporating Intel’s RealSense 3D Camera (F200) will support the facial and iris unlock features of Windows Hello, including automatic sign-in to Windows, and support to unlock Passport without the need for a PIN,” the company said. Finally, these security features are opt-in, meaning that users will be able to still rely on passwords and PINs to unlock devices and features if they so desire. As for biometric data, Microsoft says it won’t be shared with anyone but the user.
Microsoft plans to launch the service on Windows 10, coming this summer in 190 countries.
Another item of interest that caught our eye last week (and was retweeted a lot!) concerned the news that less than a third of marketers are aware that out of home (OOH) advertising offers contactless technology, motion detection, and QR and NFC integration. The ‘Look Again’ report from Clear Channel UK, a survey of more than 200 marketing professional, revealed that ‘innovation’ was the top buying consideration among marketers looking to find new ways to reach mass audiences.
“We are at the point where many marketing professionals’ perceptions are at odds with the new levels of digital sophistication available across the OOH medium,” remarked Sarah Speake, chief marketing officer at Clear Channel UK. “In the UK, millions of pounds worth of investment in digital over the last few years has created a medium that is capable of delivering broadcast reach, measurability and brand fame at a national and regional level. It’s no coincidence that some of the world’s top brands are already taking advantage. It’s now paramount that we educate the masses on the new digital opportunities available as well as reiterating the strengths of our traditional formats.”
Of those surveyed NFC/QR technology was dubbed as the ‘most exciting’ new technology by 72 per cent of respondents, followed by environmentally friendly technology (70 per cent), contactless technology (70 per cent) and motion detection technology (67 per cent). “Today Clear Channel is transforming bus shelters into tweet-activated vending machines and ad-serving aeroplanes. There’s a wealth of sophistication available across the medium to tap into. It’s our job to shout louder and champion the new capabilities on offer to help our customers engage their audiences on a deeper and more meaningful level,” Speake added.
And finally, we posted a video last week featuring Samsung Seminconductor presenting a solution that was developed in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom, EMoney Group, MS4B and ZeitControl: The CIPURSE-based Open Platform for Contactless Applications. The truly open platform enables mobile contactless card and NFC use cases within an unified ecosystem. Without complex wallet applications, this platform can significantly reduce time-to-market of new contactless service offers. It supports different form factors – from cards to wearables – and offers interoperability, security and flexibility. Take some time (8 minutes!) and watch the detailed video presentation. Alternatively, come along to the Contactless Intelligence Conference and the Open Standards Forum on the following day, where I am sure that Samsung will be more than happy to give you a personal demonstration!
There will be no news review next week because of Easter Monday but we will be returning on the 13th April. However, if you are a CMA finalist keep a watch on the site because voting will be starting for the CMA Industry Choice after Easter. We’ll tell you when, and then it’s all up to you!
Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence
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