Dear Readers,
I didn't put out a news feed last week, direct from the MWC 2013 in Barcelona, unlike many of my colleges in the industry. The reason? I honestly didn't know what to write about. Now that sounds funny doesn't it? Perhaps you are thinking that there was too much to report on? Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the problem is that I felt very disappointed in this years NFC offering, despite the fact that this particular technology was a focus at this year's conference.
Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of NFC applications on offer all over the place, and the companies involved did a very good job. However, perhaps it was just me, but I felt that the industry as a whole hadn't really moved on that much in demonstrating the effects that NFC can have on a complete ecosystem. We've been covering this industry since 2007 and by now I really wanted see NFC being integrated into complete systems and merged with other products rather than being held up as a stand alone technology. There are still doubters out there when it comes to NFC – BBC's technology reporter, Rory Cellan-Jones (http://bbc.in/YvDWLb ), amongst them - but what I think they fail to see, and what I think is not really being demonstrated, is how the technology can be (and should be) integrated as a modular part of a greater system.
Readers of this newsfeed will know that I have long pointed to retail as being the key element of bringing NFC technology in all its facets (payment, marketing, loyalty, etc) together and being key to establishing mass adoption of the technology. Apparently I am not alone. This week SAP released their findings that highlights the need for mobile wallets and services targeted to be at retail (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1vI ). In its third consecutive GSMA Mobile World Congress survey they reported that 53 percent of industry leaders believed that improving customers’ retail experience would be essential to creating a successful mobile payments scheme.
Survey results revealed that the 'secret sauce' for creating a better retail experience includes location-based point-of-sale offerings (24 percent), point-of-sale services such as near field communication (NFC) (28 percent) and facilitating universal acceptance of mobile payments (25 percent). Less popular services included targeted offers based on consumer preferences and shopping history (12 percent) and integration with mass transit (nine percent).
It seems that more and more companies are stepping into the NFC space and bringing forward services and solutions based on the technology accordingly. During the MWC, Samsung announced that they were stepping into the mobile wallet space with a product, called, appropriately enough, 'Wallet' (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1rX). I have my own views on this but after speaking to management at Samsung Semiconductor, during the show, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the company is looking towards retail as the next big application space that would allow them to pull their offerings together to create something for the NFC eco-system. They are currently referring to it as the 'Endless Shelf' and we will have more this later on the Contactless Intelligence site. However, for now, I believe that they are on the right track in developing a modular approach to a specific ecosystem. An approach that I expect others to follow. We certainly will. So convinced are we that this is the future for NFC technology that we are creating a section on the site called 'Connection' (http://wp.me/P1Jrjn-1rC). We will devote this space to retail over the next twelve months and will no doubt be speaking to some of you as this topic expands.
If you look on the right, you will no doubt notice that we have announced the finalists for this years Contactless and Mobile Awards (sponsored by Visa). We had a far greater than normal amount of nominations this year and getting it down to just 4 finalists per category was really hard. In fact we had toyed with the notion of increasing the number of finalists to five or six but decided that this would become unworkable. So if you are a nominated finalist - well done for getting even this far! We look forward to seeing you in London on the 30th April.
In fact, we look forward to seeing all of you this year at the Contactless Intelligence Spring Conference as well as the Contactless and Mobile Awards. The theme is bringing brands on board and we are looking to hear from some of the biggest names in retail as they speak about life for NFC and contactless 'on the shop floor'. I am sure you will find it rewarding and well worth attending. If you wish to do so, please click on the link here (http://wp.me/P1Jrjn-Qs)
Until next week,
Regards,
Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence
This week on C-ITV
SAP survey highlights need for mobile wallets and services targeted at retail http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1vI
Live Gamer partners with Fortumo to expand international mobile payment options http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1vD
TELUS selects Gemalto SIM to enable secure NFC mobile payments http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1vz
Morpho supplies Colombia’s first debit card for contactless payment to Bancolombia http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1v8
ATCM announces NFC reward scheme agreement with MoLo Rewards http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1v4
Finalists announced in 2013 Contactless & Mobile Awards! http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1tf
The New York City Library, the Subway and NFC http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1tv
GURU POST: Security for NFC relies on a Standalone Secure Element http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1sV
NEC provide integrated e-money through cloud http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1sR
SIA uses Gemalto's TSM platform to speed up NFC rollout in Italy http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1sN
Spire Payments acquires Thyron, makes debut in mobile payment market http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1sI
Clear2Pay test solution validated by NFC Forum http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1sz
One million payWave cards now in Singapore http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1sw
VeriFone, MasterCard integrate MasterPass in cloud-based payment option http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1s9
'Unstoppable' mobile NFC: Infographic http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1s3
Samsung releases mobile wallet called 'Wallet' http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1rX
VeriFone and SK C&C team on mobile wallet acceptance http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1rx
Gemalto's UpTeq NFC SIM is highly visible at MWC 2013 http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1rk
MasterCard and Orange join forces to deliver leading mobile payments in Spain http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1rc
MaserCard launches MasterPass while social media study shows confusion over mobile payments http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1r9
Visa and Samsung sign global alliance on mobile payments http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1r4
TAMOCO releases official corporate video http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1qJ
What a smartphone can do with a car http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1qN
Payments & m-Commerce
Mobile Payments and Mobile Advertising Have a Promising Future Together http://huff.to/XZyNK8
Key players in the mobile banking revolution http://bit.ly/XZyMGn
LevelUp accepted at SXSW concessions http://bit.ly/XZyJdq
U.S. Bancorp Rolls Out Photo Tool for Mobile Payments http://bit.ly/XZyIGk
Are mobile wallets really in our future? http://bit.ly/XZyGhR
EMV Chip Technology, Secure Electronic Payments http://onforb.es/XZyv6i
PayPal, Apple Seen As Future Mobile Payments Leaders http://bit.ly/XZyrTO
PassKit Raises $1.2 Million, Helps Clients Manage Mobile Wallet Passes on iOS and Android http://bit.ly/XZyqze
SmartDebit responds to Mastercard study on mobile payments http://bit.ly/16aKxQO
Mobile payment infringement suit filed against Home Depot by Payone http://bit.ly/16aKvZb
Pret a Manger sees growing appetite for contactless payments http://bit.ly/13IoMZj
Expansion of Mobile Payment Solution PayPal in Japan Enables
Growth of Small and Medium Sized Businesses http://bit.ly/10dODHi
Alaric, Mistral Mobile partner on mobile payments http://bit.ly/10dOljy
CorFire Provided Retailers with Insights into Mobile Payments Trends http://bit.ly/10dNMGx
WePay Joins the Fray in Mobile Payments http://bit.ly/10dNFed
“Mobile Wallet to Launch in Georgia,” MasterCard http://bit.ly/XPPs5Y
ShopSavvy Partners With Capital One, Turns Its Mobile Wallet Into A Platform For Deals http://tcrn.ch/XPPf2M
Mobile Payment Platform Wars: LevelUp, Paydiant, PayPal, & More http://bit.ly/XPOV3Y
Norwegian Telco and Bank Latest to Announce Plans to Try NFC Payment http://bit.ly/XPOR4m
German smartphone users wary of mobile payments http://bit.ly/15ssDaJ
T-Mobile Czech Republic offers payments via QR code http://bit.ly/15ssfZO
Etisalat to launch mobile wallet services in UAE http://bit.ly/15ssd4f
Analysis: Banks find NFC a buyer's market http://bit.ly/YFKozm
The Co-op extends contactless payments to 2,000 food stores http://bit.ly/YFHLxH
Wirecard and Vodafone form partnership for mobile payment services http://bit.ly/13ki6jn
T-Mobile to launch m-payment service in Macedonia http://bit.ly/13khWbH
PayPal co-founder Levchin launches new mobile payment start-up http://bit.ly/ZIa4jE
NFC & Mobile
NFC Smartphone Chip Shipments in 2012 Surge Past Projections http://bit.ly/XZyJKp
Secure Element Issue Weighs on Airline Industry Evaluation of NFC http://bit.ly/XZyFKT
Battle Continues for Control of NFC Phones as Samsung Weighs in http://bit.ly/XZyDCx
Hointer adds NFC to next generation store concept http://bit.ly/16aJZdw
AccelerateNFC offers funding to startups http://bit.ly/13IoEJ4
NFC Task Launcher App Maker Tagstand Partners With T-Mobile On Tap Tag App, Plus Other Carriers And OEMs http://tcrn.ch/13IoAJA
New boosted NFC tag front end from ams enables secure payment transactions on µSD and µSIM cards http://bit.ly/13Ioqlj
Seos rides NFC wave at Mobile World Congress http://bit.ly/10dOrHZ
Sharetapes mixes music with NFC http://bit.ly/10dOfIU
NFC Forum Welcomes Google to Board of Directors http://bit.ly/10dO1l3
Bike Identificator debuts NFC and RFID tracking service http://bit.ly/10dNBLu
Bankinter circumvents secure element hassle for mobile NFC payments http://bit.ly/XPPjzv
Sony to launch 50 new accessories to sell NFC connectivity story http://bit.ly/XPP6wp
Transportation, Ticketing, Access, Security & Loyalty
Small shopkeepers in UK towns targeted for mobile NFC rewards programme http://bit.ly/16aK7K6
MTA Implements "Green Fee" for MetroCards http://bit.ly/13IoT7b
Octopus to widen reach with phones http://bit.ly/10dMwDi
BlackBerry pushes Z10 with NFC prizes in UK malls http://bit.ly/XPPc77
Canadian Kiosk launches NFC rewards http://bit.ly/XPP7jZ
Online accounts: Making it easier to be Oyster smart http://bit.ly/XPP5Z9
What a waste! 19 million Oyster cards worth £53m lie unused http://bit.ly/15sspAC
New Tyneside student travel scheme launched http://bit.ly/15ssrs8
How Parkeon helps the Polish City of Lublin to solve its parking issues http://bit.ly/15sskNl
Norfolk bus trial to inform government's smart ticketing strategy http://bit.ly/YFHsmt
NFC Laundry Tag new Near Field Communication product http://bit.ly/X7S4N1
Gemalto demo turns NFC phones into convenient identification http://bit.ly/15PSoD6
Other News & Opinion Articles
Keeping it Real - Wooshping Blog http://bit.ly/ZkRc7W
German smartphone users wary of mobile payments http://bit.ly/15ssDaJ
Cardtronics buys i-design http://bit.ly/XZysHt
Billabong Creates the Perfect In-Store Customer Checkout
Experience with Ingenico’s Secure Payment Devices http://bit.ly/16aJq3C
Inside Secure to Cut up to 20% of Its Workforce To Stem Losses http://bit.ly/13Io4ey
OTI contactless reader receives AmEx certification http://bit.ly/10dMJXf
Companies struggle to popularize mobile money http://bit.ly/15sstAi
Redefining easy money http://bit.ly/15ssq7r
Asian SESAMES Awards Launches New Categories
http://bit.ly/15sskg6
CARTES Asia: Payment processing gets sexy http://bit.ly/15ssm7V
Consumers yet to trust mobile banking, alternative payments - report http://bit.ly/YFK6bR
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