Merry Christmas and a Contactless New Year! Your Contactless Intelligence weekly news review

Merry Christmas and a Contactless New Year!

This is my last editorial for Contactless Intelligence in 2013. I could write one on the final week of 2013, but to be honest - I'm not sure anyone will read it. After all, we are all be looking forward to a well-deserved break and spending time with family, friends and loved ones. When I say well deserved - I mean it. While some of the changes that have affected the industry this year may not have been overtly dramatic - they have been pervasive in changing the field of contactless and NFC.

For me, 2013 will have been the year when NFC finally broke away from the payment module singularity and went mainstream. Looking back to the beginning of the year, when it came to NFC, this was very much in evidence during January's CES: Albeit not so much on show in its payment form but in its ability to pair up with other NFC enabled devices. An NFC-enabled mobile will remain the key to a connected future but if some of the consumer white goods manufacturers at CES have their way, a connected future may be inside your own home. Everything from washing machines to refrigerators, from TVs to audio equipment, seemed to be NFC connected (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1cp ). Later in the year we saw caps, bags and jewellery become NFC-enabled as well as rings and bracelets that could be used to unlock your phone, garage, or home - all courtesy of platforms such as Kickstarter and all built around NFC technology.

Another positive for me in 2013 was that of marketing campaigns embracing NFC technology as the core technology to help connect customers to brands. Companies involved in the development of such NFC-based marketing solutions have also come to the fore, either in establishing themselves or by attracting the attention of financial institutions who see a future in what they are offering. I fully expect to see a lot more use of NFC in marketing campaigns in 2014 - perhaps this will even be the year that NFC-based campaigns become the norm?

In terms of wallets, Google appears to have stumbled and lost focus while Isis continued to push out its offering. In fact everyone who was anyone this year had some kind of mobile wallet offering - branded or white label. This, in my opinion, caused more confusion than clarity but will not doubt be addressed by the market as a whole in 2014. Especially as retailers finally appear to be looking more favourably towards mobile payments than they did a year ago. Although there is still more that could be done in this area - a theme for 2014 perhaps?

For me, one of the big highlights for 2013 was the taking of contactless card on public transport in London. Although launched in December 2012, 2013 was the year that turned using a contactless card on public transport into a commodity, and a very convient one, too. And so I have to tip my hat to the likes of Barclaycard who have played a key role in educating consumers the most in terms of contactless payment throughout 2013. With contactless payment acceptance on the London tube, this is bound to proliferate education across an even wide spectrum of users. The battle for contactless card payment awareness and education is well underway - pity the same cannot be said for mobile payments...

If I was to look towards 2014, the bright spot on the horizon for me is (of course) the 2014 Contactless and Mobile Awards (sponsored by Visa). Organised by Contactless Intelligence, the 2014 awards will feature couple of new categories in 2014 including 'Contactless Payment Collaboration' and 'Retail'. We believe that 2014 will be defined by collaboration in all forms and so it is fitting that the first of our new categories is focused on such an element. More commentators are talking about the need for effective partnerships when it comes to contactless payments; be they collaborations between MNOs, banks, retailers, third parties etc. After all, we know that you can’t make the payment industry work in isolation. So in the spirit of this years Contactless Intelligence Spring Conference and its focus  of ‘Learning from Experience’, we are looking for one company that has done the most to foster collaboration between contactless payment value chain players. So who’s up for working well with others?

Retail is the other new category for 2014. The retail industry is the front line for all consumer oriented technology innovation. In this category, we are rewarding retailers that embrace technology to improve the customer experience. From digital signage to virtual storefronts to smart mobile payment systems; in the retail category, the judges are looking for forward looking, integrated solutions that take shopping to the next level. If you would like to nominate your company/partner/client for a CMA, please register your interest by 31st December 2013 (time is running out!). You will then be sent instructions on how to complete the nomination questionnaire to be submitted by 25th January 2014. All entries are free and you can enter as many categories/solutions as you like.

Well, as I said at the start, this is my end-of-year editorial for Contactless Intelligence.  I'll be honest, some weeks the editorial writes itself, some weeks it's pure blood sweat and tears (not mine). However, I do hope you feel that we have touched upon some salient points in the industry and at the very least have acted as a spring board to your week. All that remains is to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous (and contactless!) New Year to you all

Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence