2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#1

Post by kul » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 11:35 PM UTC

2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.
fastcompany.com

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#2

Post by sgrove » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 11:43 PM UTC

I was aghast when I read that the Square COO didn't see much value in NFC (http://gigaom.com/2011/09/26/square-mobilize-2011/). After spending a lot of time in Seoul where it's possible to pay for a ton of stuff via T-money card (a clipper-card-like NFC card for the public transit system), I hate pulling out my card to swipe or counting cash.

NFC can phenomenally improve the experience of nearly everything we do right now, and I expect Tagstand to bring the NFC revolution to the US.

Can't help but be a bit jealous of these guys though, their execution has been amazing, they seem to be doing everything right! If you're looking to do some NFC stuff, I'd recommend Tagstand in a heartbeat.

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#3

Post by kul » Tue, Nov 15, 2011, 11:47 PM UTC

sgrove wrote: post #2

I was aghast when I read that the Square COO didn't see much value in NFC ( http://gigaom.com/2011/09/26/square-mobilize-2011/ ). After spending a lot of time in Seoul where it's possible to pay for a ton of stuff via T-money card (a clipper-card-like NFC card for the public transit system), I hate pulling out my card to swipe or counting cash. NFC can phenomenally improve the experience of nearly everything we do ri…

Thank you.

I think Square are ultimately technology agnostic, but they don't want the "nfc = payments" meme to spread, not quite sure why. But yes, after travelling through Asia and seeing nfc payments in action, I totally agree.

The Hong Kong anecdote is true. I was surprised that places wouldn't accept credit card but would happily accept my transit card for payments. It's a big opportunity in other emerging markets.

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#4

Post by omarseyal » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 12:03 AM UTC

sgrove wrote: post #2

I was aghast when I read that the Square COO didn't see much value in NFC ( http://gigaom.com/2011/09/26/square-mobilize-2011/ ). After spending a lot of time in Seoul where it's possible to pay for a ton of stuff via T-money card (a clipper-card-like NFC card for the public transit system), I hate pulling out my card to swipe or counting cash. NFC can phenomenally improve the experience of nearly everything we do ri…

re: square -- consider the source.

it makes sense that the square coo would be "anti nfc." the notion of "nfc payments" as the way of the future detracts from the vision he's pitching -- that is "square payments" are the way of the future.

whether nfc ends up being integrated into square or not, and whether or not nfc is useful in the payments vertical is irrelevant to him. square likely wants you to think about square and only square when you think about mobile payments going forward...

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#5

Post by pyre » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 12:17 AM UTC

kul wrote: post #3

sgrove wrote: post #2

I was aghast when I read that the Square COO didn't see much value in NFC ( http://gigaom.com/2011/09/26/square-mobilize-2011/ ). After spending a lot of time in Seoul where it's possible to pay for a ton of stuff via T-money card (a clipper-card-like NFC card for the public transit system), I hate pulling out my card to swipe or counting cash. NFC can phenomenally improve the experience of nearly everything we do ri…

Thank you. I think Square are ultimately technology agnostic, but they don't want the "nfc = payments" meme to spread, not quite sure why. But yes, after travelling through Asia and seeing nfc payments in action, I totally agree. The Hong Kong anecdote is true. I was surprised that places wouldn't accept credit card but would happily accept my transit card for payments. It's a big opportunity in other emerging market…

  > they don't want the "nfc = payments" meme to spread,
  > not quite sure why

Maybe because it takes away from the idea that Square will be able to dominate? Maybe they see the spread of NFC as a way that the current credit card companies can jump on the tech bandwagon and edge Square out? Dunno.

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#6

Post by thesash » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 12:55 AM UTC

...Unless the next iPhone supports NFC

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#7

Post by [deleted] » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 1:16 AM UTC

thesash wrote: post #6

...Unless the next iPhone supports NFC

[deleted]

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#8

Post by cwilson » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 1:16 AM UTC

thesash wrote: post #6

...Unless the next iPhone supports NFC

I honestly don't see NFC being a game changer unless Apple adds support to an iPhone. They likely know this as well, and won't do so until it makes sense for them (e.g. partnerships, etc).

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#9

Post by iloveponies » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 1:23 AM UTC

NFC will only spread wildly if all handset/OS makers as well as the carriers open card emulation and the encryption interface necessary to do banking. Right now, we're stuck in this position where everyone is more than happy to have all the non-secure critical aspects of NFC (like smart posters) where there is little market incentive - and control and monopolise purchasing, coupon offers, membership and loyalty etc etc.

Re: 2012 Will Be The Year NFC Breaks Big--Just Not In The U.S.

#10

Post by icebraining » Wed, Nov 16, 2011, 2:05 AM UTC

What's exactly the difference between NFC and RFID? The NFC Forum FAQ isn't very clear.

Here in Portugal (and AFAIK in multiple European countries) we use contactless cards for public transportation, but that's about it; payments are still done with debit cards or cash.