While many doubt that telcos and banks will ever agree on a business model for NFC and complain about the continued lack of phones supporting the technology, two major players in the United Kingdom–Barclaycard and Orange UK–are preparing for a commercial launch.
One of the largest card issuers in the UK, Barclaycard,and the soon-to-be-biggest mobile operator, Orange UK, are expected to begin rolling out NFC by the end of the year. If they hit that mark, it would be one of the first major commercial launches of NFC services worldwide. It could also spur others into action sooner, such as the mobile-payment partnership of UK telco O2 and NatWest bank.
A year ago, Orange and Barclaycard announced plans to eventually launch NFC mobile payment and other services. And they later let it be known their target was 2010 for a rollout. In January, they introduced a contactless cobranded card that customers could tap to pay at retail outlets and receive SMS transaction alerts.
But a year after the partnership announcement, the lineup of NFC phones on the market remains weak, which is an apt description of the UK economy, as well. And no big retail chains in the UK have yet announced they would accept contactless payment from either cards or phones.
However, none of that seems to be standing in the way of an NFC launch this year by the Barclaycard-Orange partnership, with executives of both companies sounding optimistic tones.
According to Dan Salmons, director of global innovations for Barclaycard,..........to continue reading the full article CLICK HERE
Consulting Smart Ltd provide specialist consultancy on the design and deployment of NFC technologies. For more information on how we can help your organisation realise the full benefits of NFC please see www.consultingsmart.co.uk or email Steve Beecroft, Smart Technologies Consultant on sbeecroft@consultingsmart.co.uk
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