The NFC Forum unveiled the next big evolution of NFC, the wireless and contactless communication technology. Called Multi-Purpose Tap, it should simplify many everyday operations, such as smartphone payments.
Without necessarily being aware of it, many of us use NFC. Indeed, this wireless and contactless communication technology, its real full name near field communication, or near-field communication, has been used for years in some bank cards and in many smartphones to validate dematerialized transport tickets, such as the Navigo pass, and for payments with solutions such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay. And like any self-respecting technology, NFC has seen many significant advances over the years, now making it possible to pay for our purchases with our phone, without having to physically touch the terminal. And the technology will continue to improve in the future! Indeed, the NFC Forum, a consortium of tech companies – including Qualcomm, Microsoft, Honor, Mastercard, Apple, Huawei, Google and Sony – which defines the standards for the technology used in electronic devices, presented a new preview of the next version of NFC.
Multi-Purpose Tap NFC: multiple actions in one step
The consortium wants to develop a new NFC technology, called Multi-Purpose Tap, which will be able to handle multiple transactions at once. “The Multi-Purpose Tap will make contactless use even more convenient by enabling multiple transactions to be completed seamlessly in a single tap.”said Mike McCamon, executive director of the NFC Forum. In concrete terms, this will allow the payment services installed on our smartphones to offer new functions.
Currently, it is possible to pay contactless with a smartphone via Apple Pay or Google Pay, through an NFC-compatible payment terminal available at a retailer. But if you want to accumulate loyalty points, you have to do an additional manipulation to find a loyalty card on the application. Similarly, if you want to receive a digital receipt, you have to provide an email address or a telephone number, which is both intrusive and impractical.
With Multi-Purpose Tap, it should be possible, with a single action, to pay for purchases, but also to accumulate loyalty points, to instantly receive a dematerialized receipt or to verify the age, for the purchase of alcohol for example. Huge time savings in perspective, therefore.
Multi-Purpose Tap NFC: a technology that remains to be developed
Let’s not get too excited, however, because this technology still needs to be developed. The NFC Forum has just presented the concept. Not to mention that this technological progress is not without raising certain questions, particularly in terms of confidentiality. Indeed, the complete automation of procedures, including identity verification, as well as the possibility for companies to trigger targeted marketing communications on our smartphones, represent significant issues that are still to be studied.
The consortium must therefore conduct tests and define standards before it can allow real adoption of the technology on a large scale. It will therefore be necessary to wait several months, if not several years, before being able to benefit from it. In any case, the forum will be able to rely on the support of major tech players to develop this technology.