The document discusses problems with using Near Field Communications (NFC) as the cornerstone of mobile payments, and proposes a solution. It argues that NFC has issues with security, unclear benefits, slow adoption of NFC-enabled phones, lack of commitment from major players, and limited availability of NFC terminals. It suggests letting NFC fade into the background and focusing on other uses like machine-to-machine communication, which could make NFC more successful.

1. Five problems for:
Near Field
Communications
(NFC)
No Future Currently
…and one solution
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2. Thesis
NFC – wrong place at right time?
• The hype around NFC as the foundation of the
future success of mobile payments is flawed.
So, where does intelligent, close proximity
syncing live in the eco-system (as more and
more purchases go online and away from
stores)?
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.

3. NFC as a payment cornerstone will not work if:
Number one:
Security is not fixed. The very thing that makes NFC
unique – the 10 cm range – is its Achilles Heel. An NFC
device can be used to relay information from devices
without any special software or hardware. There are no
records to track and analyze – only air.
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.

4. NFC as a payment cornerstone will not work if:
Number two:
• The benefits of NFC are not articulated. The current
messages of convenience and speed are flawed. It is
not more convenient, it is only marginally faster and it
is not clever to have all your financial information on
one device. One possible killer argument: it is a lot
cleaner than a credit card terminal.
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.

5. NFC as a payment cornerstone will not work if:
Number three:
• Handsets do not appear in numbers, soon.
Predictions of 80 million handsets during 2012 are
being heralded as a sign of success. Compared to the
overall number of mobile phone shipments, this
number is a laughable 20% for a market that will only
succeed on mass market adoption.
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.

6. NFC as a payment cornerstone will not work if:
Number four:
• Players do not commit. If Visa, PayPal, Google and
others really want NFC to succeed, then they need to
say so. NFC needs a champion and a clear strategy.
Brands, telcos, payments providers and internet leaders
will all make more money out of other technologies – so
why should we believe in NFC?
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.

7. NFC as a payment cornerstone will not work if:
Number five:
• Terminals are not everywhere, soon. Announcements
will continue throughout this year about retail chains
signing up to NFC. Big retail, big deal. Large retail
stores only account for $1 in every $8 spent. What
about the rest? NFC has to be a slam dunk for the rest
to invest.
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8. The solution:
• Let NFC fade into the background of intelligent wireless
infrastructure and let other verticals articulate the
benefits. With so much attention on the payments
solution, one mistake will cause untold bad press.
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9. The conclusion:
• The full potential of NFC is in other verticals:
NFC + M2M = a (telco driven) smarter planet.
For the next chapter – see the next edition of
the TM Forum’s Inside Revenue Management.
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.

10. Near Field Communications (+M2M) – the grass may greener...
Personal tracking
Healthcare
Security
Telematics
Inventory management
Travel
…many more

11. Near Field Communications – the grass may greener...

12. NFC as the cornerstone of mobile payments?
Alex Leslie, Publisher
Copyright 2012. BillingViews. All Rights Reserved.