Skip to main content

Apple and Google poised to invigorate NFC market

The market for contactless payment is growing, explained Pierre Metivier from the Forum Services Mobiles Sans Contact, at the official launch of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014 in Paris. “Smart secure devices are on the rise,” he said. “The majority of these are smartphones and payment cards, but – if you add in to the mix products such as smartcars and even smart utility meters - there will be 200 billion connected devices by 2020,” adding up to a projected global internet of things (IoT) market by that time
July 9, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

Telecoms, IT, security industries

The market for contactless payment is growing, explained Pierre Metivier from the "Forum des Services Mobiles Sans Contact", at the official launch of CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014 in Paris. “Smart secure devices are on the rise,” he said. “The majority of these are smartphones and payment cards, but – if you add in to the mix products such as smartcars and even smart utility meters - there will be 200 billion connected devices by 2020,” adding up to a projected global internet of things (IoT) market by that time of $8.9 trillion. But there are challenges ahead, warned Metivier. “The Near Field Communication (NFC) eco-system is maturing and it is also quite complex,” he explained. “You need the right mobile, the right applications, the right SIM – and you need the telecoms companies to agree. It’s complicated and it’s costly.” The rise of Host Card Emulation (HCE) may be about to change that. It is both a threat to, and opportunity for, NFC, he went on. “For a start it’s an opportunity to get more players into the market, such as 493 Apple and 1691 Google, which in the long-term could be good news for the global NFC system. Maybe demand from China will push Apple, for instance, towards NFC. NFC is about proximity and that proximity perhaps gives people a greater sense of security. But it’s still complex: we have to work on simplifying it.” There are also experiments underway with prepaid cards which could yet tempt more consumers towards contactless payments, perhaps because just having 20 euros on a card at a time will feel more secure for people. There will be much more information on all these intriguing issues at CARTES SECURE CONNEXIONS 2014 in November.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Oberthur launches breakthrough ID technology at CARTES 2013
    November 19, 2013
    Oberthur Technologies revealed an industry first at CARTES 2013 yesterday when it announced a technique to produce colour photographs on a polycarbonate card. The breakthrough promises to greatly improve the security and durability of secure ID globally, the company says. Called Lasink, it is the very first technology to generate colour pictures by laser engraving, a significant advance for high-security identity cards.
  • Authorities look to MaaS for new solutions and cost savings
    July 18, 2017
    The structure of society and the way in which our cities work will be completely transformed by Mobility as a Service (MaaS), Finland’s minister of transport and communications Anne Berner, told ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference 2017 in London. In her keynote address, Berner told a packed audience of more than 200 ITS professionals that MaaS has the potential to help governments around the world meet their big city targets such as the rate of employment, the environment, the efficient use of
  • Big data and open governments ‘will spur developments in smart cities’
    March 23, 2015
    Smart cities are going to be amazing community hubs that will be more sustainable, efficient and supportive of citizens, according to a new report, Australia - Smart Cities - People, Transport, Cars, Buildings from reportbuyer.com. The concept of smart communities is based on intelligent infrastructure such as broadband (FttP) and smart grids, so that connected and sustainable communities can be developed. However, they cannot be built within the silo structure that currently dominates our thinking; a holis
  • Over 100 micro-mobility vehicles will be launched by 2018
    April 11, 2012
    As the cost of global congestion inches towards the $1 trillion mark, key economies including Europe, North America, Japan and China amongst others prepare for a green-commute blueprint. Some 16 of the key automotive OEMs are working on more than 110 short distance vehicles, with approximately 50 models being already production ready. The remaining 60 are in concept stage, but expected to become production ready by 2020. The emergence of such micro-mobility vehicles is expected to fight congestion, ease par