What is NFC technology for? Photo Pixabay
The system that lets you pay with your mobile
NFC technology or near field communication allows devices to communicate and exchange data over short distances and wirelessly.
NFC technology lets you do many things, from exchanging files between devices to—if your phone has this system—paying with your mobile in any store that has a POS with contactless technology.
NFC works on the 13.56 MHz band and can transfer data at speeds up to 424 kb per second, although the working distance between devices is usually less than 20 centimeters.
This technology comes from RFID tags, which enable transport passes or security systems in physical stores to work.
Most mobile phones currently on the market include the NFC chip, since a few years ago carriers considered it the technology of the future for making contactless payments in shops with greater security.
Devices with the NFC chip can use it actively or passively. That is, when activated actively, both devices create an electromagnetic field to share data, while passively only one device is active and the passive one uses the magnetic field created to exchange information.
In fact, the main use of NFC is to identify users through the mobile, more than to transfer large amounts of data.
That task is left to Bluetooth, a wireless data transmission system that also allows pairing devices but over a greater distance. This becomes a more suitable option for continuous data transfer but causes more complications when pairing different devices.
Paying through the mobile, a possibility thanks to NFC
NFC technology is well known for enabling carriers to develop contactless payment systems through the mobile, such as Apple Pay or Android Pay (now renamed Google Pay) so that paying with your phone is as simple as taking the credit card out of your wallet.
NFC technology for card payments. Photo Mybloodtypeiscoffee
You can also use these services to store coupons, event tickets, and transport tickets.
The benefits of this type of payment include, among other things, that NFC radiofrequency data transmission is always available, although it has also raised concerns about the security of transmitting such personal information.
According to Apple, its Apple Pay system uses a specific device number and a “unique” transaction code, which allows these operations to be “the safest way to pay,” since neither the card number nor the device itself is stored on their servers.
Furthermore, the tech giant assures that it “never shares it with merchants.”
Android Pay arrived in Spain through BBVA: thanks to an agreement between the bank and Google, BBVA customers can pay with NFC in all shops that have contactless terminals.
Like Apple, Google also claims to have integrated “strong security measures” to protect the account and personal data “continuously and automatically.”
Currently, Android Pay has been renamed Google Pay, aiming to bring together all payment methods, such as Google Wallet and the former Android Pay, under one brand.
Another advantage, according to both companies, is that their electronic payment systems allow paying in many online applications without having to enter payment information “again and again.”
