SCM Microsystems has announced the release of its new “NFC dongle.” This is a USB device that connects users’ NFC-enabled mobile devices to their PCs. The new SCM device hopes to bridge the gap between the Web and NFC mobile devices.

“…To become firmly established in the (NFC) market, there must be a sufficient number of compelling applications and solutions using NFC technology. Our new dongle enables such applications and fills a need in the market for reliable, secure contactless connectivity devices,” said Felix Marx, Chief Executive Officer of SCM Microsystems.

Users can access and transfer information and data that has been stored in their mobile devices, such as vouchers, coupons, tickets and product details. In addition, the reader can be used for mobile smart-ticketing, data exchange and virtual connections, as well as ticketing and secure payment for public transportation, entertainment and other transactions.

Kyocera’s introduces NFC technology in a demo handset of an E2000 cell phone, at CTIA 2008 according to cnet.com. The new NFC capability would allow Kyocera E2000 cell phone users to make small purchases, just by the touch of their fingertip.

The handset avoids fraudulent charges by using a fingerprint scanner to identify the phone’s owner. Without the necessary fingerprint, the handset will not allow NFC purchases.

The Kyocera booth was demonstrating the NFC capability by enabling visitors to purchase items like chewing gum, and after check out allowing them to swipe the phone over the store’s scanner. In real practice, the purchase would then show up on the user’s credit card bill. A spokeswoman also mentioned that you could train the phone to use different credit cards depending on how you swipe the scanner.

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Indonesia is increasingly pondering contactless payments as a result of the NFC theme set by the RFID Asia Summit 2008. As reported by PR.com Goh Say Yeow, executive vice president of sales and managing director Asia Pacific of INSIDE Contactless, presented the market trends and development of contactless payments in the region.

Going further with NFC technology, Jonathon Gould, vice president of Asia Pacific at Biotech reviewed different generations of electronic payment system with contactless payment becoming the latest trend. Chua Thian Yee, CEO of CASSIS, focused on the NFC technology used for mobile payment, reviewing the consumer landscape, the fundamentals of NFC technology and several mobile payment cases.

Maxis Communications, a Malaysian telecommunications provider, has concluded a three-month NFC pilot, according the Computerworld Malaysia. Tests were conducted in the Clang Valley in October, 2007, using partners such as Maybank, Visa payWave, Touch n’ Go, RapidKL and cell phone manufacturer Nokia’s 6131 handset, equipped with NFC technology.

Maxis has already launched a mobile commerce payment service called M-money, and said it would launch its new commercial service in the second half of the year.

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It has been rumored that the Citigroup organization has an NFC mobile phone under development that it plans to brand with the Citi logo. The phone will utilize an NFC payment application developed by Citi on the handsets, according to a report filed with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. The report, submitted in March, clearly shows the Citi logo on the front of the tiny handset.

The bank last year held what it later called a successful Near Field Communication test that involved storing a MasterCard Worldwide PayPass application on phones made by Nokia for subscribers of large U.S. mobile operator AT&T. But the branded phone that has been tested to meet FCC rules for its NFC features appears to be targeted at the U.S. market. It is a GSM handset complying with frequencies used by mobile operators there. The phone is small and light, leading one observer to speculate Citi plans to issue the phone at little or no cost to customers at all.

Report Buyer, an online research group, has added a new report to their listings finding that mobile commerce is quickly growing worldwide. In fact, 25 million U.S. subscribers will use mobile telephones as mobile wallets by 2011, it finds.

The report, 2008 Global Mobile - Data and Content Markets finds that mobile commerce is an important and fast-growing phenomenon, driven by convenience.

STMicroelectronics has developed a new fully integrated secure system-on-chip (SoC) solution implemented in silicon technology for the emerging NFC market. Implemented in the company’s embedded non-volatile EEPROM memory technology, the ST21NFCA integrates all the necessary hardware and software for a complete NFC system, including support for all the NFC proximity and vicinity standards.

Developed to be used in mobile devices, or within the PC environment, the ST21NFCA is a flexible fully integrated system-on-chip IC that offers a complete hardware capability for contactless communication at 13.56 MHz, and is suitable to be designed into RF reader systems, as well as RF tags or contactless smart cards.

Toronto-based Sirit Inc. is working with Microsoft to bring NFC to Windows Mobile devices, the company announced.

Microsoft intends to develop application programming interfaces and other native support in the Windows Mobile operating system for NFC and contactless technology. The result will be providing original equipment manufacturers and applications developers a consistent and easy-to-use platform for developing NFC devices and solutions. Microsoft will use Sirit technology and expertise as a part of its development and testing program.

“As a sponsor level member of the NFC Forum, Microsoft believes in the significant benefits that NFC and contactless technology bring to the wide range of devices powered by the Windows Mobile operating system,” said David Turner, director of mobile communications business at Microsoft.

Malaysians are one step closer to being able to pay for their purchases by just touching a phone to a payment terminal after Maxis Communications Bhd’s three-month Near Field Communication pilot. The company stated that the trial went so well that it is planning on a commercial launch in the second half of the year.

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Citigroup Inc. and South Korea’s SK Telecom Co. are investing $8 million each to launch a joint venture offering mobile financial services in Asia. The joint venture, Mobile Money Ventures LLC, will offer a trial service to Citi customers in select Asian and North American markets in the second half of 2008. The new company aims to provide broader banking services on cell phone, with new features such as near field communication-based (NFC) payments, stock management and advertisements. SK Telecom also runs a mobile venture in the United States with EarthLink Inc.