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.

Read the full article here.  

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.  

LEGIC now has a “card-in-card solution” that combines smart card micro-controllers with building access and related multi-applications onto the same smart card chip. This enables standard contactless LEGIC uses – such as physical access – to be combined with other contact type third party uses such as logical access to PCs, government ID credentials, credit cards or national ticketing applications.

With this, the end user may use the NFC based telephone or the dual interface smart card as a multi functional identification badge to open doors, pay at cash points, buy a bus ticket or pay entrance to the gym.  

NFC technology is sound, the interface is good, the partnerships have been formed, but … Will consumers use it?

By Ryan Kline, Contributing Editor

The widely talked about London launch of contactless payment devices is only a little over half of a year in, but London is making news again with its Near Field Communications (NFC) trial. Started in November 2007, major players in the telecommunications, banking and transit markets have come together to test NFC payments in both transit and retail environments.

An innovative new technology that strengthens PINs and passcodes with one-time grids and Personal Identification Patterns (PIP) is explored. Executive Editor Chris Corum speaks with the technology’s inventors and corporate leaders from GrIDsure on their new pattern-based unique IDs.

Download MP3.

Please contact podcasts@avisian.com with any comments or suggestions.

An innovative new technology that strengthens PINs and passcodes with one-time grids and Personal Identification Patterns (PIP) is explored. Executive Editor Chris Corum speaks with the technology’s inventors and corporate leaders from GrIDsure on their new pattern-based unique IDs.

Download MP3.

Please contact podcasts@avisian.com with any comments or suggestions.