This is Anna. Every day, she takes the bus to work. She enjoys spending her evenings shopping or going to the theatre. She has also already planned her next holiday in France. In the future, all of this can be arranged much more easily -- thanks to NFC.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. This is a radio standard, which works with small data volumes over limited ranges, allowing them to be transported.
Most credit cards are already equipped with NFC chips.
When Anna goes to her favourite clothes shops, she therefore needs only to briefly hold up the credit card to the reader and the amount payable is automatically deducted. For security reasons, this only works for small amounts and up to a maximum distance of 5 centimetres.
Even the battery of Anna's new smartphone contains a NFC chip.
At the box office, she can use this to pay and it enables her to download the ticket directly onto her mobile. She even uses the new technology on her daily bus journey. At the bus stop, she uses her smartphone to check in and at her destination she simply checks out. The fares are then charged automatically. Really handy!
On holiday, her mobile becomes a travel guide -- without the need for any internet connection. Anna simply needs to briefly hold the phone up to a NFC surface and the information about the principal sights is transferred directly onto her smartphone.
However, like every new technology, NFC does have its drawbacks. For example in a credit card there is a passive NFC chip which is continuously transmitting. With a special app, thieves can therefore read off personal data for their own use.
For protection, a specially coated card case can be used. Or, you can wrap your credit card in aluminium foil. Currently there is no better solution for this.
The new radio standard is also not yet available everywhere. Particularly with the use of the mobile as a credit card, there is still a need for improvement. Mobile manufacturers, network operators and banks need to come to a better agreement. This way the purchase could appear directly on the mobile bill.
One thing is certain: we will see NFC more and more frequently in the future. Even now, there are many more ideas for the use of this radio technology. Anna is also keen to discover what else NFC can be used for. Maybe soon she will only need her smartphone to enjoy her evening. She can then leave her purse at home in confidence that it won't be needed.
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