NFC Expert Smartphone as payment method
NFC is ISO 14443 compliant and integrates many contactless cards, including bank cards that support MasterCard PayPass or VISA PayWave. The plastic card contains a microprocessor with an OS and a payment application for interacting with the data of a specific client. As soon as the card is inserted into or swiped across the terminal, it receives power to run the operating system. In the case of contactless cards, power, as we have already said, is obtained using the electromagnetic field of the reader.
With the advent of contactless cards, in fact, not necessarily a card can act as a payment instrument, but a smartphone, watch, key fob, and so on – it’s not the form that matters, but the presence of the necessary set of functions. Indeed, in smartphones with NFC support, as well as in plastic cards, there is a microprocessor. From Android 4.
To manage contactless applications remotely, smartphone manufacturers and service providers connect to TSM, a service that provides access to secure data on NFC-enabled terminals. It remotely controls the Secure Element chips in smartphones, while the smartphone itself is a kind of modem operating through a secure communication channel.
When making purchases over 1,000 rubles, you may be asked to enter a PIN code or sign a check – everything depends on the bank.
NFC Tags
This is another common way to use NFC on a smartphone. NFC tags have become very popular in shopping and advertising areas: they are embedded in posters, billboards, placed on goods in stores. Usually these are small stickers, the cost of which does not exceed 50 rubles. The costs are minimal, but what an effect! From getting more details about a concert or merchandise to a link to a trailer for a new movie.
You can create your own NFC tags, upgrade them and then use them in your daily life. As a rule, third-party software like NFC TagWriter is used for this. The application is quite simple and allows you to write many types of data to the tag – from a contact and a phone number to a web browser bookmark.
In fact, NFC tags are a real gift when it comes to automation. For example, you can stick a tag on your laptop and use the Trigger app to set the hotspot to turn on by selecting “Wireless & LAN” as the action. The simpler solution is to write the Wi-Fi password on the tag, stick it on the router, and then whenever guests ask for the password, send them to the NFC tag. Or else: set a mark near the bed and make it so that when touched on the smartphone, airplane mode is turned on (again using Trigger).
It will also be useful for motorists – they wrote down the algorithm for starting the navigator on the label, pasted it on the holder for the smartphone, and every time you install the device in this place, the navigator will start automatically.
And there are still very, very many such examples of the use of NFC tags. Often, the emergence of new cases is not limited by technology at all, but by the user’s imagination.
The advantage of NFC technology is that it can be embedded in both an active chip and a passive tag. The latter does not require energy to operate, you can forget about regular recharging. At the same time, NFC tags have a minimum size, which allows them to be even in some key fob. In fact, each such tag is a small antenna as thick as a paper sheet.
NFC tags can be used for a variety of purposes. Most often they can be found in bank cards. In this case, the label is used for contactless payment – you just need to make sure that the terminal supports it. This significantly speeds up the payment process, because in most cases you will not be required to enter a pin code.
NFC tags are also sold as separate accessories. They can be placed on a table or hung from a bunch of keys. Such tags are used to control the “smart home”. And with their help, you can make the smartphone automatically switch to a certain mode of operation. For example, the mark may be on the dashboard of a car.
In this case, touching it with a smartphone will turn on Bluetooth, after which the driver will communicate with callers via a wireless headset. And it is not necessary that only one action be programmed. In addition to Bluetooth, your favorite radio station can turn on, as well as the GPS navigator starts. In short, it all depends on the user’s imagination!
Open all doors
Someone implements this at home, but mostly the use of NFC for user identification and control is typical for enterprises and organizations. Turnstiles and locks are configured in such a way that with the help of a label, which is a pass, they decide whether to give its owner permission to enter or not.
With NFC in a smartphone, all the doors really open – if not literally, then figuratively for sure. In fact, the user receives a universal tool that, despite the speed limits, finds its application in a variety of situations. Here we are faced with another problem – the degree of prevalence of technology among service providers. The only thing that an ordinary user can do in this case is to use NFC as often as possible to show its relevance.
Quick launch
If you set your PC to Wake on LAN, you can use an NFC tag to turn on your PC from anywhere in your home. In some cases, this can be very useful (for example, if you are used to turning off the computer instead of putting it to sleep, and it takes several minutes to start).
If you are accustomed to opening the same application while being in any place, stick a label there to which its launch is assigned. A wallet or bag can be tagged with a shopping list app, a bike can be tagged to launch Strava or Endomono, and so on.
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Instead of conclusion
Perhaps the best part about NFC is that the technology is available to a wide range of users. More and more manufacturers do not leave their smartphones without NFC, so it is available in devices like
(for $321.99 with code Mi5SGBS until 31.12) and
, and in flagships like
. The diversity is also pleasing
What about Apple and its iPhone 7, you ask? Alas, the manufacturer limits the operation of the NFC chip in its smartphone, and it can only be used for the Apple Pay payment system. In the fall, however, it launched in Russia, so at least some plus.
How do you use NFC in your daily life? Share your experience with us in the comments.
Needy Escape
If you need to go out of need (to the toilet, smoke, or just tired of someone’s company), bring your smartphone to the NFC tag, which is glued to your wallet or other object, and on which the code that gives the application is prudently recorded
command to call you. Your smartphone will ring or vibrate and you will be able to exit with peace of mind without arousing any suspicion.