In yet another sign 2011 promises to include an avalanche of Near Field Communication-related announcements, LG Corp. is jumping on the bandwagon. That should shock no one, one analyst contends.
The South Korea-based electronics and telecommunication company recently told news agency Reuters it plans to launch a mobile-payments system in Europe some time in 2012.
“It’s no surprise all these handset manufacturers are getting involved with NFC,” Adil Moussa, an analyst at Boston-based Aite Group LLC, tells PaymentsSource. Mobile payments are “a way for them to capture some recurring revenue and business.”
The point-of-sale technology, which would target small and midsize businesses and involve NFC and cloud computing, is in beta testing, LG said.
Jin-Yong Kim, vice president for business solutions at LG’s home entertainment division, did not divulge further details about the test or terminal equipment, but he did say LG would integrate NFC technology into other products, such as its interactive televisions and security systems.
LG’s announcement comes on the heels of several new developments on the NFC front.
Last week, Barclaycard and wireless-network operator Everything Everywhere Ltd. announced plans to launch the United Kingdom’s first contactless mobile-payment system (
That plans calls for SIM cards inside mobile devices that would enable consumers to conduct payments at terminals with compatible readers. The handset manufacturers in that project have yet to be identified.
Apple Inc. NFC rumors continue to grow as many observers expect it to include the technology in the iPhone 5 and iPad 2. The company’s product cycle includes new hardware every year, and the timing for those announcements is nearing. Many observers believe Apple will unveil the iPad 2 next week.
Google Inc. has made some moves that indicate it will enter the NFC fray. Nexus S, a smartphone made by Samsung Electronics Ltd. that runs on Google’s Android operating system, has NFC embedded in it, but the chip is not active (
Google in December purchased a Canadian startup named Zetawire Inc., which has filed a patent application for a mobile-payment system.
The joint venture between wireless carriers AT&T Inc., T-Mobile USA Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc., Discover Financial Services and Barclays PLC’s Barclaycard US called Isis reportedly will rely on NFC-enabled phones (
Consumers eventually will have a number of options for NFC mobile payments, but Moussa does not believe that will affect adoption. “Consumers will have loyalty to one product” once the option is available, he says. “They’ll have an affinity to it once they make that choice.”
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