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Details emerge on Cingular's NFC plans
We'd previously noticed that Cingular was collaborating with Citigroup on some sort of mobile payment system in New York City, though details were pretty slim for the picking at the time; now the carrier has come out with full disclosure on exactly what it is they have up their sleeves. Like its Atlanta trial last year, the New York program involves Nokia handsets fitted with NFC (near-field communication) guts -- though for the sake of the trial participants, we hope Cingular is offering something a little more up-to-date than the lowly 3220 this time around. Unlike Atlanta, however, Cingular has switched up their financial partner from Chase / Visa to Citi / Mastercard, giving users the ability to use their phone for payment anywhere Mastercard's PayPass system is accepted. Parties involved expect the trial to last a total of three to six months, at which point we should all have a better perspective on how folks feel about shedding cash by tapping their cellphones against various surfaces. Of course, Japan seems to like it just fine -- so why not us?
Jton's MobiWallet RFID SIMs
As long as we're sitting about twiddling our thumbdrives waiting for one of those ubiquitous, near-field cellphone payment systems used by some more advanced societies for years, we might as well check out the options right? Enter MobiWallet from Jton Systems which combines SIM cards and a refillable, RFID debit payment system to make quick work of public transport and double-half-caff transactions. Start by defining a minimum balance and refill amount. The phone then ensures that you never leave home without by comparing the RFID balance with your minimum threshold and automatically negotiating a refill with the MobiWallet server when necessary. Great, now we just need a provider to go ahead and replace existing SIMs with RFID integrated cards and we're all set -- riiight. Combine with the RFID blocking wallet and voila, an infinite loop with seating for one.
SanDisk and Philips team for mobile payments
Philips has been peddling its SmartMX contactless payment system for a while, but things are really looking up now that SanDisk wants to get in the game. They're now working with Philips to include the SmartMX tech in their TrustedFlash microSD cards, allowing any phone with a microSD slot to make payments. The details are a bit slim, but it looks like you would have to buy TrustedFlash cards loaded with "credits" in order to make payments, which frankly doesn't sound like much of a step towards convenience for consumers, but rather a boon to SanDisk and Philips who will no doubt be taking a cut. However it works out, the industry is clearly marching towards contactless and phone-based payments, let's just hope it works out as an actual plus for the people who are carrying around the phones and making the contactless payments.[Via Gadget Review]
iPod plus iTrip = FM payment system?
Ok I realize innovation is great and all, but innovation with a purpose is even better. Unfortunately, this new "iPod-based payment system" that Engadget found doesn't quite seem to reach the "hey I'd use that!" mark.Ingenico, a French company, has devised a way of embedding payment information in an MP3, and they're even working on boarding passes and biometric information. Now I don't know much about the inner workings of FM, but isn't it a broadcast technology? Meaning: wouldn't anyone be able to receive anything you transmit out through your iTrip?Minor complications aside, at least Ingenico recognizes the pointlessness of this, as stated in a press release: "While this demonstration may not be a sign of what the future holds, it certainly proves Ingenico's ability to innovate for the benefit of its current and future customers." Translation: "This is completely useless but hey, aint we%uFFFD cool?" Hopefully, we won't hear anything like this out of Apple again anytime soon (*ahem*, ROKR).
