Mobile phones are set to replace physical travel tickets in most European countries and other major parts of the world by as early as 2015, says Juniper Research. This would be made possible by Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
NFC allows users to make transactions that include monetary exchanges. It is a short distance wireless communication technology that requires no physical connection between devices.
“Whether by expansion of SMS and bar code delivery or by NFC, at Juniper we see convenience and choice for users as key advantages of mobile ticketing. It will be 2013 before large numbers of NFC enabled devices are in peoples’ pockets,” said the author of the report, Howard Wilcox.
Classic examples of NFC technology are Delhi Metro’s access card used by passengers, or even office access cards.
The possibilities of NFC are endless and it can be deployed in telecommunication, payments, identity tracking and many other areas.
Currently, NFC payment system is in use only in some countries such as Japan, but its popularity is expected to grow even in countries like India where bar codes and SMS modes of payment are still in use owing to the bigger security risks associated with NFC payments.