For NFC, Success Depends on Magical Experiences

(Oct 26 2011) 4G , Mobile Money , NFC

1. Every industry needs a killer app. For electricity, it was the lightbulb. For the Internet, it was e-mail. But what will be the killer app for near field communication (NFC)? That was the topic addressed by Osama Bedier, VP of payments at Google, during his keynote at 4G World 2011’s NFC Forum. 

   The answer may just be payments, he said, but it won’t be payments alone. Bedier took issue with the current state of NFC affairs in which players are releasing competing initiatives (like Google Wallet vs. the carrier-run Isis) and squabbling over arcane technology issues like the best place for the secure element (be it on a chip, SIM card, etc.). Only if the industry can collaborate enough to ensure that mobile payments—together with mobile shopping, coupons, loyalty programs, and more—deliver consumers what he terms “magical experiences” will NFC truly take off and see success.

   “Magical moments are the ones that save consumers time and money,” Bedier said, and what NFC has going for it is the magical ability for users to simply tap their device to another device (or poster, or object) and receive an instance response and an instant connection. “The number of devices will reach tens of billions, and every one of those devices will connect to the Internet,” he said. “There is no better technology to connect these devices today than NFC.”

   He said that Google, with Wallet, is dedicated to showcasing the best experiences it can but is also trying to foster the kind of openness that will let the ecosystem leverage all aspects of NFC. “We want to learn, iterate and eventually help stitch the experiences together to create something truly magical.” If that means that merchants and consumers use Wallet to exchange information among themselves—and use Google simply as the conduit—that’s OK too, he says. 

   “We’re in an age where consumers are in control, and they will decide what technologies win and what don’t,” he said. “Our aim is to showcase the possibilities and highlight the benefits for consumers, merchants, everyone.”

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