NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Google Pay has recently launched a new feature in India, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’, in collaboration with Pine Labs. The feature makes use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
The functionality will allow users with NFC-enabled Android smartphones and UPI (Unified Payments Interface) accounts linked to Google Pay to carry out transactions just by tapping their phones on any Pine Labs Android point-of-sale (POS) terminal across the country.
The process is much faster compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile number which has been the conventional way till now.
In February 2022, Apple introduced Tap to Pay on the iPhone.

NFC and how does it work

NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that allows NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other and transfer information quickly and easily with a single touch – whether to pay bills, exchange business cards, download coupons, or share a document.
NFC transmits data through electromagnetic radio fields, to enable communication between two devices. Both devices must contain NFC chips, as transactions take place within a very short distance.
NFC-enabled devices must be either physically touching or within a few centimetres from each other for data transfer to occur.
In 2004, consumer electronics companies, Nokia, Philips and Sony together formed the NFC Forum, which outlined the architecture for NFC technology to create powerful new consumer-driven products.
Nokia released the first NFC-enabled phone in 2007.

Applications Of NFC Technology

It is used in contactless banking cards to perform money transactions or to generate contact-less tickets for public transport.
Contactless cards and readers use NFC in several applications from securing networks and buildings to monitoring inventory and sales, preventing auto theft, and running unmanned toll booths.
It is present in speakers, household appliances, and other electronic devices that are controlled through smartphones.
It also has an application in healthcare, to monitor patient stats through NFC-enabled wristbands. NFC is used in wireless charging too.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT

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