Mobey Forum Makes A Case for NFC Payments

The industry association has developed a white paper outlining what needs to happen to make NFC payments a global reality.

Mobey Forum, a bank-led industry association focused on mobile financial services, has released a white paper titled "Business Models for NFC Payments." The document suggests that contactless mobile payments using near field communication (NFC) will become a reality due to customer demand and offers an analysis of various business models for implementing NFC technology for point of sale (POS) transactions.

Banks, payment schemes and financial services companies that contributed to the white paper include American Express, CellPoint Mobile, European Payments Council, ING, "la Caixa," NCR, Nokia, Nordea, Royal Bank of Scotland and Visa.

The white paper establishes key factors to consider when selecting NFC technology and explores possible implementation approaches to help readers figure out which solutions meet their needs. Also included in the document is a gap analysis that addresses issues such as technical interoperability, establishing defined certification processes, and other items the industry still needs to achieve to make widespread NFC implantation a reality.

Mobey Forum says it ultimately aims speed up the development and use of NFC technology for payments. "During our work we established that it is possible to define the business case for any implementation model by examining factors such as revenues and expenditures, costs relating to issuing processes and lifecycle management, and recognizing other key benefits such as customer retention. This will speed up and inspire confidence in the decision-making process," explains Jordi Guaus, chair of the Mobey Forum Business Workgroup and head of mobile payments at "la Caixa."

The white paper is available for free download on the Mobey Forum website.