Singapore To Become NFC Enabled Country

23 August 2012, Singapore – Earlier this month, Gemalto lead a consortium which includes partners Citibank, DBS, EZ Link, SingTel, M1, and StarHub to announce that it was ready to launch mobile payment services using the Near Field Communications (NFC) Technology.  Yesterday,  telco M1 announced that NFC payments are accepted at all M1 Shops.

The consortium is supported by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore to implement an interoperable NFC infrastructure that is hosted in Gemalto’s Trusted Services Management data centre in Singapore.

What is NFC?

The infographic below by Gemalto gives a pretty easy to understand explanation of what NFC is and how it works through a day in the life of a Mobile NFC user.  Click on the image to expand.

Roles of the Consortium Members

Gemalto Pte Ltd – Develop the Trusted Third Party (TTP) infrastructure to enable service providers and mobile operators to connect to, for deployment of NFC related services through a neutral channel.

Citibank Singapore Limited – Contribute to the development of a vibrant and secure NFC mobile payments environment in Singapore.

DBS Bank Ltd – Innovate and work with partners in the consortium on convenient and secure mobile payment options.

EZ-Link Pte Ltd – Work with Gemalto and Mobile Network Operators to provide mobile users with a contactless e-purse that allows for the various EZ-Link functions and features to be embedded into an NFC-enabled handset and utilised across all existing and new EZ-Link acceptance points.

M1 Limited – Work with partners to offer NFC products and services ranging from loyalty, couponing, ticketing, smart posters and others as well as to introduce a variety of NFC-enabled devices.

SingTel – Work with banks, payment service providers and handset manufacturers to introduces a wide range of NFC services and mobile devices.  SingTel will develop their own as well as with third party applications for NFC deployment.

StarHub – Collaborate with payment and non-payment service providers to create a host of unique NFC payment and lifestyle services for mobile customers as well as offer NFC-enabled handsets and deices to customers.

Where Can I Use NFC?

At service launch, you can use your NFC-enabled smartphones to tap and pay at over 30,000 retail points including convenience stores, fast food outlets, retailers as well as contactless PS terminals equipped taxis.    In future, you can also aggregate different loyalty programmes and discount coupons on a single mobile phone platform.

How Secure Are NFC Payments?

These new contactless payment services, NFC infrastructure, SIM cards and handsets have gone through certifications by international payment schemes including MasterCard and Visa as well as by industry standards bodies such as GlobalPlatform and EMVCo.

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