I’ve been waiting and waiting for a sign that NFC would take off, when Google Wallet failed to gain traction I wondered what would take its place. Now we have an event to watch, Samsung and Visa have confirmed that the Galaxy S3 will be the official Olympic Games phone. Their plan is to showcase how NFC payments can be integrated into everyday life.
The number of NFC enabled devices has been limited but using this high profile event along side a very popular handset seems like a good combination for showing off the potential of NFC. The S3 will be offered as a limited edition showcase device through the addition of the nascent Visa payWave application.
The phone will be used only by athletes and trialists during the test, and will make use of 140,000 terminals around the capital during the Games, allowing participants to pay for anything from taxis to clothing to gaining entrance to the Olympic Park.
Have security concerns? Visa says that any purchase over £20 will need a passcode to be authorised – so placing a lock on your phone too should allow a good level of security should the handset be lost.
I’m going to be watching this very carefully, if there is no traction after this, all bets are off in my opinion.
Via TechRadar
