Apple makes mobile payment plans

Apple could be making plans for a big role in mobile near field communications (NFC) with the hiring of NFC expert Benjamin Vigier as its product manager of mobile commerce, reports Computerworld.

Future iPhones and other Apple devices could be converted to mobile wallets, allowing users to quickly pass or tap a phone over a receiver using the NFC short-range wireless specification.

According to Gartner, mobile payments will reach the mainstream in 2012, when 3% of all mobile device users will be making mobile payments.

HID Global has extended its radio frequency and identification (RFID) business to the North American market and has appointed David Chose to establish a sales organisation focused on the US and Canada, states RFID News.

Chose, has more than 10 years of sales and system implementation experience in the RFID industry at companies including Omron, CCL Label and Texas Instruments.

HID Global's new product portfolio includes RFID tags for a wide field of industries and applications, adding several solutions which feature a broadband self-resonance frequency, which supports North American frequency requirements.

The transport ministry in India plans to equip vehicle license plates with RFID chips, says The Times of India.

India transport minister, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil says tenders are being floated to procure the technology for embedding chips on number plates across Mumbai. It will help traffic police to identify cars that are speeding and violating the law.

The micro-chip will store data of the car owner, including registration details and chassis number. It can be scanned using chip-readers from a distance of up to 300 feet (91 metres).