NFC set to replace tickets

Mobile phones are set to replace physical travel tickets in most European countries by as early as 2015, according to Juniper Research, reports The Mobile Indian.

This would be made possible by near field communication (NFC) technology, which allows users to make financial transactions using their mobile phones.

Howard Wilcox, analyst and author of the report at Juniper Research says: “Whether by expansion of SMS and barcode delivery or by NFC, at Juniper we see convenience and choice for users as key advantages of mobile ticketing.

“It will be 2013 before large numbers of NFC-enabled devices are in people's pockets.”

According to Juniper Research's Mobile Ticketing for Transport Markets report, the practice of using mobile phones for payment in public transport will spread from its stronghold in Japan to Europe, states RCR Wireless.

The research firm says NFC could quickly reach five times the usage numbers it generated last year.

While SMS ticketing is not new for some of Scandinavia, Central and Eastern Europe, Juniper Research says applications like NFC and mobile barcodes will help spread the technology further.

Many metros across Europe are already installing contactless payment systems, which can be easily used with many newer smartphones, including the Nexus S.

B to B Online reveals that search engine giant Google has been trying to jump-start the NFC market by embedding radio frequency identification chips in its Google Nexus S device.

It also plans to provide NFC support in future versions of its Android platform and is expected to begin NFC trials in New York and San Francisco soon.