IDTechEx Report: NFC, RFID, Contactless Cards

The number of RFID-enabled phones sold annually will grow from 134 million this year to 860 million ten years from now, which should increase demand for numerous types of automatic identification and cashless services, according the research firm. That number excludes NFC-embedde phones.

NFC holds the promise of bringing hassle-free mobile interoperability to consumer electronics in an intuitive way since devices can electronically communicate only when brought close together. The report emphasis the number of mobile phones in the world will increase from about one billion in 2008 to nearly two billion by 2018, considering consumers replace them every year or so.

The report details about 40 trials around the world, including Austria, Australia, China, France, Ireland, Singapore, Korea, and the United States. Most test payment functions. They find people like the convenience of not having to carry a wallet or cash. Regardless of age, however, some fear having too many functions in one item so life becomes impossible when it fails or is stolen, according to IDTechEx

There is a limit to what trials can prove, particularly with old equipment and few users. The trials typically involve between 50 and 300 users. There are a few examples of what are called "limited rollouts" outside Japan, an example being the giant telco China Mobile putting NFC phones on sale in Xiamen, Guangzhou and Beijing. These are preloaded with a transit purse and they can also be used in some stores, there being 100 merchants accepting them in Xiamen at the end of 2007, the report notes.

The report also calls attention to other significant "limited rollouts:"
-- RMV's "Contag" transport scheme in Frankfurt, Germany -- BART Transit ticketing in San Francisco, United States -- "Payez Mobile" payments involving multiple banks, telcos and retailers in Caen and Strasbourg, France -- "O2 Wallet" payment and transport scheme in London -- Taiwan mobile payments " multiple telco's and banks