NFC! It is cool!
By davebirch posted Aug 23 2006 at 12:19 PMTechnorati Tags: cash, contactless, mobile
Overall chip sales are down, but contactless is looking good. Philips Semiconductors shipped 142 million contactless chips last year, up nearly 49% from 2004, according to our friend at Frost & Sullivan, Anoop Ubhey. The majority were MiFare smart memory chips (used by transit operators) but about 13% were contactless microprocessor used for electronic passports, government ID cards and contactless credit or debit cards. But what about our digital money favourite next big thing, NFC?
Well, things look good for NFC, even if it may mean fewer chip sales for KKR (*). Pilots and trials are continuing as far afield as China, where testaments abound. Mr. Xu, a “volunteer consumer” in the China Mobile NFC pilot in Xiamen said: “With the integration of E-Tong Card to my mobile phone, I feel so convenient to make payment. It is cool! I hope it will be put into commercial use soon.” Mr. Xu need not worry: since we are told that the purchase by the KKR consortium will not affect the Philips Semiconductors' strategy or products, including the chips for contactless cards and NFC phones. NFC will, indeed, be put into commercial use soon. (*) The spread of NFC means less overall chip sales because you will use your phone as your contactless debit card, contactless transit card, contactless mobile pre-paid card and so on. Therefore, the phone's NFC chipset may well replace a number of other chips.
I've got a regular KKR visitor on my personal blog. Wonder if he/she ever nips over here?
Posted by: JaneAdams | 23 August 2006 at 10:20 PM