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NFC could get a big upgrade with Multi-Purpose Tap
- The NFC Multi-Purpose Tap concept aims to combine payments with other interactions, such as adding loyalty points, sending electronic receipts, and age authentication, all within a single contactless transaction.
- This concept is still in its ideation stage, but the NFC Forum believes adoption will be quick, given that many users are already familiar with NFC technology.
- The NFC Multi-Purpose Tap concept is expected to enhance the usability and functionality of contactless transactions and create more personalized consumer experiences.
The NFC Forum has recently published its first overview of a new concept, the NFC Multi-Purpose Tap (via Business Wire). This concept will deliver more value to customers and businesses by combining NFC payments with other interactions in the same contactless transaction.
If and when this concept is launched, tapping to make a contactless payment at a store could automatically add loyalty points to one’s account and send an electronic receipt of the transaction to the user’s email. Similarly, a person’s age can be authenticated directly through the NFC app when making age-restricted purchases.
What’s more, this emerging concept can simplify travel by automatically applying the right amount of taxes and concessions to transactions and allowing users to quickly and securely validate their tickets with a single tap. A PDF shared by the NFC Forum also notes that the concept could drive initiatives like Digital Product Passports, which would allow users to receive data about the composition and sustainability of different products on their devices when they tap to pay.
This concept, although still in its ideation stage, is expected to improve the functionality of contactless transactions and help create customized consumer experiences in every interaction. The NFC Forum, which is headed by a standards body comprised of Apple, Google, Identiv, HUAWEI, Infineon, Qualcomm, NXP, Sony, and ST Microelectronics, believes that the implementation of this new concept will be seamless, given that most people are already comfortable using NFC technology for payments.
Although this new concept is an advancement in NFC technology, there is a possibility that not every user will find it appropriate, given that it introduces a few privacy concerns. For instance, the NFC Forum’s PDF notes that the concept could “trigger specific, targeted marketing communications,” which could indicate some level of data sharing between businesses and advertisers. That said, only time will tell how users will react to the concept and any possible privacy concerns it brings on.