Philips, SK Telecom to Test NFC in Seoul

Kuhrt says it will expand the pilot to include other uses for the phones—for example, paying for transit fare and gaining access to the underground rail system—as well as allowing users to make purchases at NFC-enabled stores. These transactions will then be charged to their credit card accounts. Select retailers will have payment terminals equipped with RFID interrogators so participants can pay at checkout by waving their NFC-enabled phones near the terminals.

"We hope to get consumer feedback," she says. "In the meantime, it is a good opportunity to demonstrate the flexibility of NFC technology. We have already had major trials in the United States and Europe. Having this trial in Korea shows that this is a global solution."

Earlier this year, Philips completed a deployment in Hanau, Germany, involving the Public Transport Authority, Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund (the public transport authority for the greater Frankfurt), Nokia and Vodafone. In this pilot, NFC-enabled Nokia phone technology was utilized for electronic bus tickets and discount cards at some retail sites (see Bus Riders in Hanau Use RFID to Go). Philips is also piloting an NFC system at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, in which ticket holders can buy goods at the concession stands and download content from NFC-tag-embedded posters with their cellular phones (see Sports Fans Use RFID to Pay and Play).

Contactless payment solutions are expected to become more common globally. An ABI Research study, "Cards Today, Phones Tomorrow: Contactless Payment's Migration to NFC-enabled Devices," found that by 2010, more than 50 percent of cellular handsets—approximately 500 million units—will incorporate NFC capabilities. Japan and South Korea, however, lead the world in adoption of contactless payments, according to another ABI Research study, "Contactless Payment Markets in Japan and South Korea."

In Japan, financial services, transportation and mobile service companies have implemented RFID-enabled payment solutions. FeliCa-based smart-card payment solutions have been installed in mobile handsets, allowing their use as credit cards, prepaid e-money, transit cards and identification for entrance management.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, SKTelecom's collaboration with Korean mobile operator KTF in South Korea has led to the creation of a Universal Subscriber Identification Module (USIM) that integrates a 13.56 MHz smart-card solution into a cell phone so the device can be used for such tasks as banking, riding public transportation, carrying out stock transactions and purchasing goods and services.