Agility is key to success in today’s economic environment. Enterprises, banks, retailers, transport companies and mobile network operators all need to be react instantly to market changes; and consumers need to be able to do more work in less time. With Mobile World Congress just a few days away, we look at how mobile technologies – and NFC in particular – are helping both brands and individuals to achieve the agility they require.
Launching new mobile services and payment solutions is essential for banks, retailers and transport operators who want to cash in on the rise of mobility. Both businesses and consumers alike are demanding services via mobile channels because of the associated convenience. Gartner suggests that the mobile wallet will dominate 2015, while Wireless Smartphone Strategies estimates global smartphone users will approach 2.5 billion. Hardly surprising as they are after-all everyone’s favorite device, acting as our portal to everything we might need in the palm of our hand. According to an infographic from Frontrage, 66% of us say we couldn’t last a day without it.
However launching these kind of services can be complex because of the sheer number of networks, devices and operating systems which need to be incorporated. These, together with the many different security frameworks make the mobile ecosystem very fragmented.
Gemalto’s Trusted Service Hub has been created specifically to address this fragmentation. It means that service providers of all kinds can launch new mobile services and payment solutions quickly, efficiently and securely to as many users as they see fit. TSH has been designed to defragment the market and to maximize end user reach, supporting the most comprehensive security frameworks in the market. It is ready to use today! You can see more about how it works in this video.
Making travel more convenient is particularly important for busy professionals trying to squeeze as much of the working day as possible. The average commuter spends a year of their life travelling to and from work. And there is nothing more frustrating than losing your wallet, having to queue for the ticket machine or trying to translate purchasing instructions in a foreign city when you’re in a rush to get to an important business meeting.
Advances in NFC for Transport mean that commuters and tourists can use their NFC enabled mobile or bank card as a contactless transport ticket. Their transit pass can be stored digitally on their mobile phone and easily topped up anytime, anywhere. During any journey, passengers simply tap their mobile device on an NFC reader at the ticket barrier, or when boarding their train or bus. Travelers will be able to conveniently download, use and reload transport ticketing applications from many capital cities. NFC payments are already proving incredibly successful in London, where Transport for London saw one million contactless journeys in just the first month after launch.
These are just some of the agility-enabling NFC solutions we’ll be showcasing at our Mobile World Congress stand. Come down and see us in Hall 5, stand 5A80.
