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"NFC"

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Illustration explaining how NFC technology enables contactless payments

HCE

What Is NFC?

NFC, known as Near Field Communication, is a technology that transfers data wirelessly between devices within 10 cm. It is used for data transfer, device pairing, and as the basis of contactless payments.

Contactless NFC payment on an iPhone opened to third-party apps by Apple

Payment Systems

Apple opens NFC payments to third-party apps

Under the EU Digital Markets Act, Apple will let third-party developers in the European Economic Area offer NFC contactless payments inside iOS apps without Apple Pay or Apple Wallet, opening the way for banks and payment services to launch their own tap-to-pay solutions.

NFC near field communication ISO/IEC 18092 illustration

Payment Systems

What Is ISO/IEC 18092/ECMA-340?

NFC is a data transfer technology developed by Sony and Philips in late 2002 and adopted as an ISO/IEC standard in 2003. ISO/IEC 18092/ECMA-340 (NFCIP-1) is one of the two globally accepted NFC standards.

Illustration showing how an Application Identifier (AID) is used in a chip card transaction

EMV

What is an Application Identifier (AID)?

The AID tells the terminal which applications are present on a chip during a POS or ATM transaction. What does the AID do? It lets the terminal determine whether it supports an application on the chip. In Tag 9F06, it is 5-16 digits long.

Illustration of Host Card Emulation (HCE) enabling contactless mobile payments

Online & Authorization

What Is HCE?

HCE lets a mobile device's operating system emulate the cards we use daily (credit, debit, gift cards, etc.) to make contactless payments via NFC. In other words, our phones behave like the cards we use for payments.

Smartphone being used as a mobile POS device for a card payment

Merchant & POS

Mobile Phones Are Turning Into POS Devices

With advances in technology, mobile phones can now be used for many functions besides calls and internet access. One such innovation is the ability to use smartphones or tablets as POS devices.

Diagram illustrating the ISO/IEC 14443 contactless card communication standard

HCE

What Is the ISO/IEC 14443 Standard?

An international standard that defines proximity cards used in Near Field Communication (NFC) and the protocols used to communicate with them. It has 4 parts; Part 4 covers NFC and HCE operations.

Contactless reader device attached to a POS terminal

Merchant & POS

What Is a Contactless Reader?

These are devices connected to a POS terminal that allow fast payments, up to a certain limit, using contactless credit cards or prepaid cards by tapping them on the contactless reader instead of the POS's card reader. Can every POS have a contactless reader attached?

Illustration of digital transformation in payment systems

Merchant & POS

How Digital Are You in Payment Systems?

Digitalization has brought major change to payment systems, just as it has to every area of our lives. Its biggest impact has been turning the financial world into something virtual, spanning IoT, mobile payments, blockchain and biometrics.