You have probably heard of NFC before but what exactly is NFC? NFC is a wireless technology mainly used in contactless payment systems like Android Pay and Samsung Pay. In this post we answer some of the frequently asked questions about NFC.
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What is NFC?
NFC stands for Near Field Communication. As the name suggests, it enables short range wireless communication between compatible devices. One of the devices acts as a transmitting device (Active) and another receives the signal (Passive). Passive NFC devices include tags and other small transmitters. These devices can send information to other devices without the need of a power source of their own. However, they can’t connect to other passive components or process information from active devices. They take the form of interactive signs on walls or advertisement.
Active devices can both send and receive data, and communicate with passive devices as well. The most common active NFC device is a smartphone. Other examples of NFC technology are transport card readers and touch payment terminals.
How Does NFC Work?
Just like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other forms of wireless communication networks, NFC uses radio waves to send information. NFC is another standard for wireless data transfer. This means that all its devices must adhere to certain specifications.
The development of NFC was based on the older RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. RFID used electromagnetic induction to transmit information. This is one of the major differences between NFC and Bluetooth/Wi-Fi. NFC can be used to induce electric currents within components and send data. This is why passive devices don’t need their own power supply. They are powered by the electromagnetic field created by the active NFC device when it comes into range.
Can NFC Charge Smartphones?
Unfortunately no, NFC doesn’t command enough inductance to charge a smartphone. However, QI wireless charging technology is based on the same principle.
What Is NFC Transmission Frequency?
NFC transmits data at 13.56 megahertz at speeds of either106, 212, or 424 kilobits per second. You can use NFC to send contact information, images, music, texts, and so forth.
What Are The Modes of Operation of NFC?
NFC has three modes of operation. The most common is the peer- to peer mode. This allows two NFC enabled devices to exchange data with each other. The two devices switch between active when sending data and passive when receiving data.
The second mode is the read/write mode. Here, data transmission is one way. The active device such as your smartphone connects with the other device to read information from it. Actions by simply bumping or tapping your smartphone close to a NFC tag. This mode allows you to trigger An example is NFC advert tags.
The last mode of operation is the host card emulation mode. These devices act as contactless credit cards and are used for making payments. The phone sends information to the NFC device e.g. a ticket validation kiosk.
How Does NFC Compare with Bluetooth?
It is easy to think that NFC is less relevant than Bluetooth because it is not as widely used. However, there are technical differences between these devices that give NFC technology an advantage. One of the major advantages of NFC over Bluetooth is that it requires much less power consumption. This makes NFC ideal for passive devices such as advertising tags which can operate without a major power source.
However, NFC also has its drawbacks. Its range of transmission is much shorter than Bluetooth. NFC has a range of 0nly 10 cm. On the other hand, Bluetooth can transmit signals to 10 meters or more from the source (depending on the device Bluetooth class).
Another drawback is that NFC is slower than Bluetooth. NFC transmits data at a maximum speed of424 kbit/s. Bluetooth transmits data at much higher speeds.
One major advantage NFC has over Bluetooth is faster connectivity. The use of inductive coupling and absence of manual pairing makes NFC devices to connect faster. Although modern Bluetooth connects pretty fast, NFC is still faster, making it ideal for mobile payments.
How Does NFC Interact with My device?
When you using your NFC enabled smartphone near another NFC device or NFC tag, a communication link will be established between the two devices. For your smartphone to send and interpret NFC signals, you need to have an app that handles the communication process such as NFC tag readers and mobile wallets.
How does the app know what an NFC Signal Means?
Depending on the purpose of the tag, you can use your NFC device to download information, claim an offer, or even make a payment. The app reads and identifies the incoming signal then displays a message from an online source.
How Far DO NFC Signals Reach?
NFC has a very short range (around 4 cm). At most times, you are required to physically tap your smartphone to the other device. In other instances, bringing your NFC smartphone a few centimeters of the device is enough.
What are some Examples of NFC Mobile Payments?
Mobile payments is a quickly expanding technology. NFC has made it to expand further. Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay use NFC technology.
What is an NFC Tag?
NFC tags are postage sized stickers that with soft circuits. They are also known as smart tags or info tags and have architecture similar to RFID tags. Both have a storage memory and a radio chip attached to an antenna. The difference is that NFC tags are programmed to work with NFC systems. These tags generate power from the other device’s radio waves when another NFC tag is brought into proximity thanks to magnetic induction. This means that they do not need batteries or wires. However they require that the other device to be capable of generating and interpreting radio signals.
What are the Different Types of NFC Tags?
There are five flavors of NFC tags. Type 1 to 5. All have different capacities, read/write capability and transfer speeds. NFC tags with higher memory have larger antennas and are bigger in physical size. Speed and memory capacity dictate cost.
Type 1 tags have a storage capacity of 93 bytes to 2 kilobytes at speeds of 106 Kbps. Type 4 has been the biggest with a storage capacity of up to 32 KB and speeds of up to 424 Kbps. Type 5 have a storage capacity of 64 bytes and have speeds of 26.58 Kbps.
All NFC tags are read only, however, type 1,2, and 3 can be rewritten. Although they can be rewritten several times they can also be blocked so that they can’t be overwritten.
How Does NFC Compare with EMV?
Both NFC and EMV are secure methods of payment. Both are encrypted to protect against counterfeiting. So, how are they different? NFC is mainly associated with mobile contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, while EMV is associated with chip card payments. The world is moving away from magnetic stripe cards to the use of chip cards. This is because chips cards are more secure than magnetic stripe cards. Countries using EMV chip cards have seen a great reduction in credit card fraud.
If you are a business owner, you need to set up an EMV point of sale terminal. A better alternative is to get a point of sale terminal that accepts both EMV and NFC.
Is NFC Secure?
NFC is secure making it one of the safest mobile payment platforms. They are more secure even than magnetic stripe cards. Data on a magnetic stripe card is static. It’s right there on the back of the card. On the other hand, NFC data is dynamic as it is always changing. For instance, Apple Pay mobile payment uses tokenization technique to keep your bank details safe. Here’s how it works.
When you load a picture of your credit card into your smartphone, Apple sends your bank information to your card issuing bank. The bank then replaces the bank details with a randomly generated number (token). The bank then sends the random number back to Apple. Apple then programs these token to your phone making it difficult for hackers to steal your private information.
What makes Apple Pay more secure is that before any Apple Pay transaction initiates, you must use your fingerprint to unlock your phone. So, no one can access your data when they steal your device. Not all iPhones are equipped with Touch ID. This is why Apple Pay only works with the latest versions.
Can NFC Be Hacked?
Just like any other digital technology, NFC can be hacked. All it takes is a hacking guru. As you use NFC more, you need to be aware of the risks you are taking while using it. One risk rests with NFC tags. For example, NFC tags in promotional movie posters direct you to a film trailer. However, hackers can reprogram these tags for their own use by breaking the tag’s encryption and embedding it with their malicious code. So, instead of watching the trailer, your phone sends personal information to an unknown device via text or other communication service.
There are also security risks when buying groceries at a store and you want to use your NFC smartphone to redeem your loyalty points. The store system has to identify you and record your purchasing history for targeted advertising later. There is no guarantee that such stores can’t sell your information to third party businesses.
You need to take precautions to keep your data safe. Don’t use any NFC tags that aren’t protected by glass or plastic. NFC tags that swing freely in public places are likely to be interfered with. When tapping on an NFC tag, carefully watch the action the tags prompts. If you find something suspicious such as browser pop ups, stop the transaction. Additionally, don’t tap phones to exchange information via NFC with people you don’t trust. Some hackers can use this opportunity to transfer spyware to your phone.
As you wait for software developers to add layers of password protection to their NFC devices, stay ahead of the game by making yourself a harder target. Stay up to date on potential security threats. Like with any other technology, personal security is paramount. So learning more about NFC security threats could help protect your private information.
What are the Benefits of using NFC?
NFC has a myriad of benefits. Here are some of them:
- Cashless payment
NFC allows you to leave your wallet at home because it gives your smartphone the ability to remember your credit/debit card details. The idea of contactless payment is secure and ideal especially during this era of Covid-19.
- NFC Transactions are Faster
Although EMV chips are more secure than magnetic stripe cards, these transactions are slow. The transactions are slow because the EMV chips have to communicate to ensure that everything checks out correctly. However, you can notice this lag time especially if you are waiting in a line. On the other hand NFC transactions take just seconds. If you are a business owner you will definitely prefer NFC payments because fast transactions mean more sales.
- Smart door Key
When staying in a hotel, you can store your door key information in your phone. This means you won’t ever leave your hotel room without your key.
- Transport Pass
NFC allows using your phone as a pass for use on transport systems. You just need to swipe your phone across the NFC reader just like you do with the already existing contactless travel cards.
- Exchanging Business Cards
NFC has made exchanging business cards easier. You only need to put your phones in close proximity and let the phones do the transfer.
- NFC Conserves Battery
Apart from NFC, other technologies such as Bluetooth allow communicating with the point of service system. However, the main advantage of NFC is that it uses less power to complete the transaction. This makes it ideal for merchants who are worried about their devices getting drained off because of numerous transactions.
- NFC Transactions are Secure
When sending payments when using mobile payment platforms such as Apple Pay, you are sure that your bank details can’t leak. The tokenization technique makes it difficult for fraudsters to get your bank details because it is challenging to isolate and extract the data. Besides you need to use your fingerprint to authenticate any transactions. Fraudsters can’t replicate your fingerprint.
- Redeeming Loyalty Points
Your loyalty to a business is important. You can use NFC to redeem customer loyalty points in your favorite store.
- For GPS
Location aware apps could also make use of NFC technology. You can hold your phone to a system reader and let your phone tell your friends where you are.
- Sharing Information
You can also use NFC to send photos , videos and website links to your friends or family.
What Devices Support NFC?
NFC technology is equipped in many devices. Most Android and the latest iPhone models have NFC. Until recently, Apple restricted the use of NFC to making purchases. However, the latest iPhones support NFC tags through the Launch Center Pro app. All devices running on Android 4.0 or more are NFC enabled. This allows exchanging any kind of data including webpages, YouTube videos, and contact information. Make sure you enable Android Beam on your Android device before you can use this feature. To use the Beam feature, you need to place your smartphone near another device with an NFC chip. You will receive a notification asking you if you want to communicate with the detected device.
Can NFC Be Used to Spy?
Smartphones play an important role in a lot of people’s lives. Although they are mainly marketed as phones, there are not used for making phone calls and sending texts alone. You can use your smartphone for social networking and even to control your home equipment. With all the features your smartphone has, it can be used to spy on you. Some of this spying occurs because you willingly enabled some feature and some can be done without your knowledge.
One way hackers can spy on you is by installing malicious software on your device using NFC. This is common in smartphones running on Android 8.0 Oreo or newer versions that allow them to install malicious software using the phone’s NFC.
As a convention, when using NFC in Android devices you will receive a notification, which asks you if you want to install an app from an unknown source. However, it’s been discovered that smartphones running on Android Oreo and the latest Android versions don’t show this notification. Instead, they show a prompt that allow users to install the app using a single tap. Android security deems any app installed from an unknown source as untrusted. If you want to install an app received using Bluetooth or NFC, you will have to do so manually using the phone’s setting.
Is NFC safer than Credit Cards?
The use of contactless credit cards and mobile payments is on the rise. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic it is a good idea to adopt contactless credit cards. With the increased awareness about touching less stuff, may be its tome to embrace mobile payments. Contactless payment facilitate swift transaction and helps avoid tedious lines and unpleasant ticket officers.
Using NFC powered mobile payment services like Apple Pay is much safer than swiping a card with a magnetic stripe. This explains why there is a drop in credit card fraud. As explained earlier, this technology generates a random token which serve as your bank details. Hackers can’t use the details to log into your account, making it much safer.
Should I Turn NFC On?
If you frequently use NFC, you will want to turn it on and off. However if you don’t regularly use it, then it’s better to keep it disabled. It could save some battery life. Turning NFC off varies with the device that you are using.
Conclusion
NFC has immense benefits and advanced features. This makes it become more and more popular. Don’t be surprised if contactless payments become the new norm. NFC is a secure, fast and convenient way of making payment that every business owner needs to adopt. This was all about NFC payments. I hope that you found this article informative. If you are looking forward to more informative pieces, then keep reading this space.
