O2 now ready to announce NFC support

The CEO of O2 UK, Ronan Dunne, has stated the company is now ready to utilize the NFC technology, but they would rather wait until it´s become more widespread and supported by a larger number of manufacturers and store chains. NFC is a technology that allows wireless exchange of encrypted information over a relatively small distance. For an instance, it enables people to use their cell phones to pay for relatively inexpensive items (say bus tickets, parking fees etc)

Actually, O2 UK tested the new technology back in 2007 with the help of about 500 of their customers and assistance from Barclays bank. It seems the result was posititve and the majority liked the idea. The current banking partner of the carrier is NatWest, but involvement of other banks is quite likely when the company has finally decided to embark on NFC.

To get everything set, however, the support of a single carrier and one financial institution is not nearly enough. What is needed, above all, is an increased supply of NFC-capable devices on the market and sufficient number of NFC till terminals, installed in major stores and retail outlets. As a matter of fact, NFC has been part of the plans of quite many cell phone manufacturers, so we think we will be able to use our handsets for paying bills really soon.

source: mobile news