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If you have already paid by Contactless bank card or directly with your phone, so you already know NFC technology! But what is NFC and how can you take advantage of it in your daily life?
For example, this technology is used to share contact details using a NFC business card, contactless payments and there are many other applications that can make your life easier.
Let's see together what the advantages are and especially how to activate it on your phone.
The NFC (Near Field Communication) is part of the family of technologies RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification). It allows wireless communication to be established at a very short distance between two devices equipped with NFC technology, like two smartphones Or a smartphone and a label NFC.
This communication is done by magnetic induction, at a frequency of 13.56 MHz, over a maximum distance of 10 cm (optimal distance of 4 cm). The NFC differs from the RFID by this very limited scope, the RFID able to communicate over much greater distances.
NFC technology was developed in the late 1990s by Sony and Philips. It is based on the ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa standards used in contactless smart cards.
The first NFC-enabled smartphones appeared in 2006, but it wasn't until the arrival of Apple Pay in 2014 that NFC saw real mainstream adoption for mobile payments. Since then, the number of NFC applications has continued to grow, from ticketing to access badges to connected business cards.
Today, NFC is present in the majority of high-end and mid-range smartphones. Manufacturers of connected objects are also increasingly integrating it to facilitate their pairing. Thanks to its ease of use and its reinforced security, NFC has a bright future ahead of it to continue to simplify our daily lives.
But in concrete terms, what is the point?
NFC can be used via various media, both using smart cards, such as bank cards or connected business cards, but also directly with your mobile phone (Android or Apple).
When it comes to NFC, the best known application is still contactless payment.
NFC revolutionized mobile payment at first thanks to contactless bank cards, then by allowing in recent years (2016 for Apple Pay) to use your phone directly to pay.
NFC compatible bank cards display a small symbol that is quite similar to WiFi.
More and more public transport networks offer contactless validation thanks to the NFC. All you have to do is present your map Or sound smartphone equipped with the dedicated application in front of the validator to access public transport.
It is also possible to pay your ticket contactlessly with your smartphone on the validation terminal directly. This technology has been implemented in cities like Lyon.
In Île-de-France, the Navigo Pass uses NFC, and it is even possible to recharge it by placing it on the back of your smartphone. In this case, the phone acts as an NFC transmitter.
The NFC also makes it possible to open secure access doors, such as those in offices or car parks. The badge The access point is then replaced by a smartphone Or a map compatible NFC.
NFC is also used for anti-theft devices. Simply add a tag to the label of a garment, if it is not deactivated at the checkout then you will ring the bell when passing the security gates.
NFC can be used to transfer connection data between a smartphone and an accessory. It has become common for Bluetooth headsets to offer an NFC pairing mode, which makes it possible to avoid going through more tedious settings menus.
Generally, all you have to do is place the NFC area of the accessory directly on the back of the phone, a notification then appears on the smartphone to confirm the association between the two devices. It's easier than putting both devices into Bluetooth pairing mode and confirming security codes.
While NFC makes life easier for us with payment systems, there are other extremely useful uses, especially for diabetics.
Using NFC-enabled devices, patients can measure their blood sugar levels by simply bringing their smartphone close to a sensor implanted in their arm, equipped with an NFC reader.
This method simplifies and speeds up the process of controlling blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of errors and data loss, without having to do a prick every time.
Les NFC business cards are revolutionizing professional exchanges by allowing you to share your contact details with a simple gesture. No more tedious manual entries on the smartphone of the other person!
All you have to do is present your NFC business card so that the information is instantly displayed on the recipient's screen.
These connected business cards are often made of metal, wood or PVC and incorporate a NFC chip as well as a QR code.
They allow you to link to a complete digital profile, with contact details, social networks, the website, promotional content, etc.
Les NFC business cards offer several significant advantages:
They also offer the possibility of generating leads by automatically retrieving the contact details of the person who scans the map.
Solutions like Cardynale also allow the management of an entire fleet of NFC business cards for a team, with the updating of global information, the respect of the graphic charter and even the centralization of all meetings to integrate them into its CRM for example.
For about twenty euros, it is possible to get a Cardynale NFC business card.
One smartphone allows you to use the NFC according to three main categories, each with different uses:
Your smartphone can act as a payment card or an access card.
For example, when you bring your phone close to a payment terminal, it issues payment information to complete the transaction.
Likewise, to access a secure office, all you need to do is present your phone in front of the NFC reader.
In this mode, the smartphone Read information from a label NFC. This can be used to access digital content. For example, by bringing your phone close to an NFC tag placed on a product, you can get detailed information about the product, such as customer reviews or user instructions.
It is this mode of operation that is exploited by NFC business cards, NFC loyalty cards or any other smart card.
This mode allows data, such as contacts or files, to be exchanged between two compatible devices. NFC by bringing them closer together.
This transfer mode is very limited on iPhones (Apple requires), but has been extensively tested by Android, in particular with Android Beam which stopped working in 2019 to make way for Quick Share, which instead uses Wifi and Bluetooth for data transfer.
In summary, NFC technology offers numerous opportunities to simplify and improve daily life.
It makes it possible to pay without contact, to validate tickets, to control access to secure doors, and even to control blood sugar levels for diabetics.
NFC business cards offer a new way of connecting, allowing information to be shared quickly and without contact, a good way to avoid wasting paper business cards.
This innovative technology brings a lot of features, so take advantage of it and activate NFC on your mobile phone.
