NFC: Near Field Communication

          The NFC technology

     NFC technology for (Near Field Communication) together we will see the main uses of NFC, including mobile payments, public transport, and file sharing. 

     NFC is an evolution of RFID technology; NFC enables secure wireless connectivity between two devices, with associated data exchange.

     NFC technology, applied to a smartphone or tablet, allows: the exchange of information between two devices, totally secure and fast, simply by approaching each other (via peer-to-peer); make fast and secure payments with mobile phones (via HCE).

           The main interests of the NFC

     Mobile payment

       With today's bank cards you can already pay without contact by simply approaching the payment terminal and then the transaction is carried out without inserting the card and entering its code.

Nowadays with an NFC compatible smartphone, you can do exactly the same thing it's just that you replace the credit card by a smartphone and that's very practical when you forget the wallet at home for example, but can everyone benefit from it? It depends on your bank and the application you use.

     For example, on compatible iPhones, you have Apple pay, which has been available for quite a long time and is compatible with a large number of banks.

On the relatively new Samsung smartphones, you have Samsung pay, and more generally on Android, you also have google pay, but on these two services, the list of compatible banks is less important than on Apple pay. 

Another important difference between these three services, on Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay, you must use Face ID or fingerprint reader to make a transaction regardless of the amount while on google play, it is mandatory only if you exceed 30 euros.

There's also PayLib, which is a service created by a group of French banks but here again, it's a little complicated because, for example, the general society has not integrated it in the same way as the postal bank or the agricultural credit, so the experience you will have will vary depending on who you are with.

          NFC is public transportation?

      At the moment, in the Paris region, the Ile-de-France mobility network is experimenting with NFC, precisely to replace the metro ticket or the Navigo pass by a smartphone, you arrive at the terminal, take out your phone and that's it.

    For now, it only works with Android smartphones with an orange or sosh Sim or with Samsung smartphones compatible of course with any operator, so I'm telling you that it's May 2019, in Paris, we are still in the experimental phase there are other cities such as Toulouse where this service is already deployed.

     Unfortunately, it doesn't work for Apple iPhones. Apple is restricting its NFC so it can only be used for public transport in certain cities around the world.

     The NFS it also allows you to exchange files between two smartphones thanks to Android Beam you choose the file sent you bring the two phones closer and Beam transfer is done it's much simpler active and a transfer by Bluetooth, on the other hand, it's a little less effective for files that weigh a lot you should also know that the NFC is used to pair some devices between them. 

     We can also mention Huawei which allows you to easily exchange files between your smartphone and your computer and of course there are many other uses.

          Read or write NFC tags

    What are NFC tags?

     NFC tags are RFID transponders operating at 13.56 MHz. They are tiny chips (integrated circuits) connected to an antenna. The chip has a unique identifier and part of the memory is rewritable. The antenna allows the chip to interact with an NFC reader/scanner, such as an NFC smartphone.

     You can write information about the available memory of an NFC chip. This information can be easily read (and executed) by an NFC device, such as a smartphone or tablet. You just need to press the tag with your device. See the list of NFC-enabled smartphones and tablets.  Size and format. The most common form of NFC tag is the sticker, which contains the circuitry and antenna.

     However, due to their small size, NFC tags can be easily integrated into several media, such as a card, bracelet, keyring, gadget, etc. An object equipped with an NFC tag can be uniquely identified by the unique code on the chip.

    Power source

     A very interesting feature of NFC tags is that they do not require a direct power supply, as they are directly activated by the magnetic field of the NFC sensor of the mobile phone or the device reading them a tag can then remain stuck on an object for years and continue to function without any problem.

    Memory

     The available memory of NFC tags varies according to the type of chip, but is generally less than 1 kilobyte in the most common ones, it may seem like a limitation, but in reality, a few bytes are enough to obtain amazing functions, thanks to the NDEF standard, the NFC data format encoded by the NFC Forum.

     One of the most common marketing functions, for example, is the programming of a URL referring to a web page, the tag, thus programmed, can be applied to any object, brochure or leaflet, with this function they look like a QR Code but have a greater data capacity, which makes them useful in the case of reports and campaign analysis.

     In addition, they can be customized with their own graphics and do not require any application, at least for Android, to read. In addition, the memory of an NFC tag is divided into several blocks, which can be used for the development of more complex applications (inventory, medical card, etc.).

    Unique identifier

     All NFC tags have a unique code, called UID (Unique ID), located in the first 2 pages of the memory, which are locked (cannot be modified or deleted). Using the UID, you can uniquely associate an NFC tag with an object or person and develop applications that identify and interact with them. What kind of information can be written to NFC tags? You can write many types of information with NFC tags. Some of them are for private use:

• enable / disable Wi-Fi
• enable/disable Bluetooth
• enable / disable GPS
• open/close an application