History
Variations and Competing Technologies
Operates faster than NFC, uses far more power and requires pairing that NFC does not
African mobile-based money transfer service by Vodafone, started in 2003 in Kenya
Uses SMS-based transfer model
Visa payWave, MasterCard PayPass
(RFID smart chips)
Longer range, less secure because of it
ING and PayPal are using Bump technology for their applications. The expansion of Bump technology is helped by these trusted banking names. The Bump App requires contact between two phones, which may makes it more secure (or at least makes it feel more secure to the consumer, which is also important).
Although these are not typically used in commerce, we mention QR (Quick Response) codes because Google decided to stop supporting them around the same time Google started including NFC chips in their Android phones. Coincidence? Maybe.
Square started as a project by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. This up-and-coming application appears to be the biggest threat to NFC dominance. While NFC technology has been struggling to become a mobile payments standard for the last decade, Square has gained about as much ground as NFC in a mere two years.
Square needs a peripheral card reader, but the compant is giving it out for free. Square promises a more complete package than anything NFC implementers have been able to accomplish thus far — it essentially turns your mobile phone into a cash register complete with electronic receipts, high levels of customization, and reports on one’s inventory and sales patterns.