PayPal to Sue Google over NFC

Google is facing a law suit courtesy of PayPal who claim that the internet search giant stole the technology for turning smartphones into digital wallets.

The argument resolves around a former employee, Osama Beider who PayPal alleges he obtained trade secrets before becoming Google’s vice president of payments in January 2011.

Google have yet to see a copy of the complaint and have therefore declined to comment until a later date.  The technology called Near Field Communications is widely used in Japan, it has recently gone live in the UK, and is set for launch in the US in this summer.

MobileWallet or not, as a user of the Android Operating Systems you should have boughtinto some form of security.  Anti-Spam,Anti- Virus and Anti-theft are all available for less than £20.

The Mobile Wallet Has Arrived

Quick Tap – the system that allows people to purchase items using their mobile phone has been launched in the UK, and its gathering popularity in Europe.  

To use the service, you will need Orange and Barclaycard accounts as well as a handset that is set up for contactless payments.  The service is made possible by Near Field Communication (NFC), the short-range wireless technology that underpins many wireless payment systems.

The NFC enabled Samsung Tocco Lite handset goes on sale Friday 20^th May 2011. 

Among shops signed up to the system are McDonalds, EAT, Pret-a-Manger and some Boots stores, Subway, Little Chef, Wilkinson and the National Trust. 

Contactless Technology Roll-Out - Cash or Mobile Phones?

Across the UK, thousands of shops are preparing for the roll-out of new contactless technology, which could see us leaving our wallets at home as we use our mobile phones to pay. 

The expectation of many large retailers is that Near Field Communication (NFC) technology will take off this summer.  One estimate suggests 40,000 businesses could be using it by the end of 2011.

However, like most new technologies, the success of NFC requires consumers to buy into the concept, and it remains to be seen whether the technology really has the public support it requires.  

In terms of security there are certainly issues that need to be resolved within the industry, users are certainly going to have to enter a pin when you make a transaction.  With all the concerns surrounding mobile technology security at the moment, customers are right to err on the side of caution.  

Mobile phone operators and manufacturers, banks and retailers are all investing millions of pounds to make the technology a success. Orange and MasterCard are jointly launching a NFC-ready handset between April and June while competitors Visa and O2 are doing the same later this summer.

There are concerns about the affect this may have on smaller retailers as it is the bigger chains that are preparing for the changes now.   

But what do you think? Are you excited by the freedom of NFC or are you concerned with prospective security breaches?

Check in and Check out using your mobile

The Clarion Hotel Stockholm in Sweden is currently running a trial to test a concept that’s been banging about for a while in other parts of the world: using your mobile phone as your room key in a hotel. Using Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, the hotel can register your own mobile phone as the item that unlocks your room.

Almost everyone uses some form of smartcard these days, its very rare that you are actually handed a physical key. We either use cards that you slot into a reader, or cards that you simply hold up in front of the scanner to open your door, it is the latter that is being replaced.


The technology allows customers to check-in on-line or over mobile phone, and be sent the “room key” directly to their phone. Thus, customers can by-pass the front desk on arrival and go straight to their rooms. At the end of their stay, guests can repeat the process by checking out with their phone, taking away the need for any human contact.