Nokia India is in talks with major Metro rail projects companies across India to enable NFC (Near Field Communication) based ticketing for its users across India.
NFC in brief
NFC uses a radio frequency identification technology that establishes communication between devices by touching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually no more than a few centimetres. Applications can include contactless transactions, data exchange, Checkins to a flight, contacts with NFC tags to tigger actions like, connecting to Wi-Fi and more.
Nokia has already partnered with PayMate to enable NFC based payments in India and that will be an added advantage to this project.
“Most Metro Rail projects in the country are discussing the possibility of an NFC-based solution for ticketing with us. There is a strong intention on their part to deploy the solution so as to reduce long queues and the other hassles of getting train tickets. NFC coupled with mobile money would be the most suited solution for the same,” Shivakumar said, senior vice president sales (India, Middle East and Africa) of Nokia.
We can expect Metro Rail apps on NFC based Nokia devices which could enable entry to the metro by just moving over your NFC based phones on the NFC tags based kiosks.
Its a chance for Nokia to re-enter the market with this unique feature for its customers.
It is popular among banks to create a Metro based card to use it for dual purposes (ATM-debit-credit card) and Metro Access Card.
Now I wonder why will other manufacturers not use NFC and enable ticketing, also makes me wonder, why is London Underground not NFC enabled yet