Mobile phone replaces PIN debit card at supermarket
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This was an important step towards a new customer experience, placing mobile technology at the core of countless new possibilities and applications. |
Existing technology, innovatively applied
The pilot project was a unique project with the world’s first mobile integration of two different applications of the NFC technology being tested in real-life conditions. This was the first use of NFC in financial transactions whereby the mobile phone acted as replacement for the traditional online debit card (in this case, PIN).
Additionally, users were offered a taste of the wide range of other possible applications by also being able to use the mobile phone as a repository of bottle return refunds. This enabled the user to wirelessly receive, save, transfer and use their refunds.
Two complementary applications, together forming a comprehensive supermarket experience.
In the course of the project, it became apparent that the NFC-enabled mobile phone was a
better, more fault-free medium for PIN transactions than the regular debit card. The magnetic
stripe on a card tends to wear out, making it unreadable, and users commonly make mistakes
in feeding the card through the reader.
As opposed to a mobile phone, cards are more commonly lost or forgotten as well. The project participants overwhelmingly preferred this new way of payment and did not feel insecure in
using the new technology.
The project’s result: proven benefits from a new supermarket shopping experience for clients in the future, a truly new experience, but maintaining a recognizable, familiar foundation.
Two phenomena were at the center of the project: Near Field Communication (NFC) and the mobile phone. The latter is the Swiss army knife of our times: an extension of ourselves and a repository of constantly expanding, diversifying functionality. In the mobile phone, many of the tools we used to carry around separately are united in one device and is becoming ever more comprehensive, and more important to our lives.
The contactless NFC technology we used in the trial is based on close-proximity radio communication between the mobile phone and a reader. This communication clears the way to a whole new world of possibilities. An NFCenabled device could be used as an m-purse: Do you owe money to someone? Just put your mobile phone next to theirs and push the button to transfer the correct amount of money. Annoyed by all those cards clogging your wallet? An NFC-enabled mobile phone can be an NFC-driven replacement for all of them; your PIN-card, for instance. Booked a flight? Your NFC-mobile phone can be your ticket, communicating with NFC-devices at the airport to establish your identity, access and seat reservations. All those applications can be integrated into one device and as PINnen met je Mobiel has demonstrated, there is much more to NFC than being a mere tool for financial transactions.
“The NFC ecosystem is a very complex environment with a lot of players, roles and diverse business motivators. As consultant and integration company, Logica knows how to work in such an environment and manage the various sensitive issues. Logica has proven experience in helping companies adopt new and innovative technology, developing the business case, the technical architecture as well as integrating and managing the deployment.”
Gerben Mak, Innovation director at Logica.
Find out more:
- Contact the Innovation Centre at Logica
- View video - see the technology in action at the supermarket pilot
- Download brochure - This report offers a detailed account on the following subjects: Background, Setup and Results - forming a complete summary and uncovering all ins and outs of the PINnen met je Mobiel project. The final chapter, New Standards, offers an analysis of what is yet to come.