Most of us pay contactless with our smartphones every day, without thinking about it. But there is already a new generation of this technology available for iPhones and Android phones.
The NFC ForumThe Apple Inc., which counts Apple, Google, Qualcomm and Sony among its board members, just unveiled a new version of its tap-to-pay technology called Multi-Purpose Tap that it claims will “revolutionize the contactless user experience.” More realistically, it will probably make the shopping experience a little easier, but we’re certainly all for it.
As the name suggests, Multi-Purpose Tap lets you do multiple things with a single tap on your phone, rather than limiting you to a simple payment. For example, you can collect loyalty points or other promotions while paying in stores, with a single tap. A similar example is having your phone automatically verify your age when you buy things like alcohol.
Other scenarios that the NFC Forum envisions include discounts or concessions when purchasing travel tickets, or receiving information on “how a product can be recycled and reused when purchasing goods.” While the latter sounds useful, I hope that Multi-Purpose Tap doesn’t also open the door to spam with related information when making contactless payments.
Good news and bad news
Some of the ideas outlined in the NFC Forum’s Multi-Purpose Tap plan certainly sound useful. Not having to carry separate loyalty cards or wait for paper receipts to print are small improvements that can reduce some of the friction in our retail lives – and that’s always good news for retailers.
On the other hand, it sounds less favorable for consumers to receive related information or marketing notifications on their smartphone while paying for something. That is why there should be settings on iPhones and Android phones to personalize the experience and protect our privacy.
The other minor drawback is that there’s no expected launch timeline for Multi-Purpose Tap to roll out yet, as it’s still in the early “first look” phase. We’ve asked the NFC Forum for an estimate and will update this story if we get one.
Still, the potential for receipts, loyalty cards, discounts, age ID and tickets on our phones seems too great to not give the concept some momentum. So hopefully the real-world details will be worked out soon and we can get through the checkout lines even faster than we do now.