Tucked away in a press release yesterday was news of Rogers selecting Amsterdam-based Gemalto for their mobile contactless (NFC) payment systems.
If you’ve been watching the news, no doubt the trickle of mobile payment details has been percolating in your mind. NFC (Near Field Communications) is NOT in the iPhone 5 and Starbucks appears to be doing just fine without it. The idea of paying for stuff with your phone is not a new concept, but the race to marry a technology with controlling interest in a lucrative payment system appears at it’s height.
Many folks seem to be a bit confused about this. Since I’m a frequent visitor of Starbucks stores time and time again I hear that it’s not possible to pay for purchases at the counter with an Android phone. I hear that there is no official Starbucks application on the Android platform. I hear all sorts of things, so let me set the record straight on this so you have happily ditch (or, keep it in a safe place) that Starbucks card and start paying with your Android phone.