Individuals interested in near field communication often wonder what it can do for them and how it can make their lives easier. Benefits of NFC for Individuals, the many uses of NFC technology offer benefits in a number of everyday tasks ranging from paying for groceries to receiving adequate health care treatments. If you’re smartphone is not NFC compatible and you’re considering buying a microSD or SIM card embedded with the NFC chip, this guide will help you decide if the benefits are worth it.
Contactless Payments
The most well-known use of NFC technology is for contactless payment. One of benefits of NFC for Individuals, Customers can swipe their smartphone over a card reader to make a purchase without fumbling through credit and debit cards or counting out cash. This technology allows the customer to load multiple cards and choose which one they wish to use for each transaction. Not only does this save time, but it also reduces the chances of losing a credit card that comes with carrying multiple cards around.
Information Sharing
The small size of NFC tags and their lack of a battery, relying instead on radio frequency signals sent from a smartphone or other NFC compatible device to operate, let them go virtually anywhere. From posters to museum displays to library books, an NFC tag can hold information that a user can then swipe their phone over to read. From art galleries to schools, NFC tags are used to transmit information about famous artworks or display personalized student schedules and current event updates.
Transportation
Subways and trains require a rider to purchase a ticket based on the number of trips they plan to take and are easily lost in the shuffle of the morning commute. Some cities now offer a NFC or a FeliCa — popular in Japan — version of a train ticket. Swiping a smartphone not only allows the passenger access to the subway but also keeps track of the number of trips he has left. Passengers can come and go much faster and easily pay for extra trips.
Health Care
As advances in medicine and technology increase, the focus is on creating better healthcare systems. With NFC technology, hospitals can better track patient information and doctors’ notes in real-time. Each time a nurse or doctor visits the patient, they can make a note of a change in recommendations and record which medicines were administered. This helps prevent the wrong medications from going to the wrong patient and creates a streamlined system focused on the best in patient care.
Social Networking
Social networking is booming, and NFC tags are looking to get in on the action. From swiping a smartphone to check in at a location to bumping phones with a new friend to exchange contact information, Benefits of NFC for Individuals, NFC allows users to interact with each other and update their location and other info without any unnecessary log-ins or tapping through menu screens.
Some companies aim to build off the success of Foursquare by providing similar services where visitors scan an NFC tag to post their location instead of taking the time to log in with their phones or enable the battery-draining GPS to update their current location. Others want to find ways for customers to share links to their website, post reviews, and make recommendations all by swiping a NFC tag and typing in their review or comments.
