The Netherlands-based systems integrator Adaptive Planet and project partners RFCyber and Michael Letterer PM&C (ML-PMC) have announced a new commercial Near Field Communication (NFC) Mobile POS deployment based on NXP chips and Nokia mobile phone handsets.

     Citizens of Breda (in the southern Netherlands) who need social care services are being issued with contactless e-voucher cards that hold personal ID and credits (or "e-tokens") for services. 116.30.192.184 This article is copyright 2007 UsingRFID.com.

How it works
     Social care workers carry an NFC-enabled mobile phone, which is actually a pre-personalised NFC Mobile POS, deployed through the RFCyber OTA (Over-The-Air) provisioning service, which follows Java Card and Global Platform security standards.

     To check-in with a customer, the social care worker touches with the mobile phone against the customer''s e-voucher card for identification, and gains a timestamp for starting their visit. After the service is completed, the social care worker again touches the mobile phone against the e-voucher card and gains a second timestamp to check out.

     The pre-paid e-voucher is charged the appropriate amount of money, and the transaction and service records are temporarily stored in the NFC Mobile POS handset, and later uploaded to a back-end server via OTA.

     Social care workers can also use the NFC Mobile POS to allow citizens to purchase more e-tokens, by using the OTA technology for the top-up of the customer''s e-voucher card.

Greater efficiency
     The new system provides simple, efficient and accurate record tracking for the social care services offering organisation ''Werk aan de Wijk'' in Breda. By using mobile NFC technology, resources can be more effectively allocated, and the purchase and handling of social care services is easier and more convenient for citizens as well.

     To make the system even more convenient, the next step will be to change from working with e-tokens to direct e-payments, completely removing the use of hard cash. It is anticipated that citizens will be familiar enough with the e-voucher card system within the next 3 to 6 months for the next step toward e-payments to be taken successfully.

 

 

 

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