The NFC/mobile payment trial at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, has been concluded, with consumers responding highly favourably to the adoption of the contactless/mobile payment and mobile content technology.

     During the trial, which launched in December 2005, some 150 Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks season ticket holders with both a Chase-issued Visa credit account and a Cingular Wireless mobile telephone made payments at contactless readers supplied by ViVOtech at concession stands throughout the arena. 116.30.145.87 This article is copyright 2006 UsingRFID.com.

     Additionally, fans downloaded content to their Nokia 3220 mobile phones equipped with NXP''s NFC chips, including ring tones, wallpapers, screensavers and video clips of favourite players.

Key user feedback
     After the trial, the partners conducted focus groups to get the participants'' feedback to help with future trials and product development, and to gauge consumer adoption of mobile applications.

Among the feedback received:

 

     Trial participants overwhelmingly embraced the technology and felt that the mobile device and applications "significantly improved their arena experience".
 
     Mobile data usage also increased during game days, with users accessing special mobile content, scores and updates more often.
 
     Participants indicated that they would like to use their mobile devices for payment at a variety of merchant locations, for any purchase size.
 
     Consumers also expressed interest in having multiple applications on a single mobile device, including transit ticketing, customer loyalty programmes, and digital content.

     The trial was the result of collaboration between Chase, Cingular Wireless, Nokia, NXP, Visa USA, ViVOtech, and Atlanta Spirit (the parent company of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Philips Arena).

 

 

 

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