NFC Payments – Gaps Between User Perception and Reality

Nowadays, Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is being experimented for payment systems to perform purchase transactions without physical contact, without entering a PIN code or a signature. An NFC purchase transaction is mainly executed between a client's payment device (NFC bank card or NFC smartphone) and a merchant's payment device. The latter may be either an NFC point of sale machine for big traders (in a department store for example), or a simple NFC payment terminal attached to the outside of a smartphone for small traders. In this paper, we propose a new secure cloud-based NFC payment architecture for small traders: which allows them to benefit from their smartphones integrating NFC technology for use directly as NFC merchant payment devices, without needing to buy an external NFC payment terminal. In addition, the proposal introduces a new protocol aiming to secure NFC payment transactions.

Previous research on the relationship between investment in information and communication technology (ICT) and bank performance (BP) have been obviously disagreeing. This is because some posit a positive relationship and some argue to the contrary.Thus, this research contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the contribution of ICT to BP by looking at the impact of ICT investments on the performance of a sample of 50 Lebanese banks for the period 2009-2016.Secondary data were collected from the annual report for each bank. CAMELS model is chosen as the dependent variable, while ICT investments (adoption of automated teller machines (ATM), mobile banking (MB), internet banking (IB), telephone banking (TB), debit and credit cards (BC) and point of sale (POS) terminals) is the independent variable.Using multivariate OLS model, the results demonstrate that the application ATM, IB, TB and POS terminals does not significantly affect banks performance. However, the application of MB and offering BC to customers significantly and directly affects performance of banks in Lebanon. Thus, banks in Lebanon are recommended to find a way to increase interest of Lebanese consumers in MB applications and attract more customers by offering them a range of BC tailored to fit their preferences.

The Web (and Internet) of Things has seen the rapid emergence of new protocols and standards, which provide for innovative models of interaction for applications. One such model fostered by the Web of Things (WoT) ecosystem is that of contactless interaction between devices. Near Field Communication (NFC) technology is one such enabler of contactless interactions. Contactless technology for the WoT requires all parties to agree one common definition and implementation and, in this paper, we propose a new lightweight architecture for the WoT, based on RESTful approaches. We show how the proposed architecture supports the concept of a mobile wallet, enabling users to make secure payments employing NFC technology with their mobile devices. In so doing, we argue that the vision of the WoT is brought a step closer to fruition.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is widely used today in many useful applications, such as contactless payment, identification, and file exchange. Due to the limitations on computation, power, and cost of NFC devices, NFC systems are often lack of encryption or weakly encrypted, leaving them exposed to security attacks. One solution for this problem is to install strong cryptographic protocols on NFC devices. However, it involves upgrading and revoking deployed NFC devices, which is costly and impractical. Moreover, encryption algorithms are usually considered expensive for resource constrained NFC devices in terms of computation overhead and energy consumption. In this paper, aiming at securing NFC from eavesdropping at physical layer, we propose SecNFC, a solution that changes the signals on the initiators to hide the communications, but does not require any changes to the targets. In this work, for the first time, we address a practical problem of synchronization offset between two NFC terminals, which can be exploited by an eavesdropper to compromise the transmitted bits. SecNFC takes into consideration the synchronization offset and solves the challenge by introducing blocking signals around the transition point when the target switches load between on and off. With this solution, even with the existence of synchronization offset, eavesdroppers cannot extract any bit information from eavesdropping. We conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of SecNFC. We also build a testbed based on USRP software defined radio and off-the-shelf NFC tags to evaluate SecNFC in a real-world environment. Both simulation and experimental results show that SecNFC can efficiently prevent NFC from eavesdropping with a slight and tolerable decoding performance degradation at the initiator.

As the technology of mobile devices spreads fast, the price of mobile devices is getting cheaper. Most of the people have mobile devices, and these devices have the technology of near field communication (NFC). With the long time development and research, the mobile devices use NFC technology on the payment and authentication applications, and replace the smartcard, the access control card, and the credit card by using the card emulation mode. It helps the development of NFC applications. In recent years, more and more users begin using NFC technology on mobile payment and authentication. Many researches have proposed the related NFC authentication protocols, but their schemes are still lack of some security properties and functions, which are necessary for NFC authentication protocols. In this paper, we propose a secure and efficient NFC authentication scheme between two NFC devices by the help of the authentication server that provides mutual authentication.

Near Field Communication (NFC) is one of the emerging technologies that enables mobile devices to wirelessly exchange data at short ranges. NFC technology has great potential, making it convenient to process payments through mobile phones. The aim of this research is to explore the challenges and factors which influence the adoption of the NFC payment system by merchants and retailers in the UAE. This paper presents the results of semi-structured interviews conducted amongst the UAE merchants and retailers. The analysis of data revealed a lack of knowledge, awareness and experience, from both merchants and retailers, about the NFC mobile payment system. Security, promptness and business sustainability were found to be important factors for merchants to contemplate before adopting the new technology. Furthermore, technology infrastructure, switching cost, availability and ecosystem complexity impeded the spreading of NFC mobile payment technology in the UAE market.

The use of debit and credit cards has become indispensable to consumers worldwide. This cashless method of payment offers flexibility and convenience. It eliminates the safety risk of carrying large cash amounts in person and cards can be cancelled as soon as it is lost or stolen. One of the most popular methods of non-cash transactions is through a Point of Sale (POS) terminal. A POS is a quick and convenient method for a customer to pay a business, but may lead to the disclosure of sensitive information without the knowledge of the customer. By investigating the information printed on the customer and merchant transaction receipts at various POS devices in South Africa, it is shown that information provided on the POS transaction receipts can put the consumer at risk as the credit card number, expiry date and name of the card holder may be printed on these transaction receipts. This paper investigates various POS devices used by South African businesses and the relevant information printed on the merchant and customer transaction receipts after a transaction. It is shown that the information contained in the transaction receipts from certain POS terminals is sufficient to perform successful online purchases at multiple online shopping sites. We also show that when the CVV number on the back of the credit card can be obtained while the transaction is in progress, even more online shopping sites can be successfully used without the authorisation or knowledge of the credit card owner.

The recent advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) has promoted for finding or localizing objects with different technologies. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has been widely used in indoor localization applications due to its ease of deployment and low cost. With passive RFID tags, an object can be localized within less than 10cm. However, passive RFID localization systems cannot provide easy localization due to its limited reading range. Using Active RFID tags will provide longer localization range to a lost object. However, while pairing the mobile phone with the tag, the phone may capture any tag in its reading range; thus, the tag pairing process may be done improperly. Alternatively, Near Field Communication (NFC) has been proposed as an extension to the RFID technology in which the reader must be within close proximity to the NFC tag for achieving the reading task. With the deployment of NFC, several mobile phone applications have been developed employing NFC in payments and contactless systems. However, due to the short localization range of NFC, it becomes extremely difficult to find a lost item. Currently, RFID and NFC have been employed in object localization systems separately. Alternatively, in this paper we propose Radio Frequency Near Communication (RFNC) is an integrated RFID- NFC system for localization of lost item. Our experiments integrating RFID and NFC technologies confirm that NFC technology can be a complement to the RFID technology rather than an alternative.

This study focused on the effects of cashless policy on deposit money banks liquidity (DMBs) in Nigeria. The data for the study were obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria statistical bulletins and the World Bank. A significant effect of cashless policy (point of sale, Web Pay and Mobile Pay) on deposit money banks liquidity spanning for the period of (2013-2020) in Nigeria was evaluated with the help of regression analysis. The trace test indicate 1 cointegration which meant there was a long term relationship among the research variables. The major objectives of the study were to examine the effects of point of sale (POS) on deposit money banks liquidity, to determine the effects of Mobile Pay on deposit money banks liquidity and to assess the effects of Web Pay on deposit money banks liquidity. The policy implication is that point of sale, web pay and money pay are function of cashless policy in Nigeria. Therefore, the study recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should intensify its effort for full implementation of cashless policy, CBN should also provide enabling environment for the smooth conduct of cashless policy and facilitate, encourage and enforce on all deposit money banks to comply with the policy. Deposit money banks should intensify their effort toward the improvement of the number of automated teller machine, point of sales terminals and internet facilities. This study therefore placed more emphasis on the level and rate of individual access to cashless financial services with the aims of promoting deposit money banks liquidity in Nigeria.

Nowadays; the adoption of Internet of things (IoT) technologies and applications in everyday is rising. IoT technology such as Near Field Communication (NFC) is vastly adopted due to its short range frequencies, making it a good candidate for token based security access control applications such as door systems and attendance systems. However, due to the miniature size of NFC tags; its clear text contents and unprotected communication channel between tag-reader-database; NFC technology is prone to security attacks such as the man in the middle; denial of services (DOS) and etc. These attacks lead to leakage of user critical data which could impact any organization adopting NFC applications and technologies. In this paper; NFC vulnerability, causing both security and privacy attacks studies in depth. By focusing on attacks such as DOS and data corruptions; existing risk assessment models are evaluated using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. Best practice in mitigating these attacks is presented as well. A case study on an existing NFC access control application is then used to demonstrate the effectiveness of best practice solutions proposed.  Â

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short- range wireless communication technology that supports several features, one of which is an electronic payment. NFC works at a limited distance to exchange information. In terms of security, NFC technology has a gap for attackers to carry out attacks by forwarding information illegally using the target NFC network. A relay attack that occurs due to the theft of some data by an attacker by utilizing close communication from NFC is one of them. Relay attacks can cause a lot of loss in terms of material sacrifice. It takes countermeasures to overcome the problem of electronic payments with NFC technology. Detection of anomalous data is one way that can be done. In an attack, several abnormalities can be detected which can be used to prevent an attack. Markov Chain is one method that can be used to detect relay attacks that occur in electronic payments using NFC. The result shows Markov chain can detect anomalies in relay attacks in the case of electronic payment.

The near field communication (NFC) technology helps save both time and power when compared with Bluetooth and other similar technologies. However, NFC is vulnerable to various networking attacks such as message modification. In this work, a secure processing technique is introduced to protect the NFC devices and associated data from several attacks. A certificate record is added to the NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF) message to enhance security. The proposed processing technique in a NFC system checks the authenticity of the sender, then if appropriate, processes the incoming NDEF messages and stores them in device memory. Using MATLAB, an NFC system with the proposed processing technique is simulated. Simulation results suggest that the processing time increases linearly as the certificate size increases and the processing time remains almost the same for various record sizes. It is also observed that the proposed protocol offers better security by detecting tag manipulation, certificate modification, etc. The proposed secure processing technique for NFC can be extended to enhance security in ubiquitous computing and mobile communication.

Development in technology bring digital world to be border-less. It's proven through a developed technology, when trade and transaction can be done not only using real money but also virtual one. Shopping process using virtual money has even more supported by existed Near Field Communication (NFC) device. This particular device works using radio frequency. In the year of 2011, Google was integrating this device into a Android-based cell phone, which made transactions using virtual money gradually developed. E-Ticket is one of the utmost services in online trading. E-ticket is basically a paper-less electronic document, which commonly used for passenger tickets of a transportation system. One of the aims in using NFC in daily life can be implemented within public transportation application. This particular research offers a application prototype for train ticket purchasing and exterminating that use a Near Field Communication (NFC) integrated cell phone. This train ticketing application integrated with NFC device that had been planted in an Android 2.3.3 Operation System based cell phone. Designed system made for passenger interface and train conductor interface. NFC technology applied within two created applications. Cell phone that is used within this research is Google Nexus S, which has been integrated with NFC device; therefore created application can provide a circumstance where applications for passenger and conductor are able to work as a single entity of train ticketing application.

Parcel loss and personal information leakage involved thereof is a critical issue. Existing parcel lockers involve the need to share the password between two. This study suggests a double-security smart parcel locker to keep parcel safe from the risk of loss and personal information leakage by using parcel invoice bar-codes as well as the near field communication (NFC) module for smart-phones. In addition, the suggested method sterilizes a parcel box by means of the ultraviolet-c radiation light emitting diode (UV-C LED) in consideration of the fact that it may be exposed to insanitary conditions for a long time. To verify the suggested smart parcel locker, tests were conducted on the invoice bar-code mechanism for password security, the near field communication (NFC) module for user authentication reliability, and the Bluetooth interaction distance between a smart-phone app and the system. Test results show that the accuracy of the near field communication (NFC)-based user authentication was 97%, bar-code and that of the parcel locker opening mechanism was 95%. Thus, the sufficient level of security was verified. The max. transmission distance for smooth communication between a smart-phone and the parcel locker upon bluetooth pairing turned out to be 5 m. Test results show that as the near field communication (NFC) and invoice bar-codes are used instead of a password, the parcel locker can be utilized as a highly secure instrument.

This work describes the process of building a test automation tool to support some testing activities at a technology company. The presented solution aims to make more efficient the process of testing transactions involving payment in PoS (Point of Sale) terminals through the proposed tool, called ValiBits. To evaluate this solution, interviews were conducted with professionals in the quality area of the technology company. In general, the tool was well accepted by these professionals that participated in this initial assessment as a tool to support the company’s testing process.