As local banks and the Department of Transport begin endorsing contactless technology, SA is moving closer to the adoption of near-field communication (NFC) mobile payments, say key local players.

In a further development for take-up of NFC, local software company Qmuzik Technologies has entered into an agreement with international software and systems company ViVOtech, to roll-out NFC technology in SA and Africa. ViVOtech is the software company behind Google Wallet.

NFC is short-range wireless technology that enables mobile devices in close proximity to exchange data. This technology has been gaining publicity as more mobile phones are becoming NFC-enabled, facilitating mobile payments through simply waving or tapping the phone at a pay-point.

Qmuzik will resell, implement and support ViVOtech’s NFC Trusted Service Manager software suite in the region. ViVOtech’s contactless and NFC payment software has already been used in several roll-outs around the world, and also powers the reading devices of the Google Wallet.

Qmuzik MD Jan Small says the first NFC project in SA was implemented in conjunction with MTN and North-West University, in 2008. A group of students was given NFC handsets to use instead of their MiFare student cards, allowing them to use their handsets to make purchases and access facilities on campus.