NFC: The secret weapon of contactless payments
Contactless payments are the next logical phase of payments acquisition/acquiring.
Let's face it: Most of us are more introverted than we think. We push against it, deny it, and rap about being party rockers, but deep within, we would prefer if people kept their hands to themselves or their cards. We immediately imagine: I don't know where that's been.
At the height of 2020's COVID-19, Anthony Fauci surmised: I don't think we should ever shake hands again. And the reason goes beyond the easy transference/transmission of germs. It goes to the root of convenience, ease and purpose. When you think about it, today's digital payment sub-sector is so successful because of how much technology bridges the gap between a seller who's got the latest Nike sneakers to sell and a buyer who desires to rock them to a party this Friday.
Go online, find the vendor, punch in a few numbers, and the payment is done. Easy peasy. Who wants to spend 3 hours travelling from Badagry to Idumota to complete this transaction that took less than a minute on your Google Chrome?
But if the need for speed and the desire for convenience is true for online payments, why do cards need to be manually inserted into POS terminals or ATMs while you pray that digital village people do not disrupt the flow of your transaction or one of the background players does not have a downtime? The concern is also true for online payments, although without needing contact - which is the crux of my post. Contactless payments (or most things) are the future of payments everywhere. Adoption may take a while and require massive sensitization to build trust and regulatory fine-tuning, but it can (and should) be done.
On June 27, 2023, the CBN released Guidelines for Contactless Payments in Nigeria, a protocol which deepens the regulator's desire that operations in the payment system are standardized and also represents a laudable attempt to encourage innovative products. But not enough attention is paid to this niche area. Today, while most FinTech players operate in an elbow room saturated with similar products, I submit that more attention needs to be paid to contactless pay. While the same players will probably build the architecture to ensure that the payment goes through, anything can take payments. And the oil which makes this machinery work is called NFC.
NFC [Near-Field Communication] technology is a wireless technology that enhances the exchange of data and information between devices. It is short-range and uses radio waves, although unlike Bluetooth or WiFi. It is a darling for payments because only small amounts of data need be exchanged. In simple terms, if you have complied with regulatory conditions such as payment limits, KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know your Business), the payment protocol only needs to verify this data, cross-check with balance, switch and complete the process - all within the same miliseconds it would have taken you to insert your card or entered the details on a website. Only, this time, it is faster: you need not insert the card, punch in your pin, navigate to a browser, or [if you are germophobic] worry what germs you are currently attracting to your hand.
So, how does it really work?
Virtually all smartphones, wearable devices, and debit cards are NFC-enabled today. Your phone has an NFC chip that is idle, wondering what motivation you need to put it to work. Pioneered by Thomas Edison way back in the 1800s, nobody really explored the extent of it until the early 2000s. Nokia led the charge with the release of its Nokia 6131 Model in 2007. You know how you can use a security card to access hotel rooms, your office, etc.? The science is called radio-frequency identification (RFID). NFC is based on the RFID technology, but on a more superior, secure level because of the payment aspect to it. Naturally. The RFID frequency is unique and specific so that it avoids interference from other wireless devices. That's why you need two NFC devices close to each other to exchange information. This means that you can easily tap your device (card, phone, wristwatch) within inches of a payment terminal to make payments. "Payment terminal" is another broad, interchangeable term that we will explore at another time because this goes beyond POS; it can be a virtual terminal, a mobile phone, a tablet, etc.
Are there limitations to NFC payments or risks involved with this protocol? Of course there are. But they are no more than impediments which a dogged model cannot address. The risks are no more apparent or significant than what applies today should somebody get hold of your card's sensitive details or for an extreme case of shoulder snooping. Trust me, one of the big players just needs to push this heavily and implement strict risk detection/aversion protocols, and the market will rally.
Why you should pay attention:
According to Market Research Future, the global NFC market was valued at USD 26.3 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to USD 60.2 billion by 2032.
You're welcome.
The impacts of 2020 and COVID will stay with us forever.
Sometimes we need to take people literally at their word. Not infer a metaphor, not assume an implication. But take them at face value.
The 2020 experience.
For a year that appeared on the horizon promising to take our breath away, it looks like we misread the memo. Not to be a naysayer, pessimist or any such thing, the year has literally attacked our breathing system - individually, corporately and collectively. This attack for mankind's lungs would eventually crystallize in George Floyd's gruesome murder, instigating the worldwide "I can't breathe" campaign.
Our world has suddenly become a smaller, largely scarier, and more delicate place to live in. On the whole, this has impacted us to the very core of our beings and our unified race. And its impact won't leave in a hurry. Family life, faith, work, existence and socialization will feel the ripple effects forever.
I compiled a list of things that may never go back to the way they were.
Parties and condensed areas. It's the age of Zoom weddings and Instagram Live Introductions. Would you have assumed that there would be such a time as this? Parties are still currently outlawed in most parts of the world, marketplaces are running on shifts, people are observing strict physical and social distancing. What a time to be alive. Even when this is over, the consciousness for personal space will stay etched in our consciousness.
Social places [eateries, restaurants, clubs and parks, cinemas]. Get your food and leave! You may eat in your car or drive all the way home if you can wait, but the government and food vendors are saying: please love us from a distance, we'll do the same. That love waxing cold isn't sure to get warm anytime soon. Netflix and similar subscription-based movie screening and streaming are the future. Football viewing centres will suffer reduced patronage as wave after wave of the virus continues. Even after we find a cure, I'd rather just enjoy home-screening, thank you very much.
The Finance Industry. Cash transactions will slowly bite more bullets. Fintech is the future of banking. Technology is the future of virtually anything, anyway. But in particular, more transactions will move to digital, non-cash, tech-based forms. The prudent banker needs to take the time to garner as much knowledge in this field as possible because it's almost fully buffered. During the strictest periods of the lockdown, we realised how little one needed cash for things that really mattered. Online ordering, subscriptions, ticketing and e-wallets ensured that we were all safe behind our phone and computer screens while the virus ravaged and rummaged outside.
Worship centres and rigid religious idiosyncrasies. Three months now, we've all been barred from going to religious places. Churches, mosques and other religious centres where it seemed like physical attendance was the only way to worship have found ways to keep the faith and spiritual consciousness unhindered and on point. I personally have had to review a lot of idiosyncrasies I had regarding a myriad of issues, and although I haven't lost my faith [I am a practising Christian], I have realised how flimsy, lightweight some of the rigid beliefs and approaches I had were. A lot has changed in me, as I'm sure they have in many. God isn't a figment of our imagination, neither a product of our rigid and unbending "if you don't believe what I believe you're doomed" approach. Faith is extremely personal, and although our experiences do influence others, they should by no means be the lens by which we grade their morality, holiness or uprightness.
Real estate. This is a big deal - particularly commercial real estate. Working from home has become a darling phrase during these times; perhaps only beaten to second place by 'Coronavirus or COVID-19'. Employers who were originally adamant, unwilling to even consider the possibility of remote work, are now clutching the concept very close to their chests. It took only a few weeks of COVID-19's merciless punches to humble them. Costs are being cut, cut, cut. This can only mean that even when we leave these dangerous times, employers need no external data - they know that over 80% of work they've always compelled physical presence for can be done remotely. Still sure you need that intended million dollar commercial real estate project? Think again.
Did I miss out on any?
Please let me know in the comments.
And don't forget to share.
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Our humanity is under attack.
"I can't breathe."
-George Floyd
Our humanity is under attack.
On Monday, 25th May, a shop-owner at a Minnesota shop called on cops to help apprehend George Floyd, a black man, based on unconfirmed fears that Floyd was issuing a potentially counterfeit bill. Moments later, as cameras will reveal, George can be seen pleading with the officers, attempting to negotiate the obvious mistaken situation. Soon afterwards, he is rendered almost motionless as one of the officers kneels on his neck. He can be heard and seen struggling for breath, as onlookers plead with the officer to release him.
"I can't breathe, I can't breathe," Floyd repeats as the officer ignores his cries, and goes on kneeling on a harmless, unharmed, obedient man's neck, for at least 7 minutes - in a flagrant, obvious, cruel show of racism. An undisguised evil act. When the officer eventually releases the knee-hold, Floyd is unresponsive and limp. He is taken to a hospital where he is pronounced dead.
Evil used to sneak around, too scared to walk in the light. It used to creep up on unsuspecting women having a fresh, nice time in a garden. It used to hide in the shadows, silently whispering its destructive ideas into the unsuspecting ears of the listener. Not anymore. Nowadays, it walks with shoulders held high, clothes ironed crisply, confidence bolstered by how many times in the past it’s had its way; how many times it's gotten away with the mindlessness of its perpetrators and all who do its bidding.
Our peace is being threatened.
From self-assumed “superiors” who brandish nothing more than a skin treated to a fairer shade because of genetic, migration and anthropological effects spread out over a period of time. We treat each other worse than animals. The uproar that Floyd’s death has generated in the US is incensed by the fact that this isn’t a first, and will certainly not be the last. Just across the continental divide, news of whole towns and villages being sacked, people being massacred in Nigeria has filled the airways, dominated the news all week.
“I can’t breathe. I’m about to die.”
How ironical the similarity this plea bears with our everyday lives.
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You need help.
Everybody needs help.
Too often, we fall into the trap of a lone man ranger ideology. Somebody hurts us, betrays our trust, reveals some confidential information to a third party, or crushes our expectations to our face. We clench our fists, fume through the ears, and mentally delete them from our list of favourite people - before going ahead to block and mute them everywhere.
But, bitter as it may sound, we cannot always go it alone.
The fingers on our hands are proof that solitude and self-aggrandizement, when not monitored, can be dangerous. We were made for company. An unchecked, wild-west, I-need-nobody mentality is both dangerous and senseless
God has angels who do His biddings.
Jesus was as divine as the other members of the Godhead, and as human, as the work required, yet He had help. All through His ministry, He constantly made calls to Heaven's powerhouse.
Moses had help, Samuel did, Peter did, Paul did.
You do, and will.
Praying is a common, worthy Helpline process.
So is talking to a good friend, a mentor, a role model.
And whenever you're too preoccupied, arrogant or ignorant to seek help, when a helper reaches out, competently and genuinely, jump at it.
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No longer business as usual.
No longer business as usual.
A woman, having waited many years to conceive, eventually does. One night, she wakes up, taps her husband, and says 'I feel really weird.' Alarmed, he jumps up and tries in futility to get her to explain what the issue is.
"We call the doctor 1st thing tomorrow!'
"Hi, Doc. Nothing feels right. I'm throwing up. I'm nauseated many times. I feel dizzy. Most especially my clothes. They longer fit!"
"Well, ma'am. I'm sorry nobody warned you in advance. That's the idea."
Lined up dreams/goals for the new year?
Prepare for a paradigm shift.
Especially as delivery approaches.
No longer business as usual.
Ecclesiastes 3.1
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Go over, through, or around it.
The human body is made up of 55-65% water. Biologically, we are a chemical combination of some pretty amazing stuff. Oxygen, hygrogen, carbon, calcium, phosphorous, etc.
For new born babies, about 93% of their body mass is water.
And if you know only a little about water, you know that it deals with challenges differently. When faced with a wall, it can either pull down, go through, go over, go under, or go around.
So the next time you're faced with an obstacle, remember you are more than half water. If you can't pull it down, find a way around it.
Exodus 14.15
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How will you fare?
How will you fare?
How will I fare?
Have you ever explored the 'Download your Facebook data' option?
You will be shocked what you'll find.
Apart from the obvious contents you see daily [friends, messages, stories], you can see every request you ever got or sent, every like, comment, photo upload, tags, pokes, videos, responses, ads viewed. You can even see every search you ever conducted.
How does that make you feel?
Think about it. How much data you've released, posted to the world. Is it all joy and goodness?
Data rules our world. It is lucrative business. Every company worth its salt is going after data like a pack of hungry hyenas. For simple reason - to sell better, they must understand the demography and character of their prospective buyers. What better place to find out this information than the internet? Websites install cookies on your phone - track your buying habits, your preferred shoe colour, your dress style, your favourite movie characters - and soon, ads tailored to those exact topics are pushed your way.
Recruiters now turn to private investigation before reaching employment decisions. Companies have been known to thwart recruitment based on what they find. Like being haunted down by the ghosts of your past, posts of yesteryears can be dug up and used against you. 'The internet never forgets' they say. Celebrities have lost awards, suffered humiliation, passed through humiliation, based on seemingly harmless posts they made before.
Now imagine life generally.
If it's true [and we know it is] that every thoughtless deed, idle word, abuse, secret action, you ever did is stored somewhere, and may someday be used to determine your future...
...how will you fare? How do we survive it?
If there were some delete option possible for our acts of the past, most of us would frequent it. But is there?
READ: Matthew 12. 36-37; Luke 8.17
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Muffled cries
Muffled cries, pillow tears and secret pains.
How often do we cry when nobody watches?
Once heard the story of a man, Ben, who had nothing but one fish - Luke. Not poor, he had a good job but lived alone. Ben had lost everyone he ever called friend or family.
So every day, Ben got something for Luke on his way from work. On getting home, he would spend hours at the aquarium just watching Luke eat, jump and run around his little aquatic paradise. Used to fill him with so much joy. It would calm his nerves, relieve his pain, drain his thoughts. Sometimes Ben even talked to, sang to him…for as long as possible. He would report a colleague, share an idea he had, or just vent. Sometimes it looked like Luke could hear, cos he would stay in one spot only jiggling here and there. Other times, he really didn't care.
Ben loved him anyway, whether he was in the mood to listen or not.
One day, Luke didn't come up to play - at first. Looked like he was fixated on something at the floor of his abode, until Ben, in worry, shook the aquarium. Then he came up, only briefly, before returning to his business.
'Wonder what I did' the man thought, as he retired to bed that night. 'Did I say something, feed him too late?' 'I must have him looked at tomorrow.'
At midnight, the whole neighbourhood woke up to the sound of blazing alarms. There had been a power surge, which had, in turn, triggered power cuts here and there. In some places, the current went too low, in others, too high. As Ben returned to his apartment, silently grateful for the surge protector he had installed only last week, suddenly he remembered! He hadn't connected the aquarium. He had sent it for cleaning at the time and had made a mental note to connect when the aquarium was returned. But he never remembered, until now.
He rushed back in, and straight to Luke's corner…only to find the worst sight he'd ever see, maybe in his lifetime. There, floating lifelessly, was Luke, the one calamity of the power surge. You would think Luke lost a child…or did he? His cries attracted the neighbours, who rushed over to see what the matter was.
It was a painful sight. Everyone knew what Luke meant to Ben. You couldn't spend an hour with Ben without knowing all about his single most important possession in the world. Amid pats, gasps, encouraging chatter, and company, Ben just stared blankly.
Hours later, still crouched in one corner, all the mourners returned to their houses, as dusk gave way to dawn, all Ben could say was:
"Wonder if Luke cried out as the surge squeezed the life out of him." "Did if he shout aloud and I was too human to make out his cry." "Wonder if he knew and stayed close to the aquarium bed as the only SOS sign he knew."
Muffled cries, pillow tears and secret pains.
Soundless screams.
Silent agonies.
Bedtime sorrows.
How many of us walk around smiling but crumbling inside? How many have the appearance that we've got it figured out, but we are scared shitless within? How many of us are crying out desperately for help, yet none can hear us?
During those silent moments, scary times, dark nights, rainy days and sad periods, when the world is oblivious to our pain, who can hear us?
You know, if we had a way of letting out the harmful, murderous pus, we would.
But, mostly, we struggle for years, nursing the burning, hurting sensation as it travels through our veins, causing havoc, killing us one day at a time.
Wonder if Luke screamed at the top of his voice, yet nobody heard him. Not even Ben, whose attention mattered the most to him.
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What makes Nigeria such a prayerful, religious nation, yet the World's Poverty Capital?
What makes us such a prayerful, religious nation, yet the world's Poverty Capital?
Please don't say SIN. Agreed, there's a peculiarity to the African brand of craziness, that you cannot find anywhere else. In fact, there's a Nigerian type of "mad" that we just own. But sin is not racist. It's not tribalistic. It is genderless, ageless. Everywhere else in the world, sin is deeply entrenched, widespread. In fact, sin is a definition of what one religion calls it or not. In the dictionary of faiths, sin has different spellings. It has been rebranded, redesigned, slim-fitted, force-fed, pumped up, trimmed down, refaced, reworded, fattened.
The point is, everywhere you go, there's a semblance of morality, a definition of rights and wrongs, a system of law and order…and those who flout them.
Don't also say "BLACKNESS". There are black communities thriving all around us. Countries moving from greatness to glory, jumping in billions of dollars, enjoying economic explosions and prosperity.
Do we have terrible work ethics?
Is it something with our culture?
Can we somehow link it to bad leadership?
What makes us such a prayerful, religious nation, yet the world's Poverty Capital?
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Living well is all that matters.
Living well is underrated.
Compared to the ancients who lived up to 969, 950, 930 years, our time here is pretty short.
Not considering recent drastic drops in life expectancy, somehow we've all informally settled the number 70 in our minds.
And if you take a moment to count your progress in 10's of years, it'll amuse you how many 10's you have left. This needn't scare you.
No. On the contrary, it needs to inspire you.
How are they looking?
Have you hurt someone?
Have they hurt you?Only one thing matters now - living well!