Nokia announced the Nokia NFC (Near Field Communication) shell last year with Nokia 3220. A project to test wireless public transport fares in Hanau, near Frankfurt in Germany will begin in first quarter 2005.

With the Nokia NFC shell on their phone, consumers will be able to access a variety of services and exchange information with a simple touch gesture utilizing NFC technology - a technology that emerged from the combination of contactless identification (RFID Radio Frequency Identification) and interconnection technologies.

The world's first Near Field Communications (NFC) product for payment and ticketing will be an enhanced version of the already announced Nokia NFC shell for Nokia 3220 phone. It delivers the promise of NFC based services, covering service discovery, payment and ticketing. The Nokia NFC shell will provide the first opportunity for consumers, mobile operators and service providers to benefit from an easy, touch-based access to services and content. 
 
With the Nokia NFC shell for payment and ticketing, the consumer can conduct local transactions with a mobile phone, simply by touching a point of sales device or ticket gate. Consumer's payment credentials, such as debit and credit cards, and transport tickets are securely stored in the integrated smart card chip of the Nokia NFC shell. The Nokia NFC shell for payment and ticketing is compliant and interoperable with contactless smart card infrastructure. Hence additional investments are not required.

In the first live NFC-based public transport ticketing showcase of its kind, Nokia 3220 mobile phones will be tested within the local bus network in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt, Germany. The Nokia NFC shell for payment and ticketing will be available in mid 2005. The product will be distributed to consumers through operators, and as such it will not be generally available as a traditional enhancement.

Read last year announcement here

http://www.slashphone.com/87/1067.html