Android KitKat, NFC Adoption

Google recently gave Android 4.4 KitKat access to NFC. Near field communication (NFC) is one of the security measures included with the standards along with facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. Consumers today are adapting rapidly to mobile payments where organizations to deliver services which are safe and positive for users.

Android NFC

New NFC capabilities through Host Card Emulation Android 4.4 introduces new platform support for secure NFC-based transactions through Host Card Emulation (HCE), for payments, loyalty programs, card access, transit passes, and other custom services. With HCE, any app on an Android device can emulate an NFC smart card, letting users tap to initiate transactions with an app of their choice — no provisioned secure element (SE) in the device is needed. Apps can also use a new Reader Mode to act as readers for HCE cards and other NFC-based transactions.

Android HCE will emulate ISO/IEC 7816 based smart cards. The cards have a contactless ISO/IEC 14443-4 (ISO-DEP) protocol. The EMVCO NFC payment system is currently using this protocol. The Android OS will use Application Identifiers (AIDs) to route transactions to Android applications. Apps will then claim AIDS to be supported.

Multiple applications will have Android displaying a dialog to allow users to select which app to use. The user will then tap-to-pay at a POS terminal. The local network will then verify the transaction as completed. Android HCE requires an NFC controller for supported devices. Support is available for most NFC controllers.

Android 4.4 KitKat’s adoption to the NFC chip will allow Android apps to  to allow access to the NFC chip to trust execution environment within a secure element. Google is a company that will democratize tap-and-pay. The perspective of NFC is to bridge the gap between merchants and card payments. Enabling KitKat to support NFC capabilities will ease use and deployment. NFC is now found integrated in many popular Android mobile devices.

Google / Androidegis

NFC and Bluetooth enabled, Android consumers are able to instantly download any software requested at the Google Play store for Sony Smartwatch 2. The Smartwatch 2 is much like a classic Android platform, tablet or phone. A built-in app allows users to customize time settings and alarm. The rest of the apps (calendar, photos, music, social) have to be installed through Sony SmartConnect app which is available in the Google Play store for free. The smartwatch is compatible with any Android phone version 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and higher.

Android developers or any 3rd part can create a mobile wallet application for NFC payments. Click to read more.