A survey on NFC Payment: Applications, Research Challenges, and Future Directions

Abstract

Near Field Communication (NFC), as a short-range wireless connectivity technology, makes it easier for electronic devices to stay in touch. This technology, due to its advantages such as secure access, compatibility, and ease of use, can be utilized in multiple applications in various domains such as banking, file transferring reservations, booking tickets, redeeming, entry/exit passes, and payment. In this survey paper, various aspects of this technology, including operating modes, their protocol stacks, and standard message format are investigated. Moreover, future direction of NFC in terms of design, improvement, and user-friendliness is presented for further research. In addition, due to the disadvantages of banknote-based payment methods such as the high temptation to steal and the need for a safe, mobile payments, which include mobile wallets and mobile money transfers, are explored as a new alternative to these methods. In addition, the traditional payment methods and their limitations are surveyed along with NFC payment as a prominent application of this technology. Furthermore, security threats of NFC payment along with future research directions for NFC payment and its challenges, including protocols and standards, and NFC payment security requirements are addressed in this paper. It is hoped that effective policies for NFC payment development will be provided by addressing the important challenges and formulating appropriate standards.