CARTES in Asia 2012 to showcase NFC industry opportunities and developments

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The global Near Field Communication (NFC) industry has taken off this year with Google Wallet making an impact and major handset vendors including Nokia, Samsung (Google), RIM, LG and ZTE launching large volumes of NFC devices. With over 900 million mobile users, mainland China has the biggest potential for the future of NFC deployment. Businesses wanting to reach suppliers of this technology or to research innovations in NFC should participate in CARTES in Asia exhibition and conference at AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong, 28 & 29 March 2012.

Many NFC technologies and applications originated in the West but according to a recent Smart Insights White Paper on NFC in China 2011, mainland China has its own powerful mobile payment solutions. China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and China UnionPay are the key telecommunications and banking stakeholders. Each has developed several projects incorporating NFC, or NFC-like technology such as RF-SIM, SIMpass or MicroSD, in major mainland cities that enable customers to use mobile phones to pay for food and drink as well as public transport. The main suppliers of this technology include Nationz Technologies, Eastcompease, Shanghai Fudan Microelectronics, Watchdata, TCL, Datang and HTC proving that not only is mainland China using NFC but it is also developing and providing its own NFC applications.

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology states that mobile payments are expected to be the driving force behind mainland China's aim to triple its e-commerce industry by the end of the country's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015). By the end of 2011, mainland China's estimated current 230 million mobile payments users are expected to generate transactions of USD 1.8 billion (CNY 11.37 billion), representing a 400 percent growth from 2010, states a research report by Minsheng Securities.

Outside of China but still in Asia, KT, South Korea's second largest mobile operator, distributed (September) NFC-enabled iPhone attachments preloaded with a MasterCard PayPass application. Users can tap to pay at PayPass terminals in Korea that are also used by full NFC phones and other contactless-mobile handsets. While in Hong Kong, Pacific Coffee has launched (October) the first card-free settlement convenience with its iPhone app linked to PayPal.

Isabelle Alfano, Director of CARTES events, Comexposium, said: "We've seen a boom in the NFC industry this year with more and more countries realising the benefits of employing convenient card and cash-free technology. As mainland China's economy keeps on growing, their huge subscriber base indicates great potential for future NFC deployments - less than one third of users currently have access to mobile payment technology. Government, transport, telecoms, administrative, security and retail industries looking to find out more should head to CARTES in Asia next March in Hong Kong where they will meet hundreds of experts and developers of this ground-breaking technology."

The 2012 exhibition and conference will be the third edition of CARTES in Asia. Major exhibitors from the smart security industry have already confirmed their participation, such as: Advanced Card Systems, Gemalto, HID global, Ingenico, Inside Secure, Oberthur Technologies, STMicroelectronics, Watchdata.

Sources: NFC Times, Pacific Coffee, Smart Insights White Paper, China Daily, Paypers

About CARTES in Asia

Date: 28-29 March 2012

Opening times: 9.30am to 5.30pm

Place: Hong Kong - AsiaWorld-Expo

Organiser: Comexposium

Website: www.cartes-asia.com

For trade visitors only

CARTES in Asia is a regional Exhibition for the APAC market and a high-level Congress covering digital security and smart technologies.

The 2nd edition of CARTES in Asia exhibition and conference attracted 3,056 visitors from 61 countries - an increase of 8% compared to 2010. Over 120 smart technology companies from across the globe including market leaders American Express, Datacard, Eastcompeace, Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, HID Global, Verifone, Watchdata, and Zebra Technologies joined this year's event. While organisations such as Global Platform, Mastercard, SIM Alliance, Paypal and Price Waterhouse Coopers presented at the co-located two day conference.

CARTES Network

CARTES Network encompasses the leading international and regional exhibitions and conferences devoted to smart technologies. From its beginning in Paris in 1985, CARTES has grown to become the world number one Security and Payment event. Since 2010, CARTES exhibitions and conferences have also been organized in Asia and now North America.

CARTES events are organized by COMEXPOSIUM, the leading French professional trade fairs organizer, offering a high level of service and premium quality standards for exhibitors and visitors.

Contact

For more information, obtain photographs or to arrange interviews please contact Mandy Queen (English) at CRED Communications Ltd on +852 96847365 or email mandy@credcommunications.com or Otis Kung (Chinese) on +852 96843926 or email Otis@credcommunications.com.

Contacts

Mandy Queen (English)
CRED Communications Ltd
+852 96847365
mandy@credcommunications.com
or
Otis Kung (Chinese)
+852 96843926
Otis@credcommunications.com