NTT DoCoMo Debuts Credit Card Phone

Scott S. writes "NTT DoCoMo Unveils its new phone allowing a simply wave to pay for items at the supermarket, rent movies, get airplane tickets and more. The i-mode FeliCa serves as a "mobile wallet" that detects weak electronic signals from a reader/writer and can be used when the phone is off. Credit card phones have been an idea in the past and leave it to the Japanese to make one."

Comments

One FeliCa to access them all

[fembots]

It seems almost inevitable that Japanese is going to have a Felica after Toyota's Celica and Mitsubishi's Delica :) Where's Google when you need a Gelica (Girly Car)?

The article mentioned "i-mode FeliCa will make your wallet more slim. It can be your cash, credit card, membership ID, and even your house key." Given that many people have mobile phones stolen/lost, or worse, broken in the most unexpected moment, is relying too heavily on one device too much a risk?

I think it's equally annoying to have your cash stolen, house broken into, and not being able to enter your house (and you can't call for help without a mobile phone or cash for payphone!)

--
Play iCLOD Virtual City Explorer [iclod.com] and win Half-Life 2

Re:One FeliCa to access them all

[kryonD]

I will freely admit to not having RTFA, but that's because I check out DoCoMo's site on a regular basis. There 506i series of phones had one model with fingerprint activiation and the next gen will likely follow that trend as DoCoMo has always done in the past. Having to finger the phone may seem like a minor annoyance, but for anyone who has frantically tried to make it through the crowds to the ticket machines when you realize your pass is your other pocket would consider this almost as eay as just reaching for your wallet with the JR pass in it. Add the ability to pay for items with the press of your finger and a single source of billing and you have a winner.

I'm counting the days til I can return to Tokyo and replace my two year old 505i (which by the way, still puts 95% of the current US phones to shame)

Why attached to a phone?

[LostCluster]

I use ExxonMobil's Speedpass from time to time, but I don't quite see why the same thing needs to be attached into a cell phone. Isn't an RFID chip on a keychain enough to do the job?

Re:Why attached to a phone?

[gl4ss]

well.. the idea is that it cuts down on the seperate things you have to carry..

with eventually you having to carry just one thing(preferably that has the data portions somewhere backed up automagically where they're easily replaceable securely for you if you lose the thing).

Time to..

[pmazer]

...go get my tin foil hat ironed.

Condoms etc.

[EmbeddedJanitor]

When I was younger and unmarried I'd carry a condom in my wallet. You never know!

Now I carry a spare CompactFlash and my driving and fishing licenses.

Unless the cellphone has a handy place to put these things I can't see it replacing a wallet any time soon.

Walking through the supermarket line

[Faustust]

I can't wait til I'm leaving a grocery store without buying anything, I walk through the checkout line to get out, and I end up buying someone else's groceries for them without knowing it.

*thinks* wait a minute...I might be the one getting free groceries.

/seconds motion to introduce this

more like...

[Anonymous Coward]

NTT DoCoMo DeBuTs cRedIt CaRd pHoNe

Passive reading?

[Mad-Mage1]

I always wondered, is it possible to read these passively at some other location (i.e. a small reader attached near the lock on an apartment complex?) and bill later? Perhaps storing the tag's info in flash for eventual DL?

Theft without needing to break into your house?

[UnapprovedThought]

Does this mean that unauthorized charges can be made without even being able to turn off the capability?

If so, then drive-by theft suddenly becomes possible. Gives war-driving a whole new meaning.

"a simple wave"?!?

[El]

Just remember NOT to wave at those hookers you see standing on the street corner...

But seriously, shouldn't a monetary transaction require a signature and/or a passcode, not just a gesture? How close does this have to be to the reader in order to bill my account? It would appear that there would be tremendous potential for ringing up unintentional charges when using a remote reader for payment.

Re:"a simple wave"?!?

[DogDude]

But seriously, shouldn't a monetary transaction require a signature and/or a passcode, not just a gesture?

I'm sorry to break it to you, but if you think that traditional credit cards are much more secure, you're kidding yourself. Signatures are pretty useless, since 1. The merchant banks don't require us (businesses that accept credit cards) to check them against any other verified signature 2. A signature is easy to forge, especially when retail workers aren't handwriting experts 3. Merchant banks don't require us to do anything with the signed receipts once we have them. Our merchant bank requires, barring a real, physical card, to check the billing zip code, but even this information should be pretty easy to get. The only protection that credit cards have is the right to dispute charges. But since, these will also be credit cards, the same will apply. Therefore, these new gizmos will be about as secure as existing credit cards: they won't be.

Pretty Old news

[I_am_jsking]

I live in Japan and these phones have been out for atleast 5 months. That said, I use one and it's really handy. Riding the trains is very nice since I don't have to wait in line to buy tickets any more. Untill the tech. is adopted in more convenience stores outside of the train stations though, I'll still need my change purse.

As we all know, the japanese love to use cash anyway, so I feel like a tech like this stands a better chance at becomming really really popular in the US or Europe, where credit cards are more commonly accepted. Pretty frequent to have busniess associates of mine get into jams at nice resturants because they don't have enough cash.

jsking

Re:Pretty Old news

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll answer this.

If you want to become a FeLiCa-enabled vendor, you must lease your reader directly from DoCoMo. All charges are stamped with a vendor-ID and the reader serial#. In order to get both items of information, a hacker would have to steal the reader from a store, crack it open to get the serial#, and replace the reader without causing any damage.

If the reader is missing, the vendor is required by contract (strict!) to contact DoCoMo immediately and have that reader decomissioned. The vendor is then liable for the cost of replacing the missing reader, discouraging them from lax physical security in the first place. If the reader is returned to the store in damaged condition such that the tamper-proof seal is broken (which self-reports to DoCoMo), then the machine is decomissioned and all transactions using that serial# are investigated.

Essentially, you would have to be a DoCoMo employee to pull off something like this successfully.

Also, the charge always requires a button-press acceptance on the user's part to acknowledge the transaction. If someone were to just wave the reader at your phone, it wouldn't do anything unless you accept the charge (in 30 seconds or so before the transaction times out).

security, self control, ...

[n3k5]

Article:

... allowing a simply wave to pay for ...

UnapprovedThought:

Does this mean that unauthorized charges can be made ...

Either way, you can wave goodbye to your money.

Great..

[StikyPad]

As a result, a handset becomes a mobile tool for convenient new uses, serving as e-money, credit card, ticket, or even house or office key.

Now when I lose my phone, it will be even more of a pain in the ass. Not to mention the increased likelyhood of someone just grabbing your phone right out of your hand while you're talking on it. And using it as a house key!?!? Now I've got to buy TWO phones so I can throw one under the doormat? It'll be hard to explain to my friends to disregard the lump under the mat, while at the same time being careful not to step on it. (Just kidding, I have no friends).

The press release doesn't mention anything about security either.. At least my credit card has a signature on the back for the cashiers to pretend to examine.

Wha?

[faqmaster]

Am I the only one who thought, "Credit card phone? Sounds too small."

Old news

[rbrome]

This is old news in Japan. It was announced back in June:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=888

But for those of us in the west, there's news, too, such as Nokia yesterday announcing a faceplate accessory that adds this feature to one of their phones:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=994

And Motorola recently announcing a U.S. trial of this technology together with MasterCard:

http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=973

Don't confuse this new NFC-based technology with passive technology like the gas-station keychain things, or touch-based transit passes, campus ID cards, etc. This is different, because it's active and dyanamic - it's integrated with the phone.

That means it can serve multiple purposes. It can be your cash, credit card, debit card, bus pass, driver's license, and work ID all in one. Then you can download a Java app to the phone that will let it replace your grocery dicount card, too. It really can replace your whole wallet - not just a credit card. That's what's so cool about NFC systems like FeliCa.

I don't like the sounds of this

[The Wing Lover]

Just yesterday I found someone's phone on the train approaching Tokyo Station; they'd got off at Ginza leaving it there. Sitting right beside the phone was the person's train ticket. This person wouldn't have even been able to exit the ticket gates at Ginza to get to where the pay phone was so he could call Lost and Found.

The thing is, with actual paper money and credit cards and everything else, you're not likely to have your wallet out of your pants during the train ride, but around here a good 25% of the people on the train have their cel phones out doing text messaging or playing video games during the train ride.

It seems like there'll be a greater chance for people to lose their cel phones than their wallets, and now that we're cramming everything under the sun into cel phones, it'll just be more devistating to lose one.

it's a debit card

[germano]

We have these in Japan for a while, and if it's the same, it's a debit card. You can use your phone to transfer money from your credit card (!) to your phone or you can use ATMs to put money in it.
My phone is capable of that, but I never used. Some convenience stores, video rentals and even Coca-Cola vending machines are planned to be payable using Felica mainly next year, but I still don't see many shops around me where I can use that.