Intel, MasterCard enter multi-year agreement for NFC-enabled e-commerce

With the NFC embedded card or smartphone in hand, the customer has to wave his phone or card in front of his Ultrabook to complete a purchase.

The companies revealed plans to optimise the emerging payments technologies, including MasterCards PayPass and Intel Identity Protection Technology (IPT). The Intel Identity Protection Technology will allow consumers to use two-factor authentication and hardware-based display protection. In addition, consumers will also be able to pay for online purchases via their PayPass-enabled card, tag or smart phone using an Ultrabook device, if they combine the Intel Identity Protection Technology with an Intel Identity Protection Technology-enabled reader.

Research indicates that there is an increasing tendency among consumers to shift their shopping activities to the online channel. In 2010, US online sales reached USD 176.2 billion and are expected to grow at double-digit percentage rates annually for the next 5 years, as revealed by Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company.