NFC and NFC Payments: A Review

Nahar Sunny Suresh Shobha

Dept. Of MCA, VESIT
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
[email protected]

Kajarekar Sunit Pravin Aruna Manjrekar Devesh Parag Bhagyashree Kotian Siddhanth Jagdish Sarita
Dept. Of MCA, VESIT Dept. Of MCA, VESIT Dept. Of MCA, VESIT
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Mumbai, Maharashtra, India Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract—Near Field Communication (NFC) as a form of

technology has seen many improvements in recent years due to II. BACKGROUND
the increasing availability of NFC enabled devices. It is used for NFC is a derivative of RFID and uses the concept of
short range communication and based on the existing standards
magnetic induction for communication if the two NFC-
of Radio frequency identification (RFID) infrastructure. Simple
and safe bidirectional communication between NFC enabled enabled devices lie in a close proximity. These 2 technologies
devices is made possible by this technology. In this review paper, for the basis of NFC which are explained below:
NFC technology is put forward with respect to its A. RFID
implementation, operating modes, its application in the form of
tags as well as payments and its standards and protocols. NFC RFID is a form of wireless communication that uses
application in the field of payments is explained with the help of radio waves to identify and track objects. This system
NFC device architecture. Basic NFC forum architecture and has readers and tags that communicate with each other by
threats with respect to this technology are also discussed. radio frequency. An RFID System is made up of three
Keywords—RFID; NFC; NFC Architecture; secure element components: Antenna, Transceiver and Transponder (the
(SE); NFC Payments tag). A signal is transmitted in the form of radio frequency
waves using the antenna that activates the transponder. The
I. INTRODUCTION data is transmitted back to the antenna [2] by the tag when
activated. A programmable logical controller is notified of
Wireless Technology is fast replacing the wired any action that has occurred via the data. This action could
technology. A gain of 128 percent in the shipments of phones represent a work as simple as opening a door or as
equipped with wireless technology rose from 120 million to complicated as interfacing with a database to carry out a
275 million in 2013. According to Information Handling monetary transaction [3]. Low-frequency RFID systems
Service (IHS), from 2013 through the end of 2018 shipments have short transmission ranges. High-frequency RFID
could grow 325 percent [1]. End users now expect that a systems offer longer transmission ranges.
single device can be used to access variety of services, such
as communication, entertainment and commerce. This has B. Magnetic Induction
brought huge improvements in the field of contactless In magnetic induction: A small electric current that
technology; NFC being one of them. NFC has many creates a magnetic field around it is emitted by the reader.
applications including contactless payments usually referred Another coil in the client device receives this field and turns
to as NFC Payments. NFC Payments are being accepted by it back into electrical impulses for the communication of
retailers in developed/developing countries giving an option, data. Fig.1 [23] explains this concept.
that may prove convenient to people. On activation of NFC, a signal is sent to the NFC chip
Paper organization is done as follows: In the following inside the smartphone. Electricity flows through the
section, implementation of NFC technology is presented. In circuitry of this chip that generates a magnetic field. At this
Section III, NFC as a technology is reviewed. Section IV stage, it is the smartphone that uses power to generate a
explains the necessary standards associated with NFC magnetic field. Due to this a magnetic field is induced in
technology. Architecture of NFC is analyzed in Section V. the transponder or a device that does not have its own
Current payment methods are discussed in Section VI. power supply. This results in the creation of radio field by
Working of NFC payments and threats are addressed in the transponder that interacts with the electromagnetic field
Section VII. Finally, the paper is concluded in Section VIII. generated by the smartphone [4].

978-1-5090-5515-9/16/$31.00 ©2016 IEEE

 2) Peer-To-Peer Mode
Two devices that are powered can engage in peer-to-peer
mode, that is NFC specific. This mode lets the two devices
converse as though networked together

3) Card Emulation Mode

In Card emulation mode, the NFC device itself acts as a
NFC card placing the device in passive communication
mode. The smartphone does not generate its own RF field;
the NFC reader creates this field instead. The emulated NFC
Fig. 1. Magnetic Induction card can then be accessed by an external NFC reader, such
as an NFC point-of-sale terminal (POS).
III. NFC
NFC is a wireless short-range communication technology C. Comparison of NFC with other wireless technologies
based on existing standards of the RFID infrastructure. NFC TABLE 1. [21-22] compares the main characteristics and
operates in a short range of four to ten centimeters for specifications of NFC with wireless technologies such as
communication. For a communication, an NFC device RFID, Bluetooth V2.1 and Infrared Data Association(IrDA).
generates a radio frequency in 13.56 MHz spectrum. The
principle of magnetic inductive coupling is used to send and TABLE 1. Comparison with Other Wireless Technologies:
receive data within close proximity. NFC supports data rate of NFC RFID Bluetoot IrDA
106 Kbps, 212 Kbps and 424 Kbps. h V2.1
Information Coupling Magnet Electro Infrare
Transmission of ic field magneti d
A. Communication Ways magnetic c light
Communication in NFC is either in active mode or field radiation
passive mode. Active device is the one that generates RF and Operating 13.56 13.56 2.4 GHz ~ 2
has its own power supply. The passive device is powered by frequency MHz MHz MHz
another active device [5]. Following are the two
communication ways [6]: Modes Active- Active- Active- Active
active, passive active -active
1) Two-way communication: Devices that are capable of active-
reading and writing to each other. For example, using NFC, passive
you can touch both Android devices together to transfer data Transmission 0.04 – Up to 1 10 – 100 0 – 2
like contacts, links, or photos. range 0.1 m m m m

2) One-way communication: One-way communication: Network type Point-to- Point- Point-to- Point-
Reading and writing to an NFC chip is done by a powered point to-point multiple to-
device (like a phone, credit card reader, or commuter card point
terminal).Hence, when a commuter card is tapped on the Communicati Two way One Two One
terminal, money is subtracted from the balance by the NFC- on Way way Way
powered terminal.
Maximum 424 kbps 128 2.1 16
data rate kbps mbps mbps
B. Operating Modes
NFC devices can be in any one of the modes which are Setup time < 0.1s < 0.1s ~6s ~0.5s
reader/writer mode, peer-to-peer mode or card emulation
mode[7-8]. These operating modes are based on ISO/IEC Maximum < 15mA < < 30mA < 5mA
18092 NFC IP-1 and ISO/IEC 14443 standards. current 15mA
Consumption
1) Reader/Writer Mode
In Reader/Writer modern NFC enabled device reads NFC Authenticatio Yes Yes Yes No
tags like contact less smart cards and RFID tags.[9].A tag if n and
in close proximity is immediately detected. Once detected, it Encryption
can either read data from or write data to the detected tag.
Important application for this mode is smart posters. Standards ECMA ISO/IE IEEE IEEE8
340 C 802.15.1 02. II
 ISO/IEC 14443 C. ISO/IEC 18092
18092 It also defines both the Active and the Passive
ISO communication modes of Near Field Communication
14443 Interface and Protocol (NFCIP-1) to realize a
communication network using NFC devices. ISO/IEC 18092
Security Unsecure Unsecu Less Very specifies, in particular, modulation schemes, coding, transfer
d red secure secure speeds, and frame format of the RF interface, as well as
unless unless initialization schemes [15].
protected protecte
d
V. ARCHITECTURE
Modes Active – Reader Active – Active
active mode active – A. NFC (Forum Specification Architecture)
Active – and active NFC Forum Specifications is a technology standard that
passive card in tunes and extends existing contactless standards unlocking
like the full potential of NFC technology across the different
mode contactless operating modes as explained above. Refer
Fig.2[24]. The different types of NFC Forum Technical
From TABLE 1, it can be observed that each wireless Specifications [11] are explained below:
technology has different characteristics. NFC can work in
either of the two modes viz. Active-active and active-passive 1) Protocol Technical Specification
unlike RFID, Bluetooth, IrDA. Bluetooth is a point to multiple a) Logical Link Control Protocol (LLCP) Specification
network type unlike other technology and hence used to do OSI layer-2 protocol is designed to support peer-to-peer
more than one process at the same time. Infrared and transmission between two NFC enabled devices in LLCP.
Bluetooth have the highest data rate (16 Mbps, 2.1 Mbps The specification defines two service types, connectionless
respectively) but NFC and RFID have lower data rate (424 and connection-oriented that is essential for any NFC
kbps and 128 kbps respectively) also we can find that NFC applications to involve bi-directional communications.
and RFID have a very good setup time around 0.1 second but
Infrared and Bluetooth have more than 0.5 second. Infrared is
b) Digital Protocol Specification
more secure than NFC, Bluetooth and RFID. It is found that
Bluetooth technology consumes power more than all other NFC-enabled device Communicate, providing an
technologies. Infrared technology does not have embedded implementation specification on top of the ISO/IEC 18092
authentication and encryption operations but other and ISO/IEC 14443 standards. The specification defines the
technologies have and also NFC technology has a very short common feature set that can be used consistently and
Transmission distance range. without further modification. The specification covers the
digital interface and the half-duplex transmission protocol of
the NFC-enabled device in its four roles as Initiator, Target,
IV. STANDARDS Reader/Writer and Card Emulator.

A. ISO 14443 A/B c) Activity Specification

Two version of ISO 14443 are –A and –B. Similarly, This NFC Digital Protocol Specification can be used to
ISO 144.043 shows two versions of packet framing and low- set up the communication protocol with another NFC device
level protocol (ISO 14443-3). The uppermost layer of the or NFC Forum tag. The building blocks called Activities are
ISO protocol stack defines a command interface (ISO described here, for setting up the communication protocol.
14443-4) for transferring information [13]. This well-known
standard was originally developed for contactless chip card d) Simple NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF)
communication over a 13.56 MHz radio. Exchange Protocol (SNEP) Specification
When operating in peer-to-peer mode SNEP lets an
B. SONY ‘FeliCa’ application on an NFC-enabled device to exchange NDEF
‘FeliCa’ is a proprietary NFC tag technology invented by messages with another NFC Forum device.
Sony, and widely used in payment and transportation
applications in Asian markets. ‘FeliCa’ tags are integrated e) Analog Specification
with selected smartphone models. The tags are based on the Analog characteristics of RF interface of NFC enabled
passive mode of ISO 18092, added authentication and devices are addressed. The main reason of this specification
encryption features [14]. is to describe and specify the distinct features of the
externally observable signals for NFC enabled device
without having to specify the design of the antenna of an b) Personal Health Device Communication
NFC-Enabled Device. Meant to be used by manufacturers Specification
for implementation of NFC-enabled device. Need for an openly-defined standard for the exchange of
personal health data between devices using Near Field
2) Data Exchange Specification Communication technology is addressed.
a) NFC Data Exchange Format (NDEF)
Specifies a common data format for NFC Forum-
compliant devices and NFC Forum-compliant tags.

3) NFC Forum Tag Type Technical Specification

NFC Tags store a small amount of information for
transfer to another NFC device, these are microchips with an
antenna. There's a whole set of various data types to can
store on an NFC tag. The information stored in NFC tags is
stored in a specific data format (NDEF), it can be reliably
read by most devices. The amount of data varies depending
on the type of NFC tag used - different tags have different
memory capacities as explained below:

a) NFC Forum Type 1 Tag and Type 2 Tag

Tags are read and re-write capable where users can
configure the tag to become read-only. Memory availability
is 96 bytes for type 1 tag and expandable to 2 Kbyte whereas
it is 48 bytes and expandable to 2 Kbyte for type 2 tag. The
communication speed for both tags is 106Kbit/s.

b) NFC Forum Type 3 Tag

The NFC Tag 3 Type is based on Sony ‘FeliCa’ system.
Currently the memory capacity is 2 Kbyte and the data
communication speed is 212 Kbit/s. This NFC tag type is
more applicable for complex applications, although there is a
higher cost per tag.
Fig. 2. NFC Technical Architecture
c) NFC Forum Type 4 Tag
These NFC tags are pre-configured by manufacturer and
they can be either or read only, read / write. The memory B. NFC Device Architecture
capacity can be up to 32 Kbytes. The communication speed
is between 106 Kbit/s and 424 Kbit/s. NFC in a mobile device consists of two integrated
circuits: SE and NFC interface. The NFC interface is
4) Record Type Definition Technical Specification composed of an NFC antenna and an IC called an NFC
controller to enable NFC transactions. Refer Fig. 3 [19].
States the format and rules for building standard record
types based on NDEF data format that are used by NFC
Forum application definitions and third parties. 1) Host Controller
The host controller (baseband controller) is the most
5) Reference Application Technical Specification important element of any smartphone. Host Controller
Interface (HCI) connects the NFC controller and the host
a) Connection Handover Specification controller. Refer Fig.3.Setting the operating modes of the
It defines the structure and sequence of interactions that NFC controller, processing data that is sent and receive
enable two NFC-enabled devices to create a connection through the HCI and establishing a connection between the
using other wireless communication technologies. NFC controller and the SE is done by the host controller.
Developers are given the opportunity to choose the carrier
for the information to be exchanged. During the negotiation 2) NFC Controller
process the connection can switch to the selected carrier The NFC controller in the device routes all data from the
between two NFC-enabled devices if the matching wireless reader directly to the SE.
capabilities are revealed.
3) SE
 A SE is a tamper proof device, providing a secure storage VI. CURRENT PAYMENT METHODS
and execution environment for sensitive data is prepared. It Some of the modes of payment that are currently being
gives both physical and logical protection against attacks,
used are:
ensuring integrity and confidentiality of its content [20].
SE’s are micro controllers that may come in different form A. EMV®Card
factors, such as: EMV® stands for “Europay, MasterCard® and Visa®”
a) Smart cards, the chip are embedded in a plastic card which are the three companies that originally developed the
that is size of a typical credit card. The card may show specifications for the technology. EMV cards are based on
physical contacts to transmit with the chip, or the chip may chip technologies which make it harder for anyone to steal
support NFC, in which case the plastic card embeds an account information while making payment. The
antenna. Some cards also support both communication microprocessor chip in EMV card produces a unique code
methods. for every transaction. Even if a criminal succeeds to grab the
b) Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) is smart code from the store, it’s mostly useless because it won’t
cards used in cellular telephony, which can be dispatched in work a second time, and it can’t be traced back to the real
different sizes. They are called SIM, which is actually the card number [16-17].
name of the application presented by the UICC to access GSM
networks. Smart SD cards have a similar form as B. Magnetic Stripe Card
usual SD cards, but internally include a SE, and support an
A magnetic stripe is a card capable of storing data by
extended set of SD commands to communicate with the SE.
modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic
c) Embedded SE’s, which are chips directly bonded to particles on a band of material which is magnetic. The
the device mother board. Unlike other form factors, this one magnetic stripe, sometimes called swipe card or magstripe,
does not allow interchanging or extracting the SE, it is is read by swiping a magnetic reading head. Magnetic stripe
permanently attached to the device. cards are generally used in credit cards, identity cards, and
transportation tickets [18].
Some of the application of SE includes:
• Authentication: Instead of a user name and password, C. Limitations:
access to an online service may be protected by a strong
1) Loss of electronic card.
authentication mechanism, based on credentials stored
Payments involving physical cards have a high risk of
and processed in a SE.
getting lost or stolen. This will result in misuse of
• Digital Signature: Applications may use the SE to details and the cardholder will have to take extra efforts
digitally sign a document or any data with a key stored in to overcome the consequences.
this SE.
• Payment: Online commerce may widely use smart credit 2) Fake Individuality.
cards, or specific payment applications, to enforce the When a card is stolen he/she can fake his/her identity
security of online transactions. On mobile telephony claiming that he/she is the owner of the card.
environment, the on-card payment application may be
hosted on the SIM card, Lightens the need for the user to
3) Bulky Wallets
handle multiple physical devices.
A person can have more than one credit/debit cards
which he/she has to carry in his/her wallet. This makes
it difficult to manage all the cards.

VII. NFC PAYMENTS

NFC utilizes tap-to-pay technology where consumers can
load their payment information into their NFC-enabled
smartphones. Using these third party applications can
securely store credit/debit card information which is then
used for any kind of transactions. It is easy to use, saves time
and highly mobile. In general, it can be thought of carrying a
digital wallet that has all the information regarding the cards.
A. NFC Payment Working
NFC payment works by taking and associating two
Fig. 3. NFC Device Architecture points of data for every transaction, RFID as well as an
encrypted password. A secure radio within the smartphone
 sends a special code to the retailer’s payment system which attack protection can be provided in number of ways. Data
sends user the transaction details. The user needs to enter a transmitted at 106 Baud data rate in active mode cannot be
PIN number to approve the specific transaction. To stay modifies by attacker in any form. As a result, the 106 Baud
protected against virus and hackers, the NFC radio is data rate, active mode would be required for data transfer in
specially designed in a way only one app on the phone both directions. However, this is the most unprotected mode
would be capable of approving a transaction and is isolated to eavesdropping.
from the rest of the phone’s operating system. This
technology makes NFC very safe. This is explained with the 3) Man-In-The-Middle
help of flowchart in Fig. 4[25]. This form of NFC security issue involves communication
between two parties being intercepted by a third party. The
third party acts as a relay, by utilizing information received
and modifying it if required to enable the attacker to achieve
their aims. This must be achieved without the two parties
knowing that there is an interceptor between them. Refer
Fig. 5[25]. It is particularly difficult to achieve a man-in-the-
middle attack on an NFC link. To completely reduce the
risk, it is best to apply an active-passive communication
mode. In this way it would be possible to hear and detect any
unwanted third party.

Fig. 5. Man in the middle

Fig. 4. NFC Payment working flow chart

B. Threats 4) Data Corruption

NFC threats that also affect payment [5] include: Data corruption is basically a form of denial of service
attack. The attacker may try to interrupt the communications
1) Eavesdropping by transmitting data that may be valid, or by blocking the
The RF signal is picked up by the antenna for wireless channel so that the legitimate data is corrupted. This form of
data transfer. The distance from which an attacker is able to NFC security attack is possible to detect. Listening to the
eavesdrop the signal and depends on various parameters, but data when it is being transmitted will enable them to detect
is typically a small number of meters. Also, communication any attack of this form because for a successful attack, the
mode highly affects eavesdropping. A passive device that power required by the system is significantly greater than
doesn’t generate its own RF field is much harder to that which can be detected by the NFC device transmitting
eavesdrop on than an active device. An attacker can the data.
eavesdrop within 10m for active devices and 1m for passive
devices.
VIII. CONCLUSION
2) Data Modification NFC is a wireless technology for short range data
This form of NFC security issues includes an attacker transmission. It operates in three modes via two types of
aiming to arrange for the receiving device to receive data communication. RFID and magnetic induction are the key
that has been easily controlled in some form. This data will factors in implementing NFC. Few forms of implementing this
naturally have to be in the correct format for it to be technology is through NFC tags and NFC payment. Through
accepted. Such an attack is possible for few bits under NFC Payments transactions are secure and carried out with
different coding schemes. Against this form of security just a tap. The SE is responsible for security, authenticity and
data confidentiality with respect to payments. Although this Conf. Contemp. Comput. Informatics, pp. 639–644, 2014.
[13] ISO/IEC 14443: Identification cards – Contactless integrated
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