Atlanta Spirit, Chase, Cingular, Nokia, NXP, Visa USA and ViVOtech excited by results of Near Field Communications trial, citing this is "just the beginning".

A group of industry-leading companies announced the completion of the first North American Near Field Communication (NFC) trial for mobile phones, including contactless payments and content downloads at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

During the testing phase, 150 Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks season ticket holders with both a Chase-issued Visa credit account and a Cingular Wireless account made payments at contactless readers supplied by ViVOtech at concession stands throughout the arena. Additionally, fans downloaded content to their Nokia 3220 mobile phones equipped with NXP’s NFC semiconductor chips, including ring tones, wallpapers, screensavers and video clips of favorite players.

Following the completion of the trial, pilot partners conducted focus groups to capture the participants’ experience and gain feedback to inform future trials and product development, as well as consumer adoption of mobile applications. Key findings include:

Trial participants overwhelmingly embraced the technology and expressed that the mobile device and applications significantly improved their arena experience.
Data usage increased during game days; trial participants used their NFC-enabled mobile device more frequently to search for and purchase digital content.
Participants indicated that they would like to use their mobile devices for payment at a variety of merchant locations, for any purchase size, and see value in accessing multiple payment accounts on their mobile devices in the future.
Trial participants also expressed interest in having multiple applications on a single mobile device, including transit, loyalty and digital content applications.

The contactless technology provided a faster and simpler payment option at concession stands, allowing season ticket holders to get out of the lines and back to the game more quickly. According to Visa research, purchases made using contactless technology are up to 25 percent faster than those made with cash and trial participants enjoyed the speed and convenience of not having to sign for their purchases under $25.

The trial demonstrated the importance of the evolving partnerships between financial services and wireless technology companies to deliver advanced mobile services to consumers. It was the first large-scale test of next-generation mobile phone applications in North America, and is the result of a collaboration between Chase (NYSE: JPM), Cingular Wireless, Nokia, NXP, Visa USA and ViVOtech, along with Atlanta Spirit, LLC, parent company of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena.


The contactless technology provides a faster and simpler payment option.  According to a Visa research, purchases made using contactless technology are up to 25 percent faster than those made with cash, and is more convenient than having to sign for credit card purchases under $25.


ViVOtech is the market leader in contactless/NFC payment software, transaction management systems, and readers. These innovative solutions allow consumers to make contactless payments with radio frequency-enabled credit cards, debit cards, key fobs, and NFC-enabled mobile phones. ViVOtech's products are used by some of the most prominent retailers in the United States. Currently, with more than 180,000 units in 18 countries, ViVOtech's products are in use at movie theaters, fast food restaurants, casual dining establishments, convenience stores, gas stations, drug stores, grocery stores, buses, taxicabs and vending machine locations, enabling a wide variety of businesses to accept contactless/NFC payments. In 2005, ViVOtech received the prestigious Frost & Sullivan technology award for its role in transforming the contactless payment industry, as well as winning the first annual ETA Technology Innovation Award.

Submit an online application for a Chase Credit Card by browsing card offers at Credit Federal.