Collaboration pilots first UWB-based peer-to-peer payment application

NXP Semiconductors is working with ING Bank NV on Project NEAR, ING's pilot of the industry's first UWB-based peer-to-peer payment application. The pilot program will use UWB-enabled Samsung Galaxy smartphones to enable consumers to directly share money with peers via the ING banking application when two Galaxy smartphones are near each other. The new pilot program intends to make peer-to-peer payments easier, more intuitive and seamless.

Peer-to-peer payments have become increasingly common. Consumers often employ these applications to share expenses, shop from private vendors, or send money to family or friends via a linked bank account or card. Usually, this requires users to search for each other's profiles, utilising usernames, email addresses or phone numbers. But UWB technology streamlines this process by connecting two users via their smartphones. Compatible Galaxy smartphones will automatically detect when another user's device is within range and how close they are. The sender needs to be within close range of the recipient, making money transfers quicker, more secure and hassle-free.

"With this new technology, you can make a peer-to-peer payment by directing your phone towards another. Consumers no longer need to share personal details, which makes mobile payments even more swift and easy," said Thijs Janssen of ING Factory, ING's department that innovates in co-creation with corporates. "UWB's precision location capabilities ensure that the payment is safely transferred to the right person.

"By using NXP's Trimension SR100T UWB chips to enable consumers to pay directly through the ING banking app, we're enabling all the convenience of peer-to-peer payments while also creating the opportunity to expand to new use cases in the future, such as adding UWB to point of sales to enable a secure, hands-free checkout experience," said Rafael Sotomayor, executive vice president and general manager, Connectivity and Security at NXP. "As the need for convenient peer-to-peer payments continues to grow, our collaboration with ING and Samsung helps to make this innovative payment method suitable for worldwide adoption."

"UWB technology is opening up a whole new world of connectivity, one where our devices and appliances can all communicate seamlessly with each other in an open ecosystem," says JM Choi, corporate vice president and head of connectivity R&D Group at Mobile Experience Business, Samsung Electronics. "By working closely with partners like NXP and ING, we're able to put this game-changing technology into the hands of even more consumers, creating innovative new experiences that make people's everyday lives easier."