Both the network operators and the card companies are spending millions promoting and rolling out NFC or contactless payments through mobile this year. Every major handset manufacturer will include contactless technology in their handsets very soon. Google CEO Eric Schmidt  said that, “NFC should revolutionize electronic commerce as well as payments”. In the UK, next year’s impending Olympics has been a driver to speed up this roll out. It’s all very exciting. However, there is one big ‘if’ about all of this. It’s the elephant in the room. Consumer adoption.

According to Forrester Research this is a real problem. According to their blog most consumers don’t know or don’t care about NFC. So those with a vested interest in mobile will have to create the user demand. Not an easy task at the best of times, given that technology does not drive consumer demand, consumers do.

Related Blog: Operators and Handset manufacturers battle for the NFC space