Sprint cell phone

Wednesday, May 7th 2008 - 23:40 CEST - Comments: 0

A select group of BART riders is helping to launch a first-in-the-nation technological trial that will allow participants to walk up to any BART fare gate with a specially-equipped Sprint wireless phone and pay for their ride by tagging the cell phone on a reader located on top of the gate. Once through the gate, the 230 trial participants can hold their specifically-equipped Sprint cell phone up to certain Jack in the Box and Sprint “smart advertisements” on BART station walls and download either directions to the nearest Jack in the Box restaurant or content from Sprint.

> Lowest retail prices for Sprint cell phone

 

Pay fares and food via your Sprint cell phone

Then, after taking the train to their favorite Jack in the Box location, participants can use their cell phone to pay for their meal. All this thanks to a developing new technology called "Near Field Communication" (NFC) and First Data Corporation - a global technology leader in the payments industry providing end-to-end solutions for credit, debit, loyalty and stored value transactions.

 

Receive discounts through cell phone payment

This four month trial is much different from others in that it is the first to give participants the added benefit of automatically receiving the discounts and offers which companies usually only provide to customers who have enrolled in their loyalty programs. In the past, other pay-by-cell-phone trials have just allowed customers to pay for goods and services using a credit card tied to their phone, which often prevented them from automatically receiving the discounts merchants provide. However, in this trial participants will automatically get those special discounts. For example, participants will automatically get the 6.25% discount BART provides those who purchase high-value tickets.

 

 

Sprint trial cell phone with NFC smart chip

Pre-selected trial participants will exchange their existing cell phones for the Sprint trial phones embedded with the NFC enabled smart chip - a chip that will allow them to securely pay for both their fares and their fries. "In BART's case, a participant will initially have a stored value of $48 worth of BART rides loaded onto their NFC enabled cell phone," BART Director James Fang said. "Once the stored value drops below $10 the NFC technology automatically reloads the phone ‘over the air' with another $48 worth of rides and the customer will automatically receive our high-value discount, so they will only be charged $45."

 

Check your balance via the Sprint cell phone

"Additionally, participants can check their balance using their cell phones at any time. We're very hopeful this type of technology catches on because the implications are widespread - including making BART more convenient since riders won't need to spend time buying a paper ticket and making BART ‘greener' since we won't have to print as many paper tickets," Fang said.

 

 

Sprint cell phone for multiple purposes

"Sprint is looking forward to evaluating the results from the preliminary trial of this new technology. It has the potential to allow trial participants to quickly manage their daily commute and make payments using the one device they carry with them throughout the day," said Thad Langford, vice president, strategic partners and innovation, Sprint. "For trial users, this capability could complement the many other cell phone applications that Sprint offers, including music, video, navigation, walkie-talkie and more, that make customers' lives more productive and enjoyable."

 

Payment infrastructure for simple transactions

"First Data is pleased to bring its stored value solutions together with its robust payments infrastructure capable of processing transactions anytime, anywhere and from any device, including cell phones," Barry McCarthy, president of First Data Mobile Solutions said. "Through our demonstrated commitment to the mobile commerce space, First Data will enable easier acceptance of payments for merchants and make the purchase of goods and services convenient and secure for consumers. We're excited to be on the forefront of this evolving technology where First Data will play a pivotal role in the development of new-to-the-world mobile solutions."

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