French company MTag has officially launched MEEPASS, a service we first encountered before MWC. USing 2d barcodes, the service is intended to guarantee the identity of a mobile device owner at the point of sale. The device itself can then be used to purchase a product or service. The idea is to create a service that can be used like NFC for purchasing, without having to have an NFC chip – or even an Internet connection on your device.
The service works by generating a unique, secure 2d barcode for every user who signs up to the service – this barcode is your MEEPASS. Once MTag has issued you with a MEEPASS, you can use it to identify yourself anywhere that has a barcode scanner which connects to MTag. Since the barcode scanner verifies your barcode with MTag, you can use it for payments, loyalty programmes and ticketing without needing any kind of active connection on your device. All you need is a smartphone capable of downloading and accessing the barcode generating software.
From the release:
“Today, almost everyone in Europe has a mobile or an iPod that they take with them everywhere they go – why continue to carry several credit cards, loyalty cards, tickets and coupons when all you have to do is use your mobile to identify yourself instead,” comments Christian François Viala, Marketing and Communication Director for MTag. “The MEEPASS software functions without any connection costs (SMS, MMS or WAP), and doesn’t use an NFC chip, removing the psychological big brother effect that is often linked to this kind of technology. With this new service, MTag will complete its offer, catering for all business needs within the mobile marketing sector.”
What we think?
This service is fine, but it faces the same problems as any service of it’s kind – it’s only truly useful if everyone is using it. And while Mtag may be the standard in France and Poland, it has a lot of competition in other markets! Outside of that, it’s a good service. RFID and NFC make a lot of people nervous, for the same reasons that no one really walks around with an active bluetooth connection all the time. But this service could just as easily be used without a mobile device at all! You could print the code out on a piece of card and carry it around with you for the same effect.
Apart from anything else, since it doesn’t activate a mobile Internet action I’m pretty sure it sidesteps the NeoMedia patent!
Cian,
you wrote: “…once MTag has issued you with a MEEPASS, you can use it to identify yourself anywhere that has a barcode scanner which connects to MTag…”
How can that ever that happen without an internet connection? The lookup may be initiated by the scanning device rather than the mobile phone, but verification still requires some kind of lookup over a network, right?
Hi CMS,
You don’t need a net connection, because all of the verification is done off-device.
Once you’ve gotten your barcode, you can remain completely offline. You only need a connection to download the software that generates the barcode. After that, all the communication work is done by the retailer. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear enough – I also forgot to mention the security code! Customers present the barcode along with an identification code that they have registered. MTag suggests a loyalty card or credit card number. That would help counter-act this service being abused through mobile device theft.