Technology connects students with new mobile NFC project

Salto Systems in collaboration with partners Banco Santander, Vodafone, Gemalto and the public local government, have launched a pilot project at the University Católica of Murcia (UCAM) that allows staff and students to manage their payment and access needs via mobile phones, using contactless NFC SIM, using Salto technology.

The eight month project, run by the Santander Universities Global Division, will see all staff and students at UCAM using the new NFC-enabled services. Thanks to NFC technology and a full solution provided by the project partners, users will be able to access all university buildings including access to laboratories, classrooms, gym and library as well as the parking areas. This is achieved by a campus-wide NFC contactless solution that allows the university to integrate all their physical security and management needs through SALTO Systems' wire-free networked stand alone locks for real-time access control.

The pilot also includes a range of additional services leveraging the NFC and SVN data-on-SIM based technology to store student academic profiles, university accreditation, data use on campus and public transportation services. The latter includes both local buses and a bicycle rental service where users can load funds on to their mobile phones via a network of payment machines and kiosks.

All three partnering companies have expressed their belief that the innovative use of NFC leveraging the SIM card has valuable potential to easily provide a range of additional services to users. This includes security modules to encrypt access and accreditation applications, provide access to buildings and premises, make small payments, send personalized information and more.