The Infrared Data Association (Irda) has released Version 1.0 of its 'point and pay' specification for the transmission of wireless payment information from cell phones and PDAs.
The IrFM specification is the culmination of a three-year effort from Irda members. It utilises existing financial services infrastructures to process wireless payment transactions (credit cards, debit and smart cards, cheques and loyalty programmes) at the point of sale.
The spec has been adopted by the Ministry of Information and Communications in Korea for that country's wireless payment standardisation programe and has already been widely trialled using Visa cards.
It is also being used in a nine-month wireless proximity payments trial at the University of Southern California in association with the bank-backed Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC).
The version 1.0 spec will officially be introduced at The Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) booth at the National Retail Federation (NRF) Show in New York City from January 13 through 15.