While configuring a point-of-sale kiosk for a campus coffee shop, a technician must allow customers to complete payments by placing their smartphones within a couple of centimeters of the reader. The link has to initiate automatically, work without any Wi-Fi or cellular service, and disconnect as soon as the phone is removed. Which connection method should the technician enable on the kiosk?
Near-field communication is designed for very short-range data exchange (about 4 cm or less) and is commonly used for contactless payments. It creates a peer-to-peer link when two devices are brought close together and drops the connection once they are separated, so it does not rely on existing Wi-Fi or cellular networks. Bluetooth Low Energy and Wi-Fi Direct both have far greater range and require a pairing or network-creation step, making them slower and less secure for quick payments. Infrared needs line-of-sight and is rarely supported on modern phones for transactions.
Ask Bash
Bash is our AI bot, trained to help you pass your exam. AI Generated Content may display inaccurate information, always double-check anything important.
What is NFC and how does it work?
Open an interactive chat with Bash
How is NFC different from Bluetooth?
Open an interactive chat with Bash
Why is NFC preferred for mobile payments over other technologies?