Chongqing- China's mobile and online payment platform, the most widely used Alipay, launched the country's first Near Field Communication (NFC) epidemic prevention project in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on July 4. 

After installing the Alipay application (app) and completing the real-name registration, citizens can hold their mobile phones near the NFC area of the location code. Then, according to the instructions, their location code, health code, travel card, and other indispensable information in China can be automatically read when entering public places under the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At present, this function has been piloted in some shopping malls and hotels in Chongqing, like Aiqinhai Shopping Park and Liangjiang Hilton Hotel.

Citizens light up the mobile phone screen and put its back near the NFC area of the location code. (iChongqing file photo)

Using NFC saves 2-3 seconds

NFC is a short-range high-frequency wireless communication technology that enables the communication between two electronic devices over a distance of 4cm or less. 

Usually, consumers need to light up the mobile interface, click on the app, and then scan the code. During the peak passenger flow period, in dim light and with unskillful and uncertain users, this delay will cause queuing time to be increased, and it is easy to cause crowd retention, as well.

Compared with the traditional scanning mode, the average time of using NFC is shortened by 2-3 seconds. "This function is more time-saving, providing the consumers a better experience in the mall," said the general assistant of the Chongqing Jinkai Aiqinhai project.

The deputy director of regional business of Alipay Regional Operation Center (Chongqing) said that the technical team combined the widely used NFC technology with epidemic prevention,  solving the above problem and providing a new code-display manner to improve the management of epidemic prevention and improve the user experience.

Compared with the traditional scanning mode, the average time of using NFC is shortened by 2-3 seconds. (iChongqing file photo)

Applying to more diversified scenarios

Under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, health codes have become necessary for every Chinese citizen, just like a healthy version of identity cards. However, there is also a risk of leaking personal information and privacy. In epidemic prevention industries, China makes every effort to develop location-based services to minimize the violation of personal privacy.

On December 4, 2020, the National Health Commission, the National Healthcare Security Administration, and the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine jointly issued the notice on further promoting the Internet plus medical health service actions, which stipulates that it is necessary to strengthen the standardized use of epidemic prevention health code data, strengthening data security management and effectively protecting personal privacy.

Compared with the traditional Global Positioning System (GPS) and Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), NFC adopts near-field communication and wireless communication technology for safe communication over a short distance. It features short-distance and fast-speed transmission; therefore, its security is relatively high.

To further improve the efficiency of epidemic prevention, the application of the NFC code display function in Chongqing was mainly piloted in business districts and hotels that aimed at solving practical issues such as large traffic in business districts and multiple steps of hotel registration.

Next, this function will be promoted nationwide after the pilot test's completion, applying to more diversified scenarios, from stations to restaurants. 

(Ge Rongchen, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)