A new partnership between Everything Everywhere and Barclaycard will launch a revolutionary contactless payment system using mobile technology this summer – changing the way products and services are advertised and purchased by consumers.

Using the latest developments in Near Field Communication (NFC), the move means Orange and Barclaycard customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for things at over 40,000 retailers across the UK by waving their device in front of a contactless reader – in the same way as thousands of NFC-enabled credit card users already do.

MEC Opinion: NFC technology has been picking up attention in recent months and, if rumours about the Apple iPhone 5 coming equipped with it are to be believed, it could be an area of growth over the next couple of years. While it is essentially a wireless communication tool allowing data to be exchanged between devices, this could make it incredibly valuable to advertisers.

For example, imagine you’re shopping on your smartphone and looking for new shoes, a new laptop or even a car. You might pay particular attention to a product, but fail to complete a purchase. Dynamic retargeting providers like Criteo or Struq might store this information to use later, but this would not be used to find you online, but near a placement outside of the internet with targeted advertising.

This might involve a digital out of home placement that at first looks blank, but is then activated when the NFC-equipped device you are carrying comes within range. The bespoke creative display could address John/Joanna Smith specifically about those shoes, that car or the laptop you had previously registered interest in – even telling you about the shop round the corner where you can buy it.

While all of this is certainly long-term and won’t be available for some time, the idea of a targeted ad the size of a double decker will surely tempt advertisers into looking at the possibilities. Once NFC technology is readily available in placements and mobile devices, this exciting ‘media first’ could well be on the lips of clients across the globe – remember where you heard it first, MEC Interaction, Manchester, February 2011.