NFC tag supplier UPM RFID and software developer introduced a new app designed to help restaurants to improve customer service. Customers are promoted to download Connected Restaurant when tapping an NFC-tagged poster at the front desk. From there on they can use the service to check-in, browse through the menu and so on:

“They [customers] can then tap their phone against tagged menus to receive detailed information about entrees, such as ingredients, calorie counts and sodium levels. Finally, they can use their NFC phone to summon waiters, monitor their orders, request a check and review and pay their bill.”

Some additional features include the ability to write and read other diners’ menu reviews, request a specific table and a text message sent to the customer once their table is ready.

Another Nordic near-field communications initiative is an eight-month pilot program led by ASSA ABLOY, Nordic Choice Hotels, Giesecke & Devrient and two others. Throughout this period, 30 royalty guests checked into these hotels using keys that were sent to their mobile devices after the check-in. This translated into less wait time, which was favored by the participants, according to a press release.

A lot of companies are innovating around NFC, and one of the best examples may be Narrate. Narrate is the developer of Zoosh, a piece of software which uses ultrasonic frequencies emitted via a phone’s speakers for data transmissions.  This basically eliminates the dedicated NFC chips needed for the standard method, according to Narrate CEO and Co-founder Brett Paulson.

Technologies such as Zoosh that don’t require any extra for NFC data transmissions will drive faster adoption across all the fields involved with this trend (something Starbucks has also been able to leverage for rapid adoption). Electronic ticketing is one of them, and a recent statement by Norway’s Minister of Transport and Communications is one example of some wider-scale developments happening around the near-field communications trend.