Some Results From Atlanta Near Field Communication (NFC) Trial

During the trial, which launched in Dec. 2005, 150 Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks season ticket holders with both a Chase-issued Visa credit account and a Cingular Wireless account made payments at contactless readers supplied by ViVOtech at concession stands throughout the arena. Additionally, fans downloaded content to their Nokia 3220 mobile phones equipped with NXP's NFC semiconductor chips, including ring tones, wallpapers, screensavers and video clips of favorite players.

Following the completion of the trial, pilot partners conducted focus groups to capture the participants' experience and gain feedback to inform future trials and product development, as well as consumer adoption of mobile applications. Key findings include:

• Trial participants overwhelmingly embraced the technology and expressed that the mobile device and applications significantly improved their arena experience
• Data usage increased during game days; trial participants used their NFC-enabled mobile device more frequently to search for and purchase digital content
• Participants indicated that they would like to use their mobile devices for payment at a variety of merchant locations, for any purchase size, and see value in accessing multiple payment accounts on their mobile devices in the future
• Trial participants also expressed interest in having multiple applications on a single mobile device, including transit, loyalty and digital content applications

"The pilot in Atlanta exceeded our expectations and demonstrated the value mobile payment and content can deliver to a sports and entertainment venue," said David Lee, vice president of Business Development for the Atlanta Spirit, parent company of the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena. "The pilot partners feel this is just the beginning of what we can deliver to our fans and customers, and we are all committed to exploring additional options for bringing NFC technology to the mass market."

The contactless technology provided a faster and simpler payment option at concession stands, allowing season ticket holders to get out of the lines and back to the game more quickly. According to Visa research, purchases made using contactless technology are up to 25 percent faster than those made with cash and trial participants enjoyed the speed and convenience of not having to sign for their purchases under $25.

The trial demonstrated the importance of the evolving partnerships between financial services and wireless technology companies to deliver advanced mobile services to consumers. It was the first large-scale test of next-generation mobile phone applications in North America, and is the result of a collaboration between Chase (NYSE: JPM), Cingular Wireless, Nokia, NXP, Visa USA and ViVOtech, along with Atlanta Spirit, LLC, parent company of the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, NHL's Atlanta Thrashers and Philips Arena.