From PC World: Chipmaker Broadcom wants to increase the number of devices that can accept mobile payments with a new microcontroller for PCs and IoT products.
Smartphones and smartwatches with mobile payment functions are getting most of the attention, but increasing the number terminals that can process the payments is equally important. The chip Broadcom hopes will make that happen is its first microcontroller with NFC, the short-range technology that make wireless payments possible.
The BCM58100 is designed for mobile payments terminals, PCs and home automation products, according to Broadcom. Integrating the chipset in PCs would let users hold their smartphone or smartwatch against a laptop instead of enter card details to make a payment, just like in a store. It has been designed to keep costs and circuit board footprint down, both prerequisites for it to be integrated in other products than payment terminals.
With PC sales slowing, manufacturers may be tempted to take a bet on Broadcom’s chip to make their PCs stand out, while for Samsung Electronics and Apple, it’s a way to tie together their smartphones, smartwatches, laptops and payments systems in one ecosystem.
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