SanDisk, Philips advance phone ticketing

SanDisk and Philips are working on a chip that will allow travelers to pay for train and bus tickets using their cell phones.

Philips is embedding its SmartMX chip into SanDisk TrustedFlash cards that provide secure wireless transactions for phones enabled for Near Field Communications.

Wireless transactions have become increasingly common in the market and allow consumers to use their cell phones in much the same way as a credit card to make various purchases. The project announced Wednesday will allow passengers to pay their fares simply by waving their handsets across a scanner at the turnstile -- no exact change required.

SanDisk said the SmartMX chip brings a higher level of security to the TrustedFlash card, which in turn allows more financial and other personal data to be loaded into a cell phone.

"Tomorrow, they will also use TrustedFlash cards with SmartMX technology to expand the phone's security capabilities and host a variety of NFC applications to purchase tickets, buy a cup of coffee and make other small purchases," predicted SanDisk's Farshid Sabet.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International