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If a phone has NFC capabilities, do you need an NFC SIM card to use NFC?

Is NFC a technology of the phone or of the SIM card? Or is the NFC SIM card just 'more secure' than a regular SIM Card and if so, how/why?.

fixer1234
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TheGoodUser
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  • Questions about electronic devices, media players, cell phones or smart phones are off-topic. See [On Topic](http://superuser.com/help/on-topic). – DavidPostill Jan 21 '15 at 10:48

2 Answers2

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Some GSM operators are using "NFC SIM" term to refer to a SIM card with an additional financial application. Such a card in combination with a NFC phone can be used for contactless payments. There are different options:

  1. it can act as a pre-paid debit card
  2. your payments are added to your GSM bill
  3. you can open an account in a bank partnering with the GSM operator.
MBu
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NFC (Near-Field Communication) is a set of ideas and technologies that enable smartphones and other devices to establish radio communication with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, typically a distance of 10 cm (3.9 in) or less.

If a phone has NFC capabilities, do you need an NFC SIM card to use NFC?

No, in this case you have already a NFC chip installed in your phone :)

Is NFC a technology of the phone or of the SIM card? Or is the NFC SIM card just 'more secure' than a regular SIM Card and if so, how/why?.

See above, neither nor. And nope, not 'more secure'.

The NFC SIM card is just a combination of a normally SIM card and a NFC chip in one card.

Leo Chapiro
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  • Does the NFC SIM need any antenna on the phone, or the NFC SIM has an embedded antenna also? I mean, can I insert the NFC SIM into an old phone(NOKIA 1100 for example) and the write something into the SIM using NFC? – Ebrahim Ghasemi Feb 25 '16 at 15:49