Of all the interesting new tech that seems poised to garner a lot of buzz in 2011, near field communication (NFC), is probably the most exciting. If it takes off, it will transform the ways we communicate, share, and make payments with digital devices. This will likely take years to happen, but the groundwork is being laid right now. And RFinity is one of those companies at the forefront.
While Google and Apple are responsible for generating much of the buzz about NFC at the moment, the technology goes far beyond simply having the right type of chip in your mobile device. For example, how do you handle different types of data transfers being made from one device to another? And how to you ensure that they happen as quickly as possible? And most importantly, how do you ensure that they happen securely? Those are the things that RFinity is thinking about.
The company has just raised $4 million from Horizons Ventures in Hong Kong. And the space has gotten so red hot, in fact, that we hear they’re already out raising another round.
And it’s an easy bet for investors to make not only because of the space, but because of where the project originated: The U.S. Department of Energy. Specifically, RFinity was born when a bunch of infrastructure security experts working for the government were assigned to find all the vulnerabilities in cell phones. Through software they came up with, they were able to quite easily eavesdrop, manipulate SMS messages, and even compromise LAN security. Then they set out to figure out a way to stop people from doing those very things. That work led directly to RFinity.
Work originally began in the person-to-person and person-to-vendor sales space by way of mobile applications that route transactions through RFinity’s own secure servers. But now that NFC appears ready, RFinity is making sure they’re ready for it. The idea is that their technology could cut out the middle man here: themselves.
Obviously, the company isn’t going to share all the details on how they secure NFC transfers. But the basic overview is that they verify an incoming NFC signal and ask for a user’s permission before taking any action. Further, if the action is a transaction, it requires a PIN, just as you might do an ATM withdrawal. That’s all pretty standard. But the key is one-time-use transaction codes that RFinity creates on the fly along with complex cryptographic signatures. These ensure that an transaction is secure since it means that every transaction can only happen once. Even if those numbers were intercepted by a hacker, they would be useless beyond the one-time payment.
And even if your phone is lost or stolen, a thief couldn’t do anything without your PIN. And you can remotely shut down your NFC capabilities via RFinity. It’s enough to make me wish I could throw out all my credit cards right now. “Today’s identification and transaction systems are based on what? A magnetic strip on the back of a card, based on a 1950’s technology that relies on a base station to read the information embedded as a series of simple magnetic markers in plastic tape,” writes Josh Jones-Dilworth, who is working with the company to bring them to market.
Again, NFC as a technology is great and potentially game-changing. But the software is still needed to make it actually work. And some of the big guys began realizing that early on as companies like PayPal, Bank of America, and even Subway have been testing out different things with RFinity for some time. In fact, RFinity has actually been doing field tests of the software end of their technology since 2009 in places like Idaho, well before most people in the U.S. had ever thought about NFC.
But now people are starting to care. And soon, they could be caring a lot more. NFC is already built-in to Google’s new Nexus S device — and the company has put out a call for developers to start using the tech. Rumors have the next iteration of the iPhone gaining the technology as well. In other words, I suspect we may be seeing acquisition rumors starting to fly around RFinity in about six months or so. Provided their technology proves up to the NFC challenge, of course.
Zecco iPhone app. Zecco recently released their free iPhone app, Zecco Mobile Lite, which is already among the highest rated investment apps in the iTunes store. The iPhone app also works on the iPod Touch and iPad. The good news is that anyone can use it for stock research, updates, tracking your portfolio, maintaining a watchlist, real time streaming quotes, and free push alerts. The downside to the app is that you can’t make trades from it at this time. And if you’re like me and have an Android based phone, then don’t worry – the Android app is currently in development, but the Zecco rep I recently spoke with wasn’t allowed to give me a launch date at this time.
Zap Trade. This is a truly unique feature which Zecco holds a patent to, so you won’t see it elsewhere. Zap Trade is a FireFox browser plugin which gives you the power to make trades from any web page once you are signed in. Zap Trade will automatically scan the website you are visiting and highlight any ticker symbols to give you easy access to more in-depth research on that stock, or the ability to trade that stock from that page. It’s a powerful tool for traders who know what they want.
Premium investing tools. If you are a day trader, you will want a tax planning tool to help you make the best decisions regarding which shares to sell for the highest tax efficiency. Zecco offers a free integrated cost basis tool for all shares purchased in 2011 and going forward. Zecco also offers Gainskeeper, which is an industry recognized tool for tracking cost basis. There is an associate fee with the latter tool.
Account records. Zecco keeps their costs down by automatically enrolling you in e-statements. You can receive paper statements for a fee.
Zecco Customer Service
Zecco offers e-mail, live chat, and telephone support through a free customer service number – 1.877.700.7862. Zecco’s FAQ section can take care of many questions, but if you need immediate assistance, you will need to call between the hours of 9am-6pm est, Mon-Fri.
Security and insurance
Your money is safe with Zecco. Zecco is a member of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. Zecco is covered by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which is an organization that acts as insurance against your broker filing for bankruptcy or otherwise going under. Funds are available to meet customer claims up to a maximum of $500,000 in cash and securities with a $100,000 cash maximum. Zecco has additional coverage from Lloyds of London insurance and is secured through a VeriSign SSL Certificate to assure your confidential information remains secure.
Trading Key. Before making a trade, Zecco members must enter a trading key – this is a separate step that occurs after logging in to their account. This prevents unauthorized users from causing some major damage to your account.
My overall opinion of Zecco
I think Zecco is a quality trading platform, which certainly can’t be beat for the price. Zecco is a flexible brokerage and will meet the needs of many different types of investors – from the investor who buys and holds ETFs (such as myself) to the day trader who makes dozens of trades in a month. The biggest complaint that some people have is the additional expense of certain premium tools. But in my opinion, if you are trading often enough to need those tools, you are most likely saving a lot more money based on the average trade commission with Zecco compared to the average trade at another brokerage. You can learn more about Zecco at: https://www.zecco.com/
Other brokerage reviews: How to choose and online brokerage, Sharebuilder review, TradeKing review, Zecco, ShareBuilder, and TradeKing comparison, Free Stock Trading and Investing Tools.
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