Iwata on NFC and e-money for Wii U, unconscious payments is unacceptable

Wii U’s NFC functionality was one of the biggest revelations from Nintendo’s latest financial briefing. President Satoru Iwata didn’t share many details about how they’ll be take advantage of it in the future, though he did elaborate a bit during the company’s Q&A session.

Iwata hinted at a system in which consumers use e-money to make payments. This would be faster than using a credit card or a Nintendo Prepaid Card.

In terms of charging consumers for their network services, Nintendo may “build a solid system in which consumers will make payments at their will and with a minimal amount of effort.”

“…I mentioned the NFC (Near Field Communication) function for the Wii U (in my presentation today). In Japan FeliCa-based e-money is used the most, but the NFC standard compatible with FeliCa has been very popular. If we can provide a system in which consumers can use such e-money, they will far more easily be able to make payments than by entering credit card numbers or purchasing the Nintendo Prepaid Cards at stores. ‘SpotPass,’ in which consumers unconsciously get connected online, is enjoyable, but a system in which they unconsciously make payments online is unacceptable, we believe. Therefore, one answer to your question could be to build a solid system in which consumers will make payments at their will and with a minimal amount of effort.”

For Iwata’s complete remarks, see the second Q/A here in which he speaks about the Nintendo Direct presentations, Swapnote, and more.