Mobile payments via Near Field Communications (NFC) is expected to be a $50-billion-a-year business by 2014, and Nokia has just launched NFC Hub, an online service to help businesses take their first steps with the technology. 

Nokia and NFC: tomorrow's tech comes of age

Nokia has played a key role in NFC's development since day one, producing fully NFC-enabled handsets such as the Nokia 6212 NFC long before other manufacturers even knew what NFC was and continuing that tradition with the likes of the Nokia C7 and the brand new Nokia N9.

And now that the infrastructure to push the NFC industry forward is finally developing, it's Nokia again that's providing a key service to individuals and small businesses through NFC Hub.

The idea is to push the wider uptake of NFC by providing businesses with a one-stop shop for NFC business cards and generic NFC-tagged posters, which can be used to direct people to websites, including the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare URLs.

For larger businesses, Nokia will provide account management services and customised products, while smaller operations can get started with a single NFC poster or sticker from just £20. All businesses will be able to use NFC Hub to follow the progress of their campaign and view anonymous info on how people are reacting to their NFC-branded products.