Despite continuing attempts to improve the speed of NFC reads on mobile devices, the technology is still not making the 500 millisecond read speed required for fare payment on the London Tube.

An article in PC World said that in a recent Open Mobile Summit in London, Transport for London director of customer experience, Shashi Verma, said the TfL had been working on the technology for years but it remained "just around the corner."

According to the report, Nokia successfully attained the 500 millisecond speed with one of its phones, however a standards change slowed down transmission when it moved the secure element from the phone to the SIM card.

An additional slow-down for NFC, said PC World, was that consumers simply are not used to using the technology yet. This results in fumbling and errors when it comes to making a quick transaction such as paying Tube fare.

For more on this topic, visit the EMV research center.