Mobile handset giant Nokia has expanded its push into Near Field Communications (NFC) technology with the launch of the 3G-enabled Nokia 6212 Classic.

NFC technology is widely touted as a key driver for mobile commerce, enabling firms to offer their customers easy and secure services such as ticketing and payments.

"With the Nokia 6212 classic, people can swap items like business cards or calendar notes by simply tapping their handsets together," explained head of NFC at Nokia, Jeremy Belostock, in a statement. "With ever-increasing device functions and services available, ease-of-use is essential. One way to keep things simple is NFC."

Users can store their credit card information on the handset and access their account online directly from the device. After subscribing and installing a secure password-controlled application to authorise payments, the 6212 can theoretically be used for mobile payments, or even as a travel ticket, by touching the handset against a compatible reader.