Near Field Communication (NFC) is an ISO standard technology for short range (10 cm) radio-frequency communication, which can enable contactless access control, ticketing, payment, and several other applications. It is optimized for inclusion in mobile telephones.

NGMS EntryPoint - NFC-based access/entry control system

NGMS EntryPoint is a software system built for controlling access to events and secured areas (buildings, stadiums etc.). Authentication and access control can either be card or mobile phone based. You only need to enter the data of the participants and the event on the web-interface, prepare the entrance cards using the EntryPoint application deployed on a mobile phone, and handle the cards to the participants. People can enter the event using their cards, which can be checked by guards using EntryPoint-enabled mobile phones.
NGMS EntryPoint software is based on a component platform for NFC-based services, which makes the development of NFC services fast and cost-effective. The server software is built from components written in Java and deployed on an OSGi container.
The mobile client can be installed in any Java- and NFC-capable phone, operation has been tested on Nokia 6131NFC. It provides card-based (Mifare-compatible cards) authentication and card writing as well as online access to the central database (download and synchronization) via GPRS or Bluetooth.

Why use our system instead of traditional paper tickets, bar codes and magnetic stripes?

• Security mechanism prevents card forgery. Paper tickets, magnetic stripes and bar codes can easily be forged or copied.
• You can allow or deny the entry/access of any user at any time.
• Phones can display photos taken from card holders and stored on their cards. In addition to card validation, guards can check the picture to see whether the card holder is willing to enter the secured area or not.
• Mobile phones are ubiquitous. In the next few years, almost every mobile phone will be able to read/write NFC tags and cards.
• Lower deployment costs and faster deployment. Authentication is done using mobile phones and does not require additional infrastructure (card readers, network equipment). The mobile client can easily be downloaded from a web site, no further configuration is needed.
• Lower maintenance cost. The server software and the mobile client need no administration. Mobiles can be replaced or serviced by the existing service network, no special equipment and maintenance personnel is needed.

If you are interested, you can find more information here.