Client Spotlight: NFC Forum

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VIRTUAL INC CLIENT SPOTLIGHT

Q&A with Standards Organization Client, Near Field Communications Forum.

Q: Can you describe the NFC Forum and what it does?
NFC:
The Near Field Communication (NFC) Forum brings the convenience of NFC technology to life. We empower organizations to deliver secure, tap-based interactions with an intuitive, reliable experience to users around the globe.

Q: What organizations do you work with and how?
NFC: The NFC Forum welcomes participation from all organizations: for-profit companies, non-profit organizations, and industry associations with compatible technical interests. Sponsor Members companies include: Apple Inc., Google Inc., Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, QUALCOMM Inc., Sony Group Corporation, STMicroelectronics N.V., and Visa Inc. Learn more about the forum, current members and membership benefits.

Q: We’ve seen significant growth in contactless payments since the pandemic, what are some real-world examples?
NFC: Eighty percent of the world’s central banks have already started to conceptualize the potential of a central bank digital currency. China’s digital yuan program is into its second year; Japan has plans to leverage the Tokyo Olympics to introduce more contactless payments and dozens of EU digital currency pilots are in process right now. NFC has a role to play in all of them. However, it’s beyond payments where NFC will have its most widespread influence as more and more people begin to live the contactless lifestyle using NFC for a large number of applications.

Q: Do you see a rise in the use of a mobile wallet vs. a traditional wallet?
NFC: If you haven’t set up the digital wallet, now is the perfect time to get comfortable with this standard feature on your smartphone. Using a digital wallet lets you purchase goods and services with just a tap of your smartphone at checkout. This is called contactless payment. And, as the name implies, using contactless payment allows you to avoid touching cash and keypads during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Called “Tap and Pay” it reduces transmission of the virus and is the safer way to make payments for both the retailer and the consumer.

Contactless payment is one of the fastest growing payment methods fueled in part by its ease of use but also, to some degree, by the need for a contactless method to purchase goods and services without the transmission of germs. As the need and popularity of contactless payment surges many government and businesses are taking note. Over 30 countries have increased contactless payments limits as a means of encouraging use as well as supporting the need for social distancing. People are seeking out businesses that utilize contactless payments. Many businesses in cities particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic are only accepting contactless payments to avoid contact with money.

Q: With the rise of contactless payments will we begin to see decline in a traditional cash society?
NFC: Traditional cash societies have already been transformed – and the rate of change is accelerating. NFC has a pivotal role to play in this transformation as it is a standard feature on the three billion smartphones in the world today thus enabling contactless payments. According to ABI Research, 44% of the population uses NFC nearly every day. Looking ahead, expect NFC to become even more widely adopted outside of payments thanks to increased penetration of tags and contactless technology in emerging use cases such as automotive and the Internet-of-things.

Q: How does NFC Forum differ from other standards organizations?
NFC: What differentiates the NFC Forum is its extremely high level of success. It created the contactless lifestyle. NFC technology standards and specifications were developed and released creating one of the most prolific technologies on the planet. Twenty-five percent of the world’s population has access to NFC. Forty-four percent of that group use NFC every day or nearly every day. The NFC Forum has changed the way three billion people live, work and play with the contactless lifestyle. It has changed the world.

Q: What’s next for the NFC Forum?
NFC: Join us for the NFC Open Forum and Member Meeting taking place online the week of June 21! The NFC Open Forum is an opportunity for both NFC Forum Members and non-members to connect and collaborate for two days. The NFC Forum Member Meeting is a week-long event exclusively for NFC Forum Members where updates from committees, working groups, task forces and much more will be shared. All events are free, but registration is required. The Open Forum sessions will focus on the Contactless Lifestyle with topics such as MaaS, user experience survey updates, and much more. We are excited to offer more content with in-depth sessions and discussions from industry experts! Check out our website to review the initial agenda, sponsorship opportunities available to NFC Forum Members, and to learn more.

 


About NFC Forum

The NFC Forum is a non-profit industry association whose membership draws from all parts of the NFC ecosystem. Working within the framework of the NFC Forum, member organizations share development, application, and marketing expertise to develop the best possible solutions for advancing the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which enables the lives of consumers worldwide and advances members’ business objectives.


For more information about NFC Forum, www.nfc-forum.org, or call +1 781-876-8955

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