Consumers expect convenient solutions that reduce points of friction in their lives. Technology product managers are continually tasked with improving existing systems and devices while keeping them compatible and interoperable with other legacy and new devices both online and offline. While there is no “silver bullet” to accomplish this, Near Field Communication (NFC) allows developers to integrate multiple functionalities in a way that is instantly recognisable and easy to use for almost all consumers.
NFC is designed for flexibility. At its core, it is a simple and easy to use proximity technology that allows users to hold their NFC-enabled devices and tags close together to activate them. It is durable, low cost, and its compact antenna means it can be built into almost anything. Designed with security at its centre, it can be used to access services, interact with content, set up connections, make payments, present tickets or even charge a device. All it takes is a tap.
NFC initially came to market as a secure data transfer protocol enabling contactless payments, but like most enduring disruptive technologies, it has continued to evolve beyond this initial use case. Most of us are now familiar with the technology, especially with the growth of tap-to-pay. So, what is next?
The NFC Forum is the standards body for NFC technology. In July 2023 it released its technical roadmap, which was collaboratively developed by leading Forum members, including representatives from Apple, Google, Huawei, Identiv, Infineon, NXP, Qualcomm, Sony, and STMicroelectronics as well as the Forum’s 400-member company community.
The roadmap offers a unique glimpse into the future of NFC, highlighting the technology's direction and anticipated product development, market, and business opportunities for the next two to five years. It showcases the innovative ways that NFC is being adapted and applied to meet advancing consumer needs.
Increased Range
The extremely short range of NFC is arguably the primary differentiators between NFC and other proximity technologies. Today, NFC connections are limited to a range of 5mm however this looks set to expand in order to facilitate both new and more efficient deployments.
NFC Forum is exploring improving the performance of the reader mode to allow the connection between the NFC antenna and receiver to start from between four and six times further away. This means the transaction would begin sooner and the connection point would not need to be as precise.
While this improved performance must be balanced against retaining the compact antenna size, power consumption, and safety, it would enhance NFC usability for a number of use cases. For example, traveller throughput at transit terminals could be enhanced as each tap can be verified quicker; devices do not need to be positioned as precisely making transactions easier, especially for the visually impaired; and car doors can be unlocked from a range where the door can be opened without the device getting in the way.
Using NFC will be made even more practical and seamless, opening up a landscape of other innovative scenarios.
Wireless Charging
An especially promising emerging use case for NFC is wireless charging. Wireless charging is the transfer of electrical energy from an outlet or source to a device without the need for a connecting cable. NFC is one of many proximity technologies that can eliminate the need for each individual device to have its own plug, adaptor, or extension.
The current NFC Forum Wireless Charging Specification gives product designers the guidelines they need to create secure, interoperable NFC Wireless Charging solutions up to 1 watt of power. This is already giving product managers a tool to deliver an intuitive, seamless charging experience for consumers.
NFC Forum’s latest roadmap outlines plans to increase these capabilities up to 3 watts, helping to reduce charging times and open up NFC Wireless Charging up to a wider range of device types.
This innovation is of course not without its challenges. The Forum’s Analog Working Group has recognised that pushing “power into the air” must be done considerately to ensure it remains safe to use and doesn’t risk corrupting other devices. The groups’ work is complementing the offering of Qi induction by offering the same seamless, intuitive charging experience to smaller devices and form factors. This is helping to disrupt incumbent industrial design, offering a valid replacement for ‘standby batteries’, and defining new markets.
Driving sustainability goals
Sustainability is increasingly at the heart of decision making, and initiatives such as the European Union Digital Product Passport are being passed down by lawmakers to ensure that sustainable practices are at the centre of attention throughout the entire lifespan of a product. NFC technology is key to achieving this, offering a way by which data can be shared on a product’s composition, how it can be recycled, regulatory requirements, and its route through a healthy circulatory economy.
By standardising on-device data in an enhanced NFC chip, manufacturers are able to leverage its power as a data carrier which could then be embedded into batteries, consumer electronics, textiles and more. Consumers would use their smartphones to read the sustainability information, enabling them to identify ways to responsibly recycle their goods.
One of the key appeals of NFC in this use case is its traceability. Unlike other solutions, the data on an NFC chipset is bound to the device and can’t be discarded or defaced in the same way a QR Code or barcode can. Data integrity was flagged as being especially important as ownership changes throughout a product’s lifecycle and could be used to differentiate between authentic and counterfeit products.
New ways to pay
NFC facilitated a revolution in Point-of-Sale payments with the introduction of contactless cards, and now it looks set to do so again. SoftPOS allows merchants to use their commercially available off the shelf (COTS) device – such as a smartphone – as a payment terminal.
The NFC Forum is working to empower businesses and individuals to be able to optimise SoftPOS without the expense of additional hardware in a standardised, interoperable and secure manner.
Thanks to the focus on increasing the range of NFC transactions, system integrators and software vendors will be able to enhance off-network payments. This is opening up significant new channels of commerce while making digital payments affordable and accessible to more merchants than ever.
One tap for all
A smartphone has the potential to support multiple NFC interactions with just one tap. Building on this capability, NFC Forum is working to define multi-purpose tab functionality which will further improve the contactless user experience by allowing the exchange of data to flow both ways in a transaction, streamlining several actions into one single tap.
This improved usability and enhanced convenience will support scenarios such as paperless receipts and loyalty points being delivered concurrently with a payment. It can also unlock the ability to purchase travel tickets with the correct taxes and concessions automatically applied based on the user’s details.
The power of collaboration
The future of NFC is undoubtedly one of potential. This latest roadmap has offered a clear vision on the core areas of focus for the next 5 years, and in doing so has further highlighted the need for stakeholders across connected industries to consider how they plan to meet consumer demands for streamlined, interoperable experiences while still valuing sustainability.
This vision for NFC technology and its continuing evolution is the outcome of international industry cooperation between multiple competing businesses. NFC Forum members come from virtually every sector, including: manufacturers of NFC chips, readers and device; access control; customer engagement; healthcare; IoT; payments; transportation; wearables; wireless charging, and many more.
The Forum brings these competitors together to evaluate the long-term needs of the market to enhance connections and capabilities within existing systems and support exciting new innovative use cases which have significant mass market potential.
Author details: Mike McCamon is Executive Director, NFC Forum
