Companies joining the NFC standards association include advertising agency Dentsu, handset makers HTC and ZTE, MNO payments joint venture Isis and, at board level, UK-based Barclaycard.
The NFC Forum has announced details of 29 companies that have recently joined the international standards association. The new members include:
- Payments: UK-based Barclaycard has joined the NFC Forum at sponsor level, the highest available, and will have a seat on the forum’s board of directors.
- Advertising: Dentsu, the world’s largest advertising agency, has joined as a principal member, the second-highest level of membership.
- Mobile network operators: US carrier joint venture Isis has joined at the implementer membership level.
- Device manufacturers: ZTE, HTC and Sharp have joined the association.
- Technology, systems and services providers: NFC payments software provider Sequent Software has joined at principal level. Other suppliers joining the association are AgreeYa Mobility, Avery Dennison RFID, Bureau Veritas ADT, C-Sam, Cubic Transportation Systems, Ixxi (part of French transport operator RATP), Korea Smart Card Co, Raisonance, Recruit Co, XAC Automation, Datang Telecom Technology, Novatec Solutions, I/O Interconnect, Obopay, Posiflex Technology, Proxama, Sunward Telecom, TCL Communication Technology Holdings, Timwe, UPM RFID and Vitec. Technology Research Center Henan Province has also joined as a non-profit member.
“Our newest members demonstrate the broad appeal of the work of the NFC Forum, and the variety of sectors that are represented emphasises the value NFC technology can provide to businesses and consumers,” says Forum chairman Koichi Tagawa. “We are pleased to welcome these new organisations’ participation in our work, and their contributions to the global NFC ecosystem. We are especially gratified that Barclaycard recognises the leadership role of the Forum as demonstrated by their joining at the highest membership level.”
“I believe that NFC is fundamental to the future of payments and the wider mobile experience,” says Val Soranno Keating, CEO of Barclaycard. “We’ve been the leader of the UK’s contactless payments market since launching the first cards and merchant terminals in September 2007. More than four out of five cards and an even higher percentage of terminals are still supplied by Barclays. Having established the infrastructure, we can now offer customers choice in the way they pay and, in partnership with a mobile operator, we introduced the UK’s first payment-enabled mobile phone this summer. We’re also working in the US and Africa to bring the convenience of contactless payments to consumers and retailers. I’m delighted that we are joining the NFC Forum, and I look forward to Barclaycard playing a central role in the advance of this important technology.”
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