Touch-to-pay services like Apple Pay may not need the “real touch” part any time soon. That’s because NFC technology, which lets you pay in stores by touching your phone to a payment device, will gain greater communication range, stronger wireless charging for small devices like headphones, and more new capabilities in the next two to five years.
NFC, which stands for Near Field Communication, is found in thousands of devices today, from smartphones to video game figures. Deciding how to standardize the technology, the NFC Forum outlined the key areas that will drive NFC technology forward by 2028. The forum consists of many companies, including Apple, Google, Huawei, Sony, NXP and Qualcomm.
One of the problematic aspects of using NFC technology is its incredibly short range. For an NFC connection to be successful, the devices must be within 5 mm of each other. The NFC Forum wants to expand that four to six times. This will push it to a higher value of 30mm.
The NFC Forum also wants to make wireless charging more usable by increasing its power from 1W to 3W currently. While that’s far less than the Qi standard’s maximum of 15W, it’s enough for the Forum to boast that “This change will bring wireless power and charging to smaller form factors, disrupting industrial design while defining new markets.”
The roadmap also includes changes to facilitate point-of-sale operations. Last year, Apple launched the Tap to Pay API, which allows developers to turn iPhones into payment devices. Future NFC standards aim to localize this functionality so businesses and individuals can receive payments anywhere.
In addition, the NFC Forum wants to add a “multi-touch” that can perform multiple actions with a single tap. For example, when entering a concert, instead of having your entire team read their tickets one by one, they are allowed to enter with a single touch…
Let’s add that the NFC Forum will present the development roadmap in a public webinar on June 27.
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