July 12, 2011 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, announced today that it has signed agreements to work collaboratively with organizations representing three different industries: the Asia Pacific Smart Card Association (APSCA), the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS), a division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), and the Open Mobile Alliance.“It is gratifying to formalize partnerships with organizations representing these important global sectors”
"It is gratifying to formalize partnerships with organizations representing these important global sectors," said NFC Forum Chairman Koichi Tagawa. "The interest in collaboration from this range of industries -- retailing, smart cards, and mobile services -- demonstrates how widely the value of NFC technology is recognized, and it points to the far-reaching benefits consumers can expect from broad adoption of NFC. We look forward to working together with our new partners and to the synergies our joint efforts will deliver." (Statements from the three organizations are available upon request.)
Each agreement executed by the NFC Forum is tailored to the interests of the participating organizations and their members:
- APSCA is a non-profit, independent association that provides information, consultancy, guidance, and networking to organizations in the smart card industry in the Asia Pacific region. The NFC Forum's Memorandum of Understanding with APSCA will allow the two entities to capitalize on mutual interests by sharing information and coordinating non-technical activities such as training courses, case studies, white papers, research, webcasts, and events.
- ARTS is a retailer-driven international membership organization dedicated to developing best practices, technology standards and educational programs through collaboration and partnerships exclusively for retail. Collaboration under the NFC Forum-ARTS Memorandum of Understanding will focus on information exchange and education, including publishing joint papers that would highlight specific case examples and implementation issues for retailing, sharing statistics and research, and educating and communicating with retailers through the well-respected NRF communication channels.
- The Open Mobile Alliance is the leading industry forum for developing market driven, interoperable standards for mobile service enablers. The Co-Operation Agreement with the NFC Forum asserts the two groups' common objectives to establish and promote global standards in the wireless telecommunications and Internet domain. It further institutes a context for joint work on NFC-enabled devices and related applications, including, but not limited to, diagnosing problems and monitoring device performance over the air.
About Near Field Communication Technology
NFC technology makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler to make transactions, exchange digital content, and connect electronic devices with a touch.
A standards-based connectivity technology, NFC harmonizes today's diverse contactless technologies, enabling current and future solutions in areas such as access control, consumer electronics, healthcare, information collection and exchange, loyalty and coupons, payments, and transport.
NFC technology is supported by the world’s leading communication device manufacturers, semiconductor producers, network operators, IT and services companies, and financial services organizations. NFC is compatible with hundreds of millions of contactless cards and readers already deployed worldwide.
About the NFC Forum
The NFC Forum was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor, and consumer electronics companies. The Forum’s mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum’s 150 global member companies currently are developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability.
The NFC Forum’s Sponsor members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor members are: Broadcom Corporation, INSIDE Secure, MasterCard Worldwide, Microsoft Corp., NEC, Nokia, NTT DOCOMO, Inc., NXP Semiconductors, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics, and Visa Inc.
Contacts
For further information:
NFC Forum Public Relations
Ruth Cassidy, +1-617-957-8494
ruth.cassidy@nfc-forum.org
NFC Forum Public Relations
Ruth Cassidy, +1-617-957-8494
ruth.cassidy@nfc-forum.org
