Barclaycard Joins Near Field Communication Forum at Sponsor Level

October 12, 2011 10:28 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

Dentsu and Sequent Become Principal Members, 26 More Join at Lower Levels

WAKEFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced that Barclaycard, a leading global payment business that is part of Barclays, has become a Sponsor member of the organization. Sponsor membership is the highest level, and its privileges include a seat on the NFC Forum Board of Directors, which governs the organization.

“Our newest members demonstrate the broad appeal of the work of the NFC Forum, and the variety of sectors that are represented emphasizes the value NFC technology can provide to businesses and consumers”

Dentsu Inc., the world's largest advertising agency, and Sequent Software, a leading provider of software for NFC payments for mobile devices, have joined the organization as Principal members, the second-highest level of membership. The NFC Forum, founded in 2004, continues to attract innovative organizations in all regions of the globe to its membership ranks in every category, demonstrating the rising tide of interest in implementing Near Field Communication technology.

Sponsor members may designate individuals to run for positions as officers of the Forum. Each Sponsor and Principal member is entitled to appoint a voting representative to each of the Technical, Marketing, and Compliance Committees and Working Groups. Sponsor and Principal members may designate individuals to run for positions leading Committees or Working Groups, and both Sponsor and Principal member organizations may propose initiatives and contribute to the development of Forum deliverables. Members at these levels may also participate in the NFC Forum testing and certification program using their own in-house test labs.

In addition, the NFC Forum recently welcomed 26 new Associate, Implementer, and Non-Profit members from across the NFC ecosystem. New Associate members include:

AgreeYa Mobility Pte. Ltd.
Avery Dennison RFID
Bureau Veritas ADT
C-SAM
Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.
Ixxi
Korea Smart Card Co., Ltd.
Raisonance SAS
RECRUIT
Sharp Corporation
XAC Automation Corporation
ZTE Corporation

New Implementer members are:

Datang Telecom Technology Co., Ltd.
HTC Corporation
Isis (JVL Ventures LLC)
Novatec Solutions, Inc.
I/O Interconnect
OBOPAY, Inc.
Posiflex Technology, Inc.
Proxama Ltd
Sunward Telecom
TCL Communication Technology Holdings Limited
TIMWE
UPM RFID
VITEC Co., Ltd.

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 emphasizes the value NFC technology can provide to businesses and consumers," said Koichi Tagawa, chairman of the NFC Forum. "We are pleased to welcome these new organizations' participation in our work, and their contributions to the global NFC ecosystem. We are especially gratified that Barclaycard recognizes 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,” said Val Soranno Keating, CEO, 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 U.S. 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. "

Information about the various membership levels offered by the NFC Forum is available at http://www.nfc-forum.org/join/, and a complete list of members can be found at http://www.nfc-forum.org/member_companies/.

About Barclaycard

Barclaycard, part of Barclays Retail and Business Banking division, is a leading global payment business that helps consumers, retailers, and businesses to make and accept payments flexibly, and to access short-term credit when needed.

The company is one of the pioneers of new forms of payments, and is at the forefront of developing viable contactless and mobile payment options for today and cutting edge forms of payment for the future. It also issues credit and charge cards to corporate customers and the British Government. Barclaycard partners with a wide range of organizations across the globe to offer their customers or members payment options and credit. Barclaycard operates in the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle and Far East.

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 160 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: Barclaycard, 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.