May 14, 2012, 11:05 a.m. EDT
Council Will Raise Awareness and Accelerate Adoption of Payments, Loyalty, Marketing, Promotion/Coupons/Offers, Peer-to-Peer, Identity, Access Control and Transit Applications Using NFC
PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, May 14, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- With an estimated 100 million* smart phone handsets containing Near Field Communications (NFC) technology ready to hit the market in 2012, the Smart Card Alliance today announced the newly-formed Mobile and NFC Council to raise awareness and accelerate the adoption of the numerous applications possible with NFC technology.
"Many think of payments when they hear NFC, but the technology opens the door to many industries for innovative applications, such as ticketing, digital content exchange, secure identification, social networking, and communication between electronic devices," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "The Mobile and NFC Council will provide a bridge between NFC technologies and the industries who want to adopt NFC-enabled mobile devices to discuss and promote common standards and best practices."
The Council -- which has attracted over 60 organizations and more than 120 individuals to date -- will take a broad industry view and bring together stakeholders in the different vertical markets that can benefit from mobile and NFC applications including payments, loyalty, marketing, promotion/coupons/offers, peer-to-peer, identity, access control and transit applications. Council activities will include:
-- Providing educational resources for organizations offering or
implementing NFC applications and services to foster deployment of NFC
technology in the marketplace
-- Providing a business-focused organization where all industry
stakeholders can collaborate, network, share implementation
experiences, and discuss new mobile and NFC applications
-- Identifying and collaborating with other industry organizations to
discuss, define and promote standards for NFC application
implementations
The Mobile and NFC Council will be managed by a newly formed cross-industry steering committee elected this month. Members of the 2012/2013 Steering Committee are:
-- Trusted service managers: Amol Deshmukh, Gemalto; Sridher Swaminathan,
First Data Corporation
-- NFC chip and secure element manufacturers: Scott Allan, NXP
Semiconductors; Brent Bowen, INSIDE Secure
-- NFC tag suppliers: Rob Zivney, Identive
-- NFC security/testing/certification labs: Berend van Geffen, Collis
-- Consultants/consulting firms/mobile solutions evangelists: Deborah
Baxley, Capgemini; Nick Norman, Consult Hyperion
-- Systems integrators: Doug Morgan, C-SAM
-- Financial institutions: Peter Ho, Wells Fargo; Scott Rau, Chase
-- Payment brands: Josh Kessler, MasterCard Worldwide; Chandra
Srivastava, Visa, Inc.
-- POS equipment supplier: JC Raynon, VeriFone; Gerald Schoenecker,
Ingenico
-- Value-added service providers: Javed Chaudry, ViVOtech; David deKozan,
Cubic Transportation Systems, Inc.
"At this point in the commercial evolution of NFC technology, it is essential that organizations from all sectors of the global ecosystem work together to bring its benefits to more people in more ways," said Debbie Arnold, director, NFC Forum. "The Mobile and NFC Council will play a key role in nurturing these opportunities, and the NFC Forum looks forward to collaborating with the Smart Card Alliance in this vital work."
GlobalPlatform, the organization which standardizes the management of applications on secure chip technology, fully supports the formation of the NFC and Mobile Council. Kevin Gillick, GlobalPlatform's Executive Director, comments: "Creating an environment that brings together diverse industry stakeholders to collaborate and discuss how NFC will be brought to market is key to the successful deployment of this technology. GlobalPlatform's Mobile Task Force, which works to align GlobalPlatform Specifications with the needs of the NFC community, looks forward to engaging with this new group to promote the use of standards and achieve ultimate consumer convenience."
The Mobile and NFC Council will meet next at the Smart Card Alliance NFC Solutions Summit 2012, held in partnership with the NFC Forum on May 22 - 24, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel in Burlingame, California. The full four day conference event includes a pre-conference workshop day, two day conference program and exposition, and an "open conference" format day. Throughout the event, industry leaders will discuss both payments and non-payments uses of NFC-enabled devices, and on the final day at the unique "open conference" day session, industry experts are encouraged to bring forth and present their own mini-session on any NFC topic. Details about the event, attendees, exhibitors, and agenda for the pre-conference workshops and the conference are now available at http:/// www.smartcardalliance.org/nfcsolutions .
With this announcement, the Mobile and NFC Council joins the Smart Card Alliance's other influential industry councils, which foster increased industry collaboration within a specified industry or market segment and produce tangible results, speeding smart card adoption and industry growth. For more information about becoming a Smart Card Alliance member and participating in the Mobile and NFC Council, contact Cathy Medich at cmedich@smartcardalliance.org.
About the Smart Card Alliance The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.
Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org .
*"Competitive Landscape: NFC Semiconductor Vendors 2012," Mark Hung, Gartner, February 2012
