NFC TimesThe premier source for news, analysis and commentary on
Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

A designer of NFC chip technology and maker of NFC tags, Innovision has a relatively low profile in the NFC industry. But that could change in a couple of years if the company’s vision pays off.

France-based fabless chip supplier Inside Contactless had an inside track to the NFC market a couple of years ago as the first supplier of NFC chips supporting early versions of the single-wire protocol.

To those who criticize Nokia for the rather bland handsets it has outfitted with NFC and put onto the market, the handset maker responds–with some justification–that it has done more than any other phone maker to advance NFC technology.

No one can say Japan’s dominant mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, lacks vision or the determination to transform the Japanese market.

German smart card supplier Giesecke & Devrient has been interested in contactless-mobile technology for years.

Citi has never been sold on contactless-card payment like rival New York-based bank JPMorgan Chase. But Citi has made up for it with its interest in NFC.

The most important trade group promoting Near Field Communication, the NFC Forum sets standards for the technology and evangelizes its uses.

Since its creation in 2006 from the merger of the two largest smart card makers at the time, Gemalto has billed itself as “the world leader in digital security.”

Discover’s Zip contactless application is accepted at 70,000 merchant locations in the U.S. But you won’t have seen anyone tapping with Zip to pay.