NFC is not new technology, but a hidden gem that is really started to be recognised within the industry. Welcome to your first and last business card.
NFC (or Near field communication) was invented to allow contactless data transfer between two devices - one usually being a phone.
Most smartphones these days are equipped with Near Field Communication technology, better known as NFC. If you’ve ever used a mobile payments app like Apple Pay or Google Pay, you already know how NFC works. In a nutshell, it is a proximity-based wireless communication standard. Unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, however, NFC interaction is limited to an extremely short range. Besides smartphones, you can sometimes find NFC on tablets, speakers, collectibles, and even gaming consoles like the Nintendo Switch and 3DS.
Even though NFC may seem a bit lackluster on paper because of its short-range, it’s still a pretty convenient feature that many of us take for granted every day. So in this article, let’s take a quick look at what NFC is and how it works. Later, we’ll also discuss where you’re most likely to encounter the technology in the real world.
We use this technology inside of our Saint Connect Cards to allow for the transfer of data and in the end, your own digital profile.
NFC is probably far more widely used than you think. If you’ve ever paid for an item using Apple Pay or Google Wallet then you’ve used NFC technology.
More recently, The NFC Forum announced a huge rise in NFC certification. In fact, at the end of 2019, there were 2 billion NFC-enabled devices in use, and 9 out of the 10 top selling smartphones in the world having native NFC capabilities. These impressive increases are likely due to NFC being the driving force behind mobile payments.
Towards the end of 2019 Apple made headlines when they announced ‘core NFC’ capabilities across all iPhones with the introduction of iOS 13. In the past Apple haven’t always been fully on board with NFC. The functionality has been there, but has mostly been contained to features such as Apple Pay. Now the capabilities have been fully expanded to match those of Google and Samsung.
Not only that, but Apple showed their commitment to incorporating and utilising NFC technology, by using NFC for attendee credentials and access to WWDC (Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference) rather than paper tickets and barcodes. Having Apple fully on board with NFC will only push the market to develop even further and faster.
Digital marketing is a packed space. Brands are continually looking for new ways to engage customers and build meaningful relationships. NFC technology is a low cost, durable and effective means of customer communication that is transforming how businesses market themselves.
Not only that but NFC tags can be embedded into almost any object, transforming them with digital interactivity. This, in turn, adds product value. Giving brands an easy way to add value to their customers in the form of pricing, marketing and consumption.
These days, only lower-end devices tend to not come with NFC. That said, the importance of NFC may vary depending on the region. To that end, some manufacturers, like Xiaomi, omit the coil in certain markets like India due to the technology’s low adoption.
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