Apple has joined the likes of Google, MasterCard and Visa by becoming a top-tier sponsor member of the NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that promotes the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
Formed in 2004, the NFC Forum works to advance the use of NFC technology, as well as giving its members ‘‘the opportunity to influence the development and market implementation of this exciting technology.’’
By joining the forum’s board of directors, Apple has the chance to influence specific NFC policies that could enhance the profitability of Apple Pay, Apple’s NFC-enabled payments platform. A number of Apple’s devices allow the use of Apple Pay, including its wearable device, the Apple Watch.
The California-based firm joins a number of NFC players on the forum’s board, including chip makers Broadcom, Intel, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics and NXP Semiconductors. NXP currently supply Apple with NFC chips for its mobile devices.
Apple will be represented on the board by Aon Mujtaba, a director of Apple’s Wireless Systems Engineering team.
‘‘We are delighted to welcome Apple to our board of directors as an NFC Forum sponsor member,’’ commented the NFC Forum on its website.
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