NFC Definition

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless technology that enables the communication between devices over a distance of less than 10 cm. The NFC standard is defined in ISO/IEC 18092.

NFC operates at 13.56 MHz and supports the existing ISO/IEC standards 14443 (Types A/B/Felica) and 15693 (tags). An NFC device can work in two modes: active (battery powered) and passive (radio energy powered).

There are three main ways to use NFC:

• Card emulation: the NFC device behaves exactly like a contactless card and can be used in transport fare payment systems based on MiFare, Calypso or Felica as well as open banking payment systems based on Visa payWave, MasterCard PayPass or American Express ExpressPay
• Reader mode: the NFC device is active and reads a passive RFID tag; for example reading and storing a Web address or coupon from a poster for interactive advertising
• Person-to-person (P2P) mode: two NFC devices communicate with each other exchanging information

The key benefits of NFC are:

• Compatible with the existing contactless infrastructure
• Simplicity. NFC is characterized by a natural and intuitive “just touch” movement