NFC is one of those innovations that had great potential and aimed to revolutionize our lives, but in practice it has turned out to be something different from what it promised. Although many Spaniards already use mobile payment through ‘contactless’ technology, the truth is that this concept does not fully conform to reality: the distance at which it works is so short, only a few 5 millimeters, which for practical purposes is easier to directly touch the card reader with the mobile.
But the days of the NFC that we all know are numbered. The new version that is on the way will be more powerful, it will have more scope and many more possibilities. In other words, the new NFC would finally fulfill the promises of the original version. At least that’s what the NFC Forum, a consortium of companies founded by Sony and Nokia, among others, dedicated to the development of this technology, has announced.
The group has proposed the most ambitious roadmap in its history, with news until 2028, in which Google has been involved with its Android system, as well as Apple and other companies.
Experts are studying how to extend the range of contact without affecting the quality of service. One of the most important changes will be in the increase in the range of NFC, which will be multiplied between 4 and 6 times.
Right now the limit is 5 millimeters, so you have to practically stick your mobile to the establishment’s dataphone. Instead, they are fighting to achieve a maximum distance of 20 or 30 mm, so that there are no problems and that it really lives up to its name of being a contactless payment, and we can pay without taking our mobile out of our pockets.
‘Contactless’ payments will not be the only beneficiaries of this new version of NFC. Another of the announced improvements is the increase in power that the chip can receive up to 3 W, which in turn can expand the possibilities. Thus, it would be possible to wirelessly recharge other devices, small and with reduced batteries.
These novelties will not arrive suddenly, but are being developed independently and their releases will take place over the next few years.
