While many of today’s smartphones are already outfitted with Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities, most experts agree that using the tech to its fullest is still a couple of years away. Near Field Communication means that a smartphone can transmit a set of data a short distance. 

The most well known use for NFC technology right now is when the phone is being used to transmit banking information to a cash register or other such device being used in retail. Plenty of developers have come up with apps that allow people to use NFC in order to more quickly and easily check out at their favorite store.  

Of course, some people are a bit nervous about their phones transmitting financial data. Smartphone and app developers alike are well aware of the less than favorable things that could happen if someone manages to find a way to intercept that data and use it as their own. That is why there has been a concerted effort to develop something called Multiple Secured Elements technology. 

MSC (News - Alert) tech is designed to do exactly what you would think and its usage has made using NFC devices that much safer. It is because of this that a new study by ABI Research (News - Alert) shows that the NFC market will crest the $1 billion mark by the end of 2016.

The study also shows that there will be a projected 552 million handsets shipped that will be equipped with NFC capabilities in 2016. Of these, almost half (227 million) will have Multiple Secured Elements. MSC is not the only kind of embedded security software available and the makers of this study, ABI, says that in that year, at least 78 percent of all handsets with NFC will have some sort of secure embedded tech.

Projections that show such a high level of NFC compatible devices are the reasons why so many developers and hardware technicians alike are working overtime to come up with more practical uses for the tech. With five years left to work on the issue, it is a safe bet that NFC handset use could actually blow away current projections.