[June 19, 2013]

Verizon Wireless and Discover Financial Services Join the NFC Forum as Principal Members

The NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced that Verizon Wireless and Discover Financial Services, LLC have become members at the Principal level. In addition, SMARTRAC has upgraded its membership to Principal, and 13 other organizations have joined the Forum since March. Overall membership now stands at more than 190 companies and non-profit groups.

The Principal level is the next-to-top tier of NFC Forum (News - Alert) membership, and it includes significant participation opportunities. Principal members may designate individuals to run for Forum leadership positions, and they may appoint one voting representative to each NFC Forum Committee and Working Group. Other privileges include proposing Forum initiatives and participating in the NFC Forum testing and certification program using their own in-house test labs.

"The benefits and potential of NFC technology continue to resonate with important sectors, as these significant commitments from mobile network operator Verizon Wireless, payment brand Discover, and NFC transponders and inlay provider SMARTRAC (News - Alert) are demonstrating," said Koichi Tagawa, NFC Forum Chairman. "The NFC Forum looks forward to engaging all of our new members in our focused efforts to promote new applications for NFC and speed their adoption around the world."

The NFC Forum continues to attract innovative organizations from a variety of industries in all regions of the globe to its membership roster, reflecting increased interest in implementation and marketing of NFC technology. Member-level upgrades are also evidence that companies want to expand their participation in the Forum and further their commitment to NFC.

New Associate members include:

• CPqD
• HYPER Taiwan Technology Inc.
• Ingersoll Rand
• PHAYMOBILE
• Tendyron Corporation

• Centre National de référence RFID
• Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI)
• Open Ticketing Institute

Joining as Implementer members are:

• ABnote NA
• Feitian Technologies Co., Ltd.
• Microtech Innovation Limited
• TCL Technoly Electronics (Huizhou) Co., Ltd.
• Tecvan Informatica Ltda (GERTEC)

Any organization with an interest in furthering the development and adoption of NFC technology is encouraged to apply for NFC Forum membership. In addition to its ongoing work via conference calls and online meetings, the NFC Forum holds face-to-face, all-members meetings three times a year to advance NFC initiatives, and to address specifications and other projects under development. The most recent all-members meeting took place last week in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

About Near Field Communication Technology

NFC technology makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler to make transactions, exchange digital content, and connect electronic devices with a touch.

A standards-based connectivity technology, NFC harmonizes today's diverse contactless technologies, enabling current and future solutions in areas such as access control, consumer electronics, healthcare, information collection and exchange, loyalty and coupons, payments, and transport.

NFC technology is supported by the world's leading communication device manufacturers, semiconductor producers, network operators, IT and services companies, and financial services organizations. NFC is compatible with hundreds of millions of contactless cards and readers already deployed worldwide.

About the NFC Forum

The NFC Forum (http://www.nfc-forum.org) was launched as a non-profit industry association in 2004 by leading mobile communications, semiconductor, and consumer electronics companies. The Forum's mission is to advance the use of Near Field Communication technology by developing specifications, ensuring interoperability among devices and services, and educating the market about NFC technology. The Forum's 190 global member companies currently are developing specifications for a modular NFC device architecture, and protocols for interoperable data exchange and device-independent service delivery, device discovery, and device capability.

The NFC Forum's Sponsor members, which hold seats on the Board of Directors, include leading players in key industries around the world. The Sponsor members are: Broadcom Corporation (News - Alert), Google, Inc., Intel, MasterCard Worldwide, NEC, Nokia, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Samsung, Sony Corporation, STMicroelectronics (News - Alert), and Visa Inc.

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