Contactless payment is truly going to become contactless, no more sticking your smartphone or card to the terminal

The range of NFC technology will be multiplied by 4, thus facilitating contactless payment.

It's called contactless payment, but whether with your smartphone, smartwatch, or bank card, it is often necessary to stick your payment method to the terminal for communication between the two systems. is starting. This period could soon be over.

The NFC Forum has just announced version 15 of its NFC standard, which enables contactless payment, among other wireless features, such as file transfers between nearby devices. The big improvement brought by this new standard is the extension of the NFC range, which is multiplied by 4. Instead of the current 0.5 cm, contactless connections via NFC can be established at a distance of 2 cm between the two devices.

NFC range increases significantly

“This innovation means that connections will start earlier and require less precise alignment of the devices, making NFC faster, more reliable and easier to use than ever before,” explains the NFC Forum, a consortium made up of major tech companies such as Apple, Google, Huawei, Identiv, Infineon, NXP, Sony and ST Microelectronics.

“Extending the range of NFC contactless connections was one of the key priorities of the NFC Forum’s five-year roadmap. This roadmap aimed to meet evolving market needs and make transactions easier and faster on all NFC-enabled devices, including more compact devices like connected objects or smartphones,” adds Mike McCamon, executive director of the NFC Forum.

In addition to contactless payment, this new generation of NFC will be useful for meeting new uses, particularly in the automotive, public transport and access control sectors. NFC version 15 and the associated certification process will be available from autumn 2025. We can therefore expect to see the first compatible devices arrive at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2026.

While the user experience will be improved, we can wonder whether this new feature will not encourage contactless payment scams in crowded places, such as nightclubs or public transport.