The NFC Forum has published one new and three candidate technical specifications. The specifications deliver new capabilities that support improved RF communication, new and legacy tag support, NFC-V technology and Active Communication Mode.
CardWeb.com’s CardData database of Company Profiles today features F-Secure.
Oberthur Technologies announced its partnership with Cumulocity to offer an application enablement and objects management platform for the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. This new OT solution has the flexibility to address various M2M use cases from fleet management and asset tracking to industrial remote maintenance and surveillance, among many others.The IoT market stakeholders such as mobile operators, OEMs and enterprises need to remotely control and automate the management of these objects. OT is now able to propose a simple and secure solution to help them collect data from any connected object over any network, manage them in real-time including remote configuration and software updates or real-time alerts, and easily develop business applications. This future-proof solution offers maximum scalability and native support for Big Data use cases, including Big Data collection, storage and analysis.
JUSP announced it is teaming with Nokia as the first provider of a chip-and-pin mPOS solution to the Nokia Lumia smartphone. JUSP’s solution also works with Windows-based PCs as well as smartphones and tablets running Windows, iOS and Android making it an all-encompassing mPOS solution for both micro merchants and small- and medium-sized retail outlets. JUSP’s mPOS device and operating system flexibility, along with the chip-and-pin security and the all-inclusive pricing launched recently by JUSP, makes it extremely easy, convenient and secure for retailers of all sizes to charge customers using whatever means they choose.
JUSP chip-and-pin mPOS solution for smartphones and tablets is teaming with Nokia as the first provider of a chip-and-pin mPOS solution to the Nokia Lumia smartphone. JUSP’s solution also works with Windows-based PCs as well as smartphones and tablets running Windows, iOS and Android making it an all-encompassing mPOS solution for both micro merchants and small- and medium-sized retail outlets. JUSP’s mPOS device and operating system flexibility, along with the chip-and-pin security and the all-inclusive pricing launched recently by JUSP, makes it extremely easy, convenient and secure for retailers of all sizes to charge customers using whatever means they choose. JUSP’s mPOS connects through a computer’s USB or audio jack or any mobile device’s audio jack and, because JUSP is ‘bank agnostic,’ there are no bank accounts to change or any other banking requirements or approvals necessary. With its Windows-based solution, JUSP can connect shop owners data to Microsoft-based back-end accounting systems, billing and Excel spreadsheets.
Better ATM Services announced changes to its leadership team to accelerate the company’s plan for profitable growth. Howard Green will assume the role of Acting President and Chief Executive Officer. He will be leading Better ATM Services’ next phase of growth with a particular focus on go-to-market strategies, creating new product commercialization opportunities and expanding leadership resources. In addition, technology industry standouts Mark Olson and Dan Perez are joining Better ATM Services’ Board of Directors. Current President and CEO Todd Nuttall will assume the role of EVP, Enabling Technologies.
First Data appointed Michael Manos chief technology officer to oversee global technology infrastructure. Manos joins First Data from AOL Inc., where he served as AOL’s chief technology officer and was responsible for global technology and development platforms for all AOL subscription businesses, the industry, technology and media sites, AOL mail and messaging, and global mobile engineering efforts. Prior to joining AOL, he was a vice president at Nokia where he was responsible for the global operations, consolidation and restructuring of service operations for commercial-facing products and services. Before that, he was senior vice president for technical services at Digital Realty Trust where he oversaw the design, engineering, construction, and long-term operation for the company’s data center operations. He has also held leadership positions of increasing responsibility at Microsoft, Walt Disney and Nuclio Corporation.
The NFC Forum announced that Thinfilm and Xerox Corporation have joined the NFC Forum at the Principal level. The first to commercialize printed rewritable memory, Thinfilm is creating printed system products that will include memory, sensing, display and wireless communication such as NFC -at a cost-per-functionality unmatched by any other electronic technology. Since the invention of Xerography more than 75 years ago, the people of Xerox have helped businesses simplify the way work gets done. Today, Xerox is the global leader in business process and document management, helping organizations of any size be more efficient so they can focus on their real business. Headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., more than 140,000 Xerox employees serve clients in 160 countries, providing business services, printing equipment and software for commercial and government organizations. The Principal level is the next-to-top tier of NFC Forum membership, and it includes significant participation opportunities.
The NFC Forum will hold a special event for software developers on March 21 in from all industries to discover where NFC technology and the “Internet of Things” are headed in 2014. The “Spotlight for Developers” brings together top names in mobile devices, consumer electronics, software, and wireless technology. The event showcases NFC integration in innovative new products, services, vertical markets, and software, leading to valuable new opportunities for developers. Presenters are leading authorities on smartphone platforms, including Android™, Blackberry® 10 OS, and Windows Phone. NFC in Action – a look at how NFC technology is currently improving the lives of consumers — and the bottom lines of businesses — across several industries, such as air travel & transportation, consumer electronics, and health care.
The SD Association (SDA), a global ecosystem of companies setting industry-leading memory card standards, and the NFC Forum, a non-profit industry association that advances the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, today announced a formal Memorandum of Understanding that will enable the two organizations to jointly educate the market and help build the ecosystem for NFC among users of smartSD memory cards. The SDA will work with NFC Forum Special Interest Groups to educate and promote adoption of NFC in conjunction with smartSD memory cards to target vertical markets including consumer electronics, mobile payment, retail, transport and health care. Some of the joint activities under consideration include workshops for target vertical markets, white papers, case studies, consumer research, webcasts, and hosted events or trade shows that demonstrate the business and consumer benefits of using NFC and smartSD memory cards together.
The NFC Forum announced two newly elected Vice Chairmen of its Board of Directors, Trevor Pavey of Broadcom Corporation and Alexander Rensink of NXP Semiconductors. A senior product line manager at Broadcom, Trevor Pavey is a seasoned high tech marketing executive with eight years of RFID and wireless expertise coupled with 17 years of experience in semiconductor technology, marketing, business development, applications, and design. During his tenure at Broadcom, Pavey has been responsible for ecosystem management, including Broadcom’s relationships with the major payment associations and mobile carriers. Earlier in his career, he was instrumental in launching the NFC business at Texas Instruments. Alexander Rensink is strategic marketing director in the Identification business unit at NXP, which he joined in 2007. At NXP, Rensink focuses on the significant potential for identification technology in the mobile market with the goal of expanding the deployment of NFC-based solutions into mobile phones and tablets. In this role, he has had considerable experience in working with both infrastructure suppliers and application developers to deliver end-to-end solutions for vertical markets.
The NFC Forum announced Paula Hunter has been named the organization’s new Executive Director. She comes to the NFC Forum with more than 18 years of leadership experience in technology association management, marketing, operations, and business development. She led global teams and has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences around the world. As Executive Director, Hunter presides over the day-to-day affairs of the NFC Forum under the direction of the Chairman, Officers, and Board of Directors. Her responsibilities include strategic planning and direction, membership development, budgeting, evangelism for the Forum and its mission, and outreach to liaison and vertical market partners. Hunter joins the NFC Forum following more than three years as Executive Director of the Outercurve Foundation, a non-profit foundation formed with the mission of enabling the exchange of code and understanding among software companies and open source communities, and with Outercurve as Director of Operations for SEMPO.