Even as the NFC Forum attempts to broaden the reach of its NFC touchpoint symbol, known as the N-Mark, rival marks are surfacing, threatening to present consumers with a fragmented array of NFC icons as the technology rolls out.
Such large organizations as the GSM Association, Google and Microsoft are backing their own marks, while many other consumer brands, from clothing store chains to snack food purveyors, are expected to promote their own marks, as well. And so are some major smartphone makers.
Add NFC marks for national and local rollouts, such as Cityzi in France, and the NFC Forum’s goal of establishing a consumer-facing, globally recognized, mark on smart posters, devices and software is appearing increasingly difficult to achieve.
