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Near Field Communication and all contactless technology

France’s mobile-operator-led NFC association, AFSCM, has dropped its long-held NFC logo and touchpoint symbol for nonpayment services, Cityzi, in favor of on logo based on EMVCo’s contactless-payment acceptance mark.

Pairing of home and office devices and appliances via Wi-Fi has taken a step forward with updated NFC handover specifications from two trade organizations, the NFC Forum and the Wi-Fi Alliance.

The NFC Forum has issued a statement of support for host-card emulation at its all-member meeting this week in San Francisco, calling HCE a “promising addition to the portfolio of NFC solutions that could potentially accelerate market growth.”

The NFC Forum’s board has elected co-vice chairmen, representing rival NFC chip makers Broadcom and NXP Semiconductors, as the standards and trade group continues work trying to expand the reach of NFC technology.

NFC Times Exclusive: A set of guidelines from the NFC Forum and the International Air Transport Association may be another step toward eventual rollout of NFC-enabled boarding passes, but observers say the prospects for use of NFC technology in air travel remain up in the air.

NFC Forum’s pick for its new executive director, Paula Hunter, will be taking over the day-to-day operation of the standards and trade group as it seeks to help spur more market adoption of NFC technology.

The NFC Forum has published its first specification directed at NFC-enabled personal health care devices, hoping to expand use of NFC technology in the industry segment and reduce the reliance on proprietary implementations.

Verizon Wireless, the largest mobile operator in the U.S., along with U.S. payment brand Discover Financial Services have joined the NFC Forum as principal members, giving them a say in developing NFC standards and forum policy.

The International Air Transport Association, which represents 240 airlines worldwide, plans to finish its evaluation of NFC technology this year and could propose standards to its members in October, the group has told NFC Times.

Google has upgraded its membership in the NFC Forum standards and trade group to the top rung, sponsor member, giving the search giant a seat on the 13-member board.