PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., April 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NFC technology is having a breakout year, with newly available NFC-enabled smart phone handsets enabling quick transactions, ticketing, digital content exchange, secure identification, social networking and communication between electronic devices. To discuss the state of this promising technology, a broad base of industry players will gather at the NFC Solutions Summit 2013 this May 15-16, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in Burlingame, Calif. Presented by the Smart Card Alliance in partnership with the NFC Forum, the Summit is the leading annual NFC conference, featuring leaders from the entire NFC ecosystem.
Details about the event, attendees, exhibitors, and agenda for the pre-conference workshops and the conference are now available at http://www.nfcsolutionssummit.com. Early registration discounts are available until April 2.
"With all of the recent product and joint venture announcements from industry-leading handset manufacturers, financial service providers, and mobile network operators, there is no doubt that 2013 will be a significant year for NFC," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "However, we are still not yet at a point where the immense potential of NFC technology has been fully realized. Working along with the NFC Forum, we are able provide a comprehensive, educational agenda that explores the numerous opportunities the technology provides, suited to all NFC industry stakeholders regardless of education level or business focus."
The two-day NFC Solutions Summit will features leaders from financial services, payments processing, retail services, technology providers, applications development, and industry analysts in an interactive, instructive forum on the business issues, implementation milestones, and technology advancements happening in NFC markets. The Summit will include comprehensive topics covering the state of the technology, developments in new NFC devices and applications, the status of the growing NFC ecosystem, the promise of NFC-enabled payments, marketing, access control and other popular use cases applications, NFC implementation guidance, and North American and international experiences with NFC pilots and implementations.
"With nearly 300 million NFC-enabled devices expected to ship this year, NFC technology is reaching new vertical markets and industries," said Debbie Arnold, NFC Forum Director. "With that industry growth comes an increasing need for education, guidance, and support for market implementation. The NFC Solutions Summit is a 'must attend' event for ecosystem players who want to tap into the most important NFC developments in both the business and technical arenas, and we welcome the opportunity to partner with the Smart Card Alliance in supporting this event."
The conference begins on May 15 with a full day of plenary keynote speakers and roundtable panel sessions. On the second day, attendees will be invited to choose from multi-speaker panel sessions in separate NFC Technology and NFC Business Solutions tracks.
Pre-conference, attendees are invited to attend the "NFC Base Camp" workshop. The full-day workshop on May 14 will cover all of the fundamentals of NFC mobile technology and business applications. Separate registration and fees apply to attend this course.
More Mobile News from the Alliance
The Smart Card Alliance Mobile and NFC Council is hosting a four-part webinar series, "Mobile and NFC Security Fundamentals." Held in partnership with GlobalPlatform and the NFC Forum, the series aims to provide mobile application developers and the mobile community with the education they need to choose the best level of security for their NFC applications. The next webinar in the series is "NFC Forum Tags and Security Considerations" on April 18, 2013 at 1:00 P.M. EST (10:00 A.M. PST). For more information and to register, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/343614305.
To continue its educational initiatives on NFC and applications, the Smart Card Alliance will host a full day workshop on April 9 at ISC West 2013, "Mobile Devices and Identity and Access Control Applications." The interactive workshop will provide attendees with a detailed understanding of new uses for mobile devices in storing and presenting secure digital identity credentials for digitally signing email and accessing secure networks as well as using NFC-enabled mobile devices for physical access. To register, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/secureid.
About the Smart Card Alliance
The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.
Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.
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