NFC Payments Are About To Become Faster, Easier, and Truly Contactless

The NFC Forum has revealed a roadmap for NFC technology that extends from now to 2028. The roadmap outlines five key initiatives for the direction of the technology over the next two to five years, including increasing the range of NFC connections, increasing wireless charging over NFC, enabling multiple-purpose taps, giving NFC-enabled smartphones Point-of-Sale functionality, and the ability to share how products should be recycled. Android Authority reports: Currently, NFC connections only work at a distance of 5mm. However, the NFC Forum wants to extend this distance by four to six times. Not only would this allow contactless payments to become truly contactless, but it would also make transactions faster and easier. Even a modest change is said to be enough to reduce the precision needed to align the antenna. Improving the range was far from the only matter the collective was looking into. The group shared that it wanted to increase wireless charging over NFC from 1W to 3W. Doing so would allow for wireless power and charging in smaller devices. It could even allow the creation of new applications previously left unexplored.

Another initiative is to enable multiple-purpose taps. This would reportedly make supporting several actions with a single tap possible. Additionally, the group mentioned giving NFC-enabled smartphones Point-of-Sale functionality and the ability to share how products should be recycled.

Internal conflict

[Currently_Defacating]

The tech junkie in me sees so many possibilities, but so does the conspiranoid in me.

Contactless...

[slazzy]

So criminals can now steal your funds from across the room? great...

Re:

[Fly Swatter]

Maybe in a dollhouse? 5mm x 6 won't even work in a cozy elevator.

Re:Contactless...

[Smidge204]

Well despite the fact that NFC "only work at a distance of 5mm" it's already demonstrated that one can eavesdrop on the communication from up to 10 meters away [electronics-notes.com] and, since they want to "extend this distance by four to six times" that potentially means listening in on data transactions from the building across the street.

Relay attacks are also a thing. If a passive device can be read from ~1 m (per link above) then extending that range as planed means 5-6 m. That's literally across the room.
=Smidge=

Re:

[thegarbz]

Eavesdropping is not a risk to a properly secured protocol. What has been demonstrated is the ability to listen to the transaction over that distance, nothing more. It's not possible to MITM that transaction or indeed be involved in any two-way communication from that distance. /Disclaimer: This text has travelled around the world passed through many different points owned by many different companies who can all see it and read nothing but gibberish because it's TLS secured.

Re:

[jenningsthecat]

There might be a way to claw back that extra range. Depending on how and where the NFC antenna is placed, a small, thin sheet of metal on the back of the phone may shield and/or de-tune the antenna a bit and limit the range.

Experimentation would be required, and details such as placement and size of the metal sheet would vary from model to model. But if I used NFC on my phone, (I don't and won't), I'd be doing that experimenting.

Re:

[omnichad]

In your 3cm wide room, you'll realize that criminals don't use devices that follow the standards. This will just increase the range at the point of sale devices. It won't really have an effect on people making their own readers. Eavesdropping won't do much against credit card transactions, since you can't replay it and get anything useful.

What we need is intelligent beamforming. I'm pretty sure by now this is old tech and not that hard to do. Have an antenna array aim directly at the device and figure

distance

[awwshit]

> It could even allow the creation of new applications previously left unexplored.

More distance means more opportunity for things like relay attacks.

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

Relay attacks are useless here. Every transaction uses unique codes, and secrets that only the terminal knows. You can't just intercept the payment token and redirect it to your payment terminal, it doesn't work.

This was solved long ago because they knew people could hide relays near the terminal, or use a high gain antenna.

Re:

[Fly Swatter]

NFC payments are not NFT payments. I read it that way too, but that's because our NFT gaydar is over sensitive.

Although now NFC connections can only work at 5mm, if they go out to 3cm, pretty sure thick jeans won't protect you from a brush pass if that happens.

Re:

[kellin]

So don't leave your NFC turned on. I only ever turn mine on when I'm actually going to use it.

Re:

[PPH]

Credit cards.

Re:

[omnichad]

My credit card doesn't have an off switch. Does yours? Phones at the very least won't activate NFC if the phone is locked/sleeping.

Re:

[dwywit]

I can turn off contactless transactions on my debit card - log into the bank account and navigate my way to settings.

I rarely use the credit card for anything other than online shopping, and I only keep it in my wallet for emergencies, like a chip reader failure. Some merchants don't read the instructions on the care and feeding of their EFTPOS terminal. "Chip read error", followed by "swipe error", and I have to haul out the credit card.

Re:

[rastos1]

I investigated when my bank discontinued contact-only cards and switched to contactless cards only. It is possible to set the limit for contactless transactions to zero, but it is not possible to turn off the contectless functionality completely. My understanding is that the conctacless terminal will refuse the transaction if the amount is above zero, but it will still talk to the card and perhaps get some identification data - which I wanted to prevent in first place. At best you can try to puncture the c

Re:

[PPH]

Are you Emily Litella?

Re:

[dsgrntlxmply]

We need more violins on television.

Dunno about that 5mm figure?

[trawg]

I made a payment this week that was at least 5cm away. Caught me by surprise - was holding my phone away from the payment terminal waiting for the attendant to tell me it was ready, but my phone beeped and the transaction went through before I could even move it.

Re:

[_merlin]

I never actually touch my phone or card on payment terminals for ticket gates on Sydney public transport - I hold it about a centimetre away. It always registers. 5mm definitely isn't the maximum range.

Re:

[AmiMoJo]

Your phone is powered by the battery. They are talking about battery free devices like contactless payment cards.

The increased range allows them to power up and communicate from further away, allowing them to present a user interface for multiple functions.

NFC

[deimios666]

Wait a sec you're telling me that the problem of Near Field Communication is that it's ... Near Field? And that you want to extend the range at which your card can be scanned? Also wtf is this about 5mm. Just yesterday I payed with my phone hovering it 100mm above the POS terminal. With a phone case that has metal bars on the back for support. It already has more range than it should have.

Re:

[bjoast]

Slashdot article from 2063: NFC Forum on new standard that will increase range from the pathetic current limit of 2000 meters to having it be able reach low earth orbit from the ground: "Itâ(TM)ts gonna be great! You will soon be able to use contactless to pay your starlink bills!"