EMVCo’s primary role is to manage, maintain and enhance the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications to ensure interoperability and acceptance of payment system integrated circuit cards on a worldwide basis. With this new liaison, EMVCo will share relevant technical information with the NFC Forum that will enable the certification of properly-provisioned NFC devices for use in making POS payments (in Card Emulation mode) wherever such payments can be made with EMVCo contactless card products.

The GSMA represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. GSMA and the NFC Forum will work together by exchanging information relating to each other’s programs; commenting on technical specifications, certification and testing requirements; collaborating on joint marketing activities, such as seminar sessions, white papers and presentations; and attending each other’s meetings as appropriate.

The Smart Card Alliance, a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology, is teaming up with the NFC Forum on several joint marketing initiatives, including educational programs for vertical markets such as retail and transport.

Other programs under discussion include presentations at each other’s events and meetings, a joint event targeting the retail market in the U.S., and the provision for regular information sharing between the NFC Forum Marketing Committee and Smart Card Alliance Contactless and Mobile Payments Council.

In addition to EMVCo, GSMA and Smart Card Alliance, the NFC Forum has established liaisons with the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and the Mobey Forum, a global financial industry forum whose mission is to facilitate the offering by banks of mobile financial services.