NFC access card technology, via smart phones, like the Blackberry and iPhone. NFC is near field communication and is essentially two-way RFID, or radio frequency identification. NFC key cards are already in use in the hotel and airline industries, with downloadable room keys and boarding passes. Experts believe that eventually driver’s licenses and passport information will migrate to the NFC platform, but currently, there are too many problems with issuance, interoperability and security, that must be resolved first. One major issue for NFC-enabled mobile devices is that older cell phones do not have the installed chips. Existing smart phones without embedded NFC readers could work via Bluetooth tethering or a USB port.
The DoD put out a request for information in September of 2010, to start looking at NFC, to replace its Common Access Card and government employees’ PIV, or personal identity verification, credentials. Used by three million people for logical and physical access, the DoD CAC/PIV smartcard would be a big boon to the winning developer of the chip technology contract. The DoD is considering adding global payment, ATM access, and management of public transit service benefits to the card’s functionality. The DoD would also like to develop a debit card for military personnel, to be able to buy groceries both on and off base.