9to5Mac:

Apple has joined the official NFC Forum as a top-tier sponsor. Along with the sponsorship role, Apple has joined the forum’s Board of Directors, according to the forum’s official website.

With representation and sponsorship of the forum, Apple will be able to help advance the development of NFC chips across the industry and develop new NFC-based products at a quicker pace.

Apple has joined multiple industry forums for key components over the past several years, and the Cupertino-based company is a core member of both the USB and Bluetooth connectivity organizations.

This will undoubtedly help drive even more innovation in NFC. Apple waited to implement the protocol until they had the device to really take advantage of it. Now that they do, they are looking to use their directorship to drive further development in ways beneficial to the company.