Infineon is the world market leader in NFC security chips

     Infineon Technologies AG is the world's leading supplier of secure microcontrollers for NFC (Near Field Communication) applications. The latest survey  (January 2012) by market Research firm IMS Research indicates that Infineon has a 51.5% share of the NFC security microcontroller market.

     NFC contactless communication technology can turn smartphones and other mobile devices into wallets, tickets and keys. As a major supplier, Infineon plays a key role in the development of the NFC market, bringing NFC application security to mobile devices in three ways: Through NFC Secure microcontrollers for SIM cards, through embedded secure elements that are part of the electronics of mobile phones, and through security elements that can be used as devices such as microSD cards. This makes Infineon the only semiconductor manufacturer in the world that can implement NFC functions with such flexibility. Infineon offers NFC solutions that meet the most stringent requirements for secure microcontrollers, including the Common Criteria EAL 5+ "high" international standard and EMVCo (Europay International, mastercard, Visa) certification. They are suitable for a variety of NFC payment applications implemented with mobile terminals.

     Infineon's NFC secure microcontrollers are already used in most NFC smartphones. For some NFC security microcontrollers, Infineon uses its award-winning "Integrity Guard" security technology, which was developed specifically for mobile payment applications that require an extremely high level of protection. This security technique means that data is stored in encrypted form and remains encrypted throughout the data processing chain (CPU, memory, cache, and bus).

    "We are very pleased that Infineon's NFC security chips are leading the market and have earned the high trust of our customers. We are the only semiconductor manufacturer in the world with a broad portfolio of security solutions to support a wide range of NFC business models." Stefan Hofschen, President of Infineon's Chip Card and Security Business unit, said: "Data security is integral to the continued trust of consumers and the success of the NFC business model. With Infineon's secure microcontrollers, NFC-enabled mobile phones are safe, convenient and efficient. In this way, Infineon has laid the technical foundation for applications such as secure mobile payments."

     According to IMS Research, the number of NFC mobile phones delivered worldwide in 2011 was 35 million, and that number will climb to 80 million by the end of 2012. Events such as the London 2012 Olympic Games will promote the development of NFC technology and fully demonstrate the benefits of the technology in areas such as mobile payments or access control. By 2016, mobile payments will be the most popular NFC application.

     According to IMS Research, the number of security components delivered for NFC mobile phones in 2011 was 45.8 million. These were mainly embedded security components with a total of 26.6 million, and other solutions such as SIM cards and microSD cards with 19 million and 200,000. IMS Research expects the NFC security microcontroller market to grow at an average annual rate of 94% from 2011 to 2016. By 2016, the share of embedded security components as the primary security solution for NFC applications will expand to 49 percent, with SIM cards accounting for 33 percent. Market researchers expect 44% of all mobile phones sold in 2016 to be NFC capable.