Q&A: Welcoming our new Certification Program Manager, Raul Ramos Perez

We are pleased to announce the latest addition to the NFC Forum team, our new Certification Program Manager Raul Ramos Perez. Raul will bring more than a decade’s experience of working within the NFC ecosystem to his new role overseeing the NFC Forum Certification Program. The Program tests product conformance against the latest NFC Forum standards to ensure consistency and demonstrate trust in device behavior. In doing so, it sets the foundation for secure and trusted interoperability between devices, enabling the delivery of consistent user experiences.

This appointment has been made following the recent retirement of Sten Wendel. Sten dedicated over eleven years to managing the NFC Forum Certification Program, which under his stewardship grew to incorporate countless new device classes and use cases. We extend our sincere gratitude to Sten for his many years of hard work, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.

As Raul now steps into the role, we sat down with him to discuss what drew him to the position, his existing involvement with the NFC Forum, the role of the NFC Forum Certification Program in today’s technology ecosystem and its evolution in the coming years.

How long have you been involved with NFC Forum?

I’ve been part of the NFC Forum community for the past decade as part of my former role at DEKRA, an NFC Forum-authorized test lab where I worked first as an NFC Test Engineer before progressing to the role of NFC Lab Manager.

During my tenure, I was involved in two main activities – product certification and test tool validation. This gave me hands-on experience with both the technical and operational aspects of the NFC Forum Certification Program. This allowed me to step into the role as chair of NFC Forum’s Testing Working Group, providing me with valuable insight into the development of the Certification Program, and its rich, collaborative environment. I look forward to bringing this knowledge and expertise to my new role.

What drew you to the position of Certification Program Manager?

The Certification Program helps to provide consistency of behaviour across NFC devices and setting the foundation for interoperability, which is critical for a strong and reliable user experience. This role will therefore allow me to be a key contributor to both the Forum itself, as well as the wider contactless device ecosystem.

I’m excited to play a deeper role in ensuring interoperability between certified devices across different manufacturers, making sure that billions of products not only work as expected but also interact flawlessly with one another. This includes working together with experts within the NFC Forum Compliance Committee, and with our liaison partners who have made NFC Forum specifications, testing and certification of the NFC components in their products part of their own Certification Programs.

What do you hope to achieve in the first 12 months of your role?

I’m fortunate to be stepping into a role that has been executed very well by my predecessor, Sten. This means that we have a well-established network of labs, manufacturers, liaisons and partners who are already working to deliver the next generation of contactless solutions. My duty in the first twelve months will be to assist their work and help guide them into the next era of NFC, ushered in following this year’s introduction of NFC Release 15 and its accompanying Certification Release 15 (CR15).

And finally, how do you see the Certification Program evolving in the future?

The NFC Forum Certification Program will continue to grow and develop in line with industry needs, relevant regulation and emerging use cases. CR 15 is a strong example of how the Program continues to evolve, giving industry stakeholders a clear framework to ensure reliable performance and consistent behaviour for devices up to an operating volume four times greater than what was previously possible.

Innovative new use cases and deployments are proliferating at an astonishing rate as we stride through a golden age of digital transformation. The Digital Product Passport and other such initiatives are demonstrating the clear value that NFC technology can deliver to those looking to build a sustainable future based on traceable sourcing. Meanwhile, NFC is also being implemented across a number of emerging use cases. In the automotive industry, for example, vehicles are increasingly harnessing NFC technology to start the engine, unlock or lock doors, and enable seamless driver authentication.

Through our liaison partners, the NFC Forum Certification Program will continue to play a key role in this transformation, ensuring that emerging use cases are backed by robust testing and certification. I am delighted to be a part of helping to deliver this future.

Learn more about the NFC Forum Certification Program

Visit the NFC Forum website to view certified products, get more information on how to begin your certification journey and learn more about how we support organizations to deliver interoperability and enhance user experiences across their NFC implementations.