Roadmap: Enhancing NFC Digital Keys

Popularity of digital key solutions based on NFC Forum technologies is growing thanks to the seamless, convenient key management solutions they offer.

Following the success of its collaboration with the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC) and Intelligent Car Connectivity Ecosystem Alliance (ICCE), the NFC Forum is opening its door to explore innovative new digital key experiences, ensuring NFC Forum Standards support a range of industry requirements both in and outside of the automotive sector. As part of its Technology Roadmap, it is seeking market engagement on how its standards can evolve.

There are at least three potential areas that will be explored further.

1) Key Form Factor Flexibly and Simplified Management

While the smartphone has been the primary host for digital keys so far, we’re seeing an increasing number of new personal devices that are equally capable of securely hosting and presenting the required credentials.

For example, as NFC has power harvesting capabilities, it can support battery-less devices such as fobs, plastic cards, or even passive wearables, enabling them to use the power from a smart lock to open a door. In reverse, small devices such as battery-less padlocks can draw power from an NFC smartphone to unlock. Removing the need for both sides of the exchange to have a battery enables simpler, more durable, cost-efficient designs.

The ease with which digital keys can be self-provisioned using NFC is also driving interest. Digital keys can be issued or revoked quickly and easily using a smartphone, giving full control to who can access a vehicle, room or building instantly. This creates effective key management potential for car sharing and rental, hospitality and building access.

2) Hybrid Solutions

Arguably one of the most high-profile digital key initiatives to date has been that of the CCC. Its Digital Key Specification uses NFC to provide secure tap-to-lock / tap-to-unlock functionality across both smartphone and smartcard keys. It successfully uses NFC in concert with other wireless technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-Wideband (UWB).

By layering these technologies together, it creates a complementary system that allows the door to be opened as a vehicle owner approaches the car using BLE and UWB, offering completely hands-free entry. While NFC delivers an highly secure user-intent proximity solution that most importantly works even if the user’s smartphone is in power reserve mode – something not possible with any other wireless technology

This hybrid model is the perfect blend of convenience, security and reliability, providing other sectors with a best-practice model to replicate and build upon.

3) More Than Just A Key

An NFC digital key can contain far more than just the credentials required to lock and unlock a door. It can also save individual user profiles that can be automatically applied whenever the user taps their key.

For example, if a vehicle has multiple drivers, then each digital key can also store a personalization profile for settings such as climate controls, seat positioning, and in-car payment accounts which are automatically applied when the vehicle is unlocked.

Furthermore, NFC Forum Standard compliant tags are ideally suited to store Digital Product Passport (DPP) data. The same tag used to provide digital key functionality can store the necessary traceability data that supports enhanced circularity, through effective re-using, re-manufacturing, or re-cycling a product in line with incoming regulation by the European Union.

Digital Keys is one of many topics featured in the NFC Forum’s 2026 Technology Roadmap. Keen to learn more? Read the press release.

Do you have access control and digital key requirements that NFC Forum can support? Join our community.