The India Near Field Communication (NFC) market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by rising demand for contactless digital payments and smart devices. As of 2024, the country has around 700 million smartphone users and many of them are leveraging NFC-enabled devices for seamless and tap-and-go transactions. The digital payment volumes in the country increased by approximately 40% in 2024, highlighting opportunities for NFC market. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system is major contributor of NFC adoption as it integrates with contactless payment platforms. Furthermore, the rising smart transportation system is also accelerating the demand for NFC with Delhi Metro introducing NFC-enabled ticketing solutions.
What’s Driving the NFC Market in India?
- The rapid technological advancement in digital payment ecosystem including UPI and digital wallet integration is driving the NFC market. In 2025, UPI processed over 10 billion transactions as NFC-based payments are increasingly integrated into platforms. Moreover, the use of contactless cards which are powered by NFC are increasing, reflecting a growing shift towards secure and tap-based payments.
- The NFC is transforming country’s transportation and infrastructure by providing seamless and cashless travel. As of 2025, the NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) is operational in 19 cities and plans for nationwide expansion. This card allows commuters to use a single card for metro, bus, toll, and parking payments, integrating NFC for seamless travel. Further, government’s smart cities mission will increase investments in NFC enabled infrastructure like smart parking, toll systems, and public transit networks.
- The rising popularity of wearable technology and IoT integration is creating opportunity for NFC. In 2024, wearable market in India saw 28% growth due to rising demand for fitness trackers and smart watches with NFC chips embedded for contactless payments. The rise of IoT in smart homes and connected devices is creating new applications for NFC, such as automated access control, smart locks, and seamless device pairing, further boosting demand for NFC chips in India.
Market Competition
The India NFC market is highly competitive, with mix of global giants, fintech companies, and domestic players fighting for dominance. The key players leading the landscape includes Samsung Electronics, NXP Semiconductors, and PhonePe. Samsung Electronics has strengthened its position by leveraging extensive smartphone ecosystem to drive NFC adoption. The company is expanding its Samsung pay services which supports UPI and contactless payments across 2 million retail locations as of 2024. NXP Semiconductors is one of the largest suppliers of NFC chips in the world. In 2024, the company reported 16% year-on-year growth in connected device segment. Meanwhile, PhonePe is the largest digital payment platform in the country and focuses on NFC-enabled micro-payments and offline transactions.
Rising Cybersecurity Threats in India’s NFC Ecosystem
The India NFC market is witnessing challenge of rising cybersecurity threats. In 2024, the number of cases were over 29000 with total loss amounting for Rs 1.77 billion. This is due to easy accessibility to affordable internet access. However, the government has initiated several measures including Telecom Regulatory Actions, Banking Safeguards, and public Awareness Campaigns. Despite these actions, there are still rise in cyber fraud cases indicating that cybersecurity continues to remain critical concern.
Future Outlook
The India NFC market is set to undergo significant transformations through 2030. This growth will be fuelled by digital transformation, rapid market penetration, and growing demand for contactless payment solutions. By 2030, the country is expected to have over 1.1 billion smartphone users with 85% of them being NFC-enabled. The growing demand for digital payment platform will play critical role in NFC market as NFC will help in facilitating high-speed, and secure transactions. The India’s wearable market which is expected to reach 200 million will drive the NFC market as many of the devices will feature NFC chips for contactless payments.
Consultant at Nexdigm In their latest publication “India NFC Market Outlook to 2030: By Product Type (Non-Auxiliary Products, Auxiliary Products), By Device Operating Mode (Reader Emulation, Card Emulation, Peer-To-Peer), By Application (Mobile/Contact Less Payment, Information Sharing, User Authentication & Access Control, Monitoring Healthcare Systems, Others)” believe that businesses should leverage 5G and edge computing for real-time payments and strengthen cybersecurity and consumer trust to gain competitive advantage in India NFC market.