On November 18, 2025, the ITMA SUMMIT 2025 , themed “One Touch, Enjoy the Future,” was successfully held in Shenzhen. This year’s summit brought together numerous upstream and downstream enterprises from across the near-field interaction industry chain. Participants engaged in in-depth sharing and discussions on a wide range of topics, including technical standards, smart hardware and chips, and diverse application scenarios.
Through multi-strategy advancement, iTAP is evolving from a China solution into an international standard.
China Electronics Standardization Institute — Fan Kefeng
In his speech, Fan Kefeng, Deputy Director-General of the China Electronics Standardization Institute, provided a systematic overview of the industrialization progress and standardization strategy of iTAP technology.As a near-field interaction technology with independent intellectual property rights in China, iTAP has achieved a breakthrough from conceptual design to practical deployment by building a full-chain collaborative ecosystem covering chips, terminals, and application scenarios.Leading enterprises such as Huawei, Huada Electronics, and Alipay have made substantial progress in device adaptation, chip development, and scenario innovation, initially forming an application ecosystem spanning areas such as payment and access control.
Fan Kefeng stated that the China Electronics Standardization Institute will focus on establishing a national standard system framework, deepening collaboration on international standards, and accelerating the promotion and adoption of standards. These efforts aim to support the evolution of iTAP from a China solution to an international standard, build a globally competitive near-field interaction ecosystem, and provide technical support for the development of Digital China.
ECMA International — Samina Husain
As a global standardization organization, ECMA International has long been committed to developing international standards for the information technology industry. Through close cooperation with other international standards organizations, ECMA has promoted interoperability across technical standards. The NFC standards led by ECMA have been widely adopted in payment, transportation, IoT, and device pairing scenarios.ECMA Secretary-General Samina Husain introduced ECMA’s advantages in standardization processes, including rapid response to technological trends, global member collaboration, and a balanced standards mechanism aligned with WTO principles. She also noted that ECMA’s membership structure spans large enterprises, SMEs, and non-profit organizations, forming a mature industry–academia–research collaborative ecosystem.Following the establishment of its partnership with ITMA, ECMA will support the international adoption of the iTAP technical standard, further enhancing security and improving device interaction efficiency.
At the summit, participants witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ECMA and ITMA.
In addition to its collaboration with ECMA, ITMA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ICCE at the summit.
ICCE is China’s first cross-industry alliance for mobile intelligent terminals and the automotive sector. It is committed to bringing together industry resources to jointly research and promote application scenarios, requirements, technologies, and standards related to smart vehicles. ICCE has released a series of digital car key technical specifications based on NFC and other short-range communication technologies, which have received strong attention and positive responses from OEMs, digital car key solution providers, chip manufacturers, testing organizations, and terminal manufacturers.With an open and collaborative approach, ITMA and ICCE will focus on joint standard development, user experience enhancement, and ecosystem promotion, driving seamless interaction between people, vehicles, and devices.
Chip–terminal synergy accelerating the deployment of iTAP
Huawei Terminal — Tan Donghui
Terminals are key carriers for consumers to experience various iTAP-enabled convenience scenarios. In his speech, Tan Donghui, President of Huawei Consumer Cloud Service Ecosystem and Payment BU, elaborated on the technical specifications of the iTAP protocol, its application achievements, and Huawei’s ecosystem development strategy.As an upgraded version of NFC technology, the iTAP protocol effectively addresses the core issue of inaccurate card selection in smart terminals, achieving a 50% increase in card-reading speed and 100% card-selection accuracy. Multiple Huawei hardware products have already integrated the iTAP protocol, with extensive validation demonstrating its reliability across diverse scenarios.On the software side, Huawei Wallet has built a full-scenario digital ecosystem covering payment, transportation, and lifestyle services based on the iTAP protocol, with over 270 million cards issued and 150 million monthly active users.In addition to software and hardware, Tan emphasized the importance of collaboration with ecosystem partners such as China UnionPay, Dnake, and Xiongdi Technologies, ensuring compatibility and stability in the implementation of iTAP and ultimately achieving shared commercial value.
Huada Electronics — Chen Botao
Chips can be regarded as the fundamental “infrastructure” ensuring the security and stability of iTAP technology. Chen Botao, Deputy General Manager of Huada Electronics, conducted an in-depth discussion on three core technologies that support NFC performance: high-power and high-sensitivity RF transceiver technology, low-power chip system design, and embedded secure storage with software architecture.In terms of security, he emphasized the integration trend of “NFC + eSE + eSIM” three-in-one chips, as well as the importance of achieving financial-grade security through multi-level certifications such as EUCC and China’s commercial cryptography standards.Finally, Chen outlined the development direction for the next generation of NFC chips, proposing a vision of making them “faster, farther, smarter, and more secure
STMicroelectronics (ST) — Sun Chao
Focusing on user experience enhancement, application scenario expansion, and the globalization of ecosystems and standards, Sun Chao, Marketing Manager of the Secure Microcontroller Division at STMicroelectronics, elaborated on the current state and future development trends of the NFC market. Sun noted that the NFC market is on the verge of explosive growth, and as an emerging technical standard, iTAP is expected to become a key driver of NFC application innovation.He also introduced ST’s NFC product portfolio for both acceptance devices and mobile terminals.For acceptance devices, ST’s new-generation NFC reader chips—represented by the ST25R300 series—feature high performance, low power consumption, strong anti-interference capability, and full-protocol compatibility, providing stable and reliable foundational support for near-field interaction in card-reading equipment.For mobile terminals, the ST54 multi-in-one chip integrates a secure element and an NFC controller, supporting various applications such as bank card payments and transit cards. It is complemented by the STPay-Mobile development platform, which accelerates the deployment of NFC applications.
From now on, recognize and adhere to the iTAP brand and trademark
Brands and trademarks play an important role in users’ everyday commercial interactions—they serve not only as an “identity card,” but also as a tool for making decisions and expressing values. To help users better experience new applications and develop stronger recognition of iTAP, ITMA, together with its member companies, jointly created a new iTAP technology brand and trademark, which was officially released at the summit.
Exploring application scenarios: iTAP unlocks even more possibilities
China UnionPay — Wang Hongjian
A representative from China UnionPay, Wang Hongjian, noted at the summit that UnionPay has already reserved a technical pathway for iTAP (Intelligent Terminal Auto-selected Proximity) in the development roadmap for next-generation smart terminals. He stated that all upcoming UnionPay terminals will incorporate support for the iTAP protocol, and existing terminals will also undergo corresponding updates and upgrades. UnionPay will further promote the integration of global payment applications with the iTAP protocol in overseas markets.According to the introduction, China UnionPay has promoted card issuance and payment acceptance services in 183 countries and regions worldwide, with nearly 9.1 billion UnionPay cards issued globally.
Xiongdi Technology — Cheng Liang
As a global trusted identity service provider, Xiongdi Technology serves a wide range of sectors including smart governance and smart transportation. In the field of mobility, Xiongdi’s solutions have been deployed in over 300 cities, supporting 400,000 public buses, and have also achieved large-scale implementation in smart governance and rail transit.Cheng Liang, Deputy General Manager of Xiongdi’s Transportation Division, stated that iTAP enables “one-device universal access” by automatically identifying the city’s virtual electronic ticket via the cloud, supporting complex fare models, and reducing gate-passing time to within 300 milliseconds.He further predicted that the number of IoT devices incorporating the iTAP protocol will grow significantly in the future, driving NFC’s evolution from a payment tool to an entry point for the Internet of Everything.
Dnake — Chen Qicheng
As a representative manufacturer in the access control industry, Dnake has been deeply involved in the initiation and drafting of iTAP access control application standards. Through pilot projects in benchmark residential communities in collaboration with Huawei Wallet, Alipay, and Greentown Property, Dnake has validated the feasibility of upgrading legacy devices via OTA using the iTAP protocol.Dnake’s CTO, Chen Qicheng, emphasized the importance of promoting standard adoption. He also noted that shortening the cycle from standard formulation to ecosystem-wide adoption requires joint efforts across the industry, and that some enterprises can maintain competitive advantages through early technological leadership.
Lexar — Zhang Juntao
In his speech, Zhang Juntao, General Manager of Lexar China, introduced that Lexar has launched an NFC-encrypted portable SSD powered by its self-developed controller. Following the release of the iTAP technical standard, Lexar will work closely with chip manufacturers and mobile device vendors to enhance the “tap-to-unlock” experience, aiming to provide storage products that are both secure and convenient.As a premium consumer storage brand under Longsys, Lexar has already built a full product lineup covering mobile storage, embedded storage, SSDs, and memory modules. Looking ahead, Zhang noted that there is still significant space for product innovation.
Release of the iTAP Technical Architecture and Access Layer Standards
After more than a year of standard development and testing, the iTAP Technical Architecture Standard and the iTAP Access Layer Standard have been successfully completed. Following the release ceremony of the iTAP Access Layer Standard, the ITMA SUMMIT 2025 concluded successfully.
iTAP Innovation Application Showcase: “One Touch, Enjoy Instantly” Within Reach
In addition to the rich and insightful presentations, the ITMA SUMMIT 2025 also featured an iTAP Innovation Application Showcase, presenting concrete application cases across multiple fields, including payment, transportation, access control, ticketing, government services, and digital car keys.Marking the first anniversary of the official launch of the iTAP ecosystem, attendees were able to experience the solutions firsthand, gaining a direct and vivid understanding of the remarkable transformation of iTAP from vision to reality.
Alipay’s “Tap to Pay” is a major innovation in the field of near-field payments. Since its launch more than a year ago, it has attracted over 200 million users, playing a significant role in cultivating user habits. iTAP provides the underlying technical support for this feature, enabling screen-off payment and further elevating the overall payment experience.
At the event, Huawei Wallet showcased a series of solutions, including bank cards, transit cards, access cards, IDs, and digital car keys. The iTAP protocol significantly enhances the convenience and practicality of Huawei Wallet by improving card-selection accuracy, expanding scenarios where devices can operate without power, and deepening ecosystem collaboration.
Huada Electronics showcased multiple chip products at the event, providing essential support for the implementation and adoption of the iTAP protocol through foundational chip technologies, participation in standard formulation, and ecosystem collaboration.
The implementation of any communication technology relies on foundational chip support. ST’s comprehensive HF RFID/NFC product portfolio—including tags, readers, controllers, and secure embedded components—provides the physical foundation for a wide range of iTAP-enabled devices.
Longsys (Lexar) previously released an NFC-encrypted portable SSD equipped with its self-developed controller. Through collaboration with upstream chip manufacturers and mobile device partners, the company is actively exploring support for the iTAP protocol, continuing to enhance the interaction experience and security protection levels of its secure storage products.
Huixin Technology presented its “Tap-to-Check” enterprise administrative inspection solution, built on HarmonyOS. The solution integrates multiple foundational capabilities—including iTAP near-field interaction technology—deeply embedding them into operational scenarios such as law enforcement check-ins and document circulation. This enables a highly efficient interaction experience featuring “tap-to-arrive” and full-chain traceability.As an active contributor to digital government development, Huixin Technology is accelerating the deployment of “near-field interaction + government services” scenarios, helping advance the intelligent upgrading of administrative law enforcement.
In digital car key solutions, iTAP’s intelligent card-selection technology significantly improves NFC key-tapping speed, greatly reducing the time required for authentication. With the partnership established between ITMA and ICCE, the integration and innovative development of iTAP with digital car keys—and the emergence of related extended scenarios—are highly anticipated.
Dnake showcased products related to smart home, smart hotel, and smart community solutions at the event, with all new Dnake devices set to support the iTAP protocol. Leveraging Dnake’s existing OTA platform, legacy users and older devices can also quickly benefit from the convenience brought by iTAP, further enabling intelligent upgrades across various scenarios such as hotels and cultural tourism.
With its exceptional accuracy and convenience, iTAP has demonstrated visibly outstanding performance in Xiongdi Technology’s smart transportation solutions—representing a leap from “usable” to “truly user-friendly.” It makes every mobility payment and commuting verification smoother, more natural, and more reliable.