NFC Times Exclusive – U.S.-based chip vendor Broadcom is the latest component supplier to make a play for the market for NFC-enabled mobile point-of-sale devices, expected to see strong demand as mobile-payment services like Apple Pay continue to expand.

Broadcom last week said its new line of microcontrollers with integrated NFC functionality, the BCM58100 family, will be able to securely read contactless cards and NFC applications on smartphones.

Broadcom, which has mainly been a supplier to the NFC ecosystem of standalone NFC controllers for smartphones and other consumer electronic devices, claims its BCM58100 microcontroller is the industry's “first to integrate NFC for tap-to-access, tap-to-pair and tap-to-pay applications in a growing number of products.” Those products could include PCs and home-automation products, as well as mPOS terminals.