GlobalPlatform has updated its System Messaging Specification for Management of Mobile-NFC Services to more specifically address how service providers can connect and communicate with other actors operating within the NFC ecosystem.

The specification was introduced in 2011 to define the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders within the NFC landscape and to outline the 'language' that should be used across all parties to ensure global consistency and clear communication when managing secure applications over the air, or over the internet in a cloud environment.

"Using this specification, messages can be exchanged between all actors in an NFC deployment in an interoperable, secure and reliable web services format," GlobalPlatform explains.

"Mobile messages support back-office activities that facilitate the secure deployment — or 'provisioning' — of an application to a mobile device," says Gil Bernabeu, GlobalPlatform's technical director. "Mobile messages are also essential for dealing with post deployment events. This could be voluntary — such as an end-user requesting an update to service privileges or changes to personal details, or involuntary — a device is lost or stolen and the services need to be suspended."