French vendor Gemalto could double the size of its NFC business thanks to a growth in demand for making payments using either mobile phones or bank cards, according to an interview on Bloomberg with the company’s CEO Olivier Piou.

The company has the additional capacity to handle 50 further contracts to design NFC smart cards, said Piou. Gemalto finished the first quarter with 50 such projects with its clients including JP Morgan Chase & Co, he said.

NFC chips include a broad capability to offer users coupons and special offers alongside handling payments meaning they are worth “as much as 10 times more” than standard SIM cards, said Piou.

Gemalto's NFC projects numbered 20 in the third quarter, a figure which grew to 45 by the end of the year as mobile operators expanded their plans. Its competitors include Giesecke & Devrient and Oberthur Technologies.