The NFC Forum, a body that advocates for the near field communication industry, has issued the NFC Money Transfer Candidate Specification, an alternative to QR code-based payment transactions.

NMT is faster and more efficient than a QR code-based transaction because it eliminates the need for a camera or scanner to capture a QR code, a forum press release said. 

Forum officials said that NMT uses an open framework that allows payment service providers to easily map out their already-defined data exchange.

"The NFC Money Transfer Candidate Specification uses the intrinsic benefits of NFC technology — convenience, speed, security and usability — to create a better user experience than QR codes," Paula Hunter, executive director of the NFC Forum, said in the release.

To pay via NMT, consumers hold their device next to an NFC reader. A smartphone camera or portable scanning device is not required, making the transaction faster and more secure than a QR code transaction.

Hunter said that more than 2 million NFC-enabled devices are currently in use around the world, making the majority of smartphone users able to use the technology as a standard feature.