I am trying to develop an app that uses NFC reader/writer functionality built into the iPhone. I tried installing the basic NFC app, but I am getting the error about missing NFC capability (Near Field Communication Tag Reading capabilities). I know I must have this capability added in XCode, but I am not enrolled in official Apple Developer program. Is there a way to develop for NFC (and actually testing reading/writing on a physical iPhone) prior to actually being enrolled in the Apple Development program?
The free membership tier has limitations. Unfortunately one of those is the inability to access Advanced app capabilities and services - which is what you need to add the NFC capability to your app.
The short answer, then, is no, you cannot create an NFC app without a paid program membership.