NFC tech is all in how your view NFC. What does it even mean? Near Field Communications essentially could mean close to anything. If you look up the industry standard for this type of tech, it's essentially a 4 cm reading distance wireless tech that operates on the 13.56Mhz frequency. So is it like RFID? Yes, it is but it's NOT RFID. It's a practical tech for mobile phones without having to implant other close range frequency chips that either run passive such as RFID. I've been using RFID for nearly 15 years ever since it's introduction in Hong Kong and it's been pretty much used as a cash card and subway card. With most vendors in Hong Kong able to accept the Octopus Card which is based on FeLiCa developed by Sony which is an RFID chip, it's become a cash replacement which makes it safe to use and easy to control. Other such technologies like Blink cards for credit cards allow you to make small credit transactions over RFID.
NFC tech will become useful if there are enough vendors and banks that accept it as a transfer form. HTC is reluctant to accept the NFC technology even though the Samsung Nexus S has the chip implanted. NFC is definitely in limbo until banks start picking it up but the barrier to entry is security. NFC is a flawed tech with many security breach points in the system which makes it much more susceptible to fraud, eavesdropping, and attack. The main difference between NFC and RFID is that it's not passive anymore so depositing funds on the chip can be done wirelessly and completely uncontrolled. While it makes it much faster for pedestrians to access funds on the card, the inherent danger lies in the implementation of the technology.
So why should iPhone's support NFC? It shouldn't or should I say it wouldn't. Apple's stance on security wouldn't allow them to accept NFC since there's not real use for it in monetary transactions. It would be useful to transfer contacts and other data but it's pretty scary that someone can steal your data by just swiping within 4cm of you. Is RFID safer? I would say that the current implementations of RFID in the forms of Blink cards, FeLiCa, and Octopus cards is much safer since it requires you to refill only at designated areas or have an autofill system which you deposit bank funds in monthly. There's also a limit to how much money can be on the RFID systems as well as a cap on how much money can be extracted in case of a security breach. I have my FeLiCa chip implanted on a non-descript keychain fob in order to maintain security. The chip can just as easily be implanted on a cell phone case or in the back of an HTC phone. Blink technology is also quite similar and I have a number of those cards. The basis behind blink is that the transactions all occur in credit and under a certain limit ($25 limits normally). While you can use more amounts of money in credit mode, it requires authentication via signature on an secured electronic platform. Why not just have phone cases with RFID card slots for Blink, FeLiCa, or Octopus in that case? It's safer and doesn't have the inherent dangers of wireless technology.
