Gemalto Tuesday announced American Express, MasterCard, and Visa certified its UpTeq NFC payment system for mobile SIM cards. The technology enables contact mobile payments without external hardware or plug-ins as the NFC technology is contained entirely within the SIM card. The system also supports local payment systems (including mass transit systems), coupons, and rewards programs. Beyond commerce, the SIM card offers mobile identification, legally binding digital signatures, eGovernment features, and mobile TV.
According to Frédéric Vasnier, Senior Vice President at Gemalto, the company is in a unique position to support NFC technology:
“Our involvement and experience in the telecommunications and banking sectors have enabled us to create a high end security device that leverages the strengths of these two industries. Combined with the fact that our high availability Trusted Service Management centers in Singapore, the US and France have received certification by MasterCard and Visa, Gemalto is offering a unique service footprint to support mobile NFC deployment anywhere in the world.”
Gemalto already has established partnerships with KDDI (Japan), Rogers (Canada) and Orange (France). These partnerships, as well as this most recent announcement, can be added to the growing amount of evidence the NFC is just over the horizon. Although it is unlikely to reach critical mass until 2017 at the earliest, NFC is garnering support from major players who now have a vested interest in seeing the technology succeed.
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