NFC Payment: Gemalto Certified by MasterCard
- Gemalto associated with MasterCard to develop mobile contactless solutions, In fact, the smartcard manufacturer considers it is as a significant growth relay.
- The French group was granted MasterCard functional and security certification; MasterCard is already working with mobile operators and banks on contactless solutions. This authorisation will enhance its position on this sector. Gemalto NFC payment application will for instance enable the customers to top-up their account using their mobile phone.
- The solution relies on a UICC card making it possible to embed a greater number of application on the SIM card.
- According to Juniper Research one mobile phone out of six will be equipped with NFC technologies by 2014. Contactless payments could then reach 81 billion euros, compared to 21 billion euros in 2012. Considering the increasing interaction between the Internet and mobile channels, Gemalto which owns more than 40% market share worldwide is ideally positioned to increase the sales of its chips and propose new solutions.
- The first device equipped with this certified technology should be made available in the United Kingdom, through a partnership with a bank and a mobile operator. Gemalto might also deploy this solution in Japan with the help of SoftBank.