M-payment: Tagattitude Launches NFC2.0™
- Tagattitude, developer of emerging countries-dedicated m-payment system TagPay, has launched a new multi-platform and multi-media contactless app.
- NFC2.0™ is an alternative to NFC solutions and relies on so-called NSDT™ technology (Near Sound Data Transfer) for both Smartphones and down-market cell phones. It enables POS payments using Smartphones or iPad-like tablets.
- First, the merchant enters the transaction’s amount; the customer chooses to “pay” using his Smartphone, brings his mobile device closer to the acceptance terminal and a unique sound signature is transmitted for payment validation.
- This app can be downloaded from the App Store; it will soon be available on the Android Market, too. Its use is of course subjected to merchant acceptance.
- The NSDT technology has been developed by Tagattitude and relies on the transmission of a secure sound signature. This signature can be compared to an OTP: it guarantees the singularity of each operation. Less demanding than other (NFC-type) technologies, it does not require customers’ equipment with particularly expensive devices. TagPay has been awarded in 2008 during the Mobile Innovation Global Award as one of the best innovative mobile apps.
- Tagattitude, was founded in 2005; it is particularly successful in Ivory Coast and Namibia, for instance, where most underbanked people are equipped with mobile devices.
- This technology could apply to several markets (face-to-face or distant payment services, physical access control, strong authentication, etc.). It is naturally thriving towards the profitable sector of payment services (see December 2010 Insight).