Bluecode presents an NFC hybridization solution for its wallet

Bluecode is a pan-European mobile payment solution for banks and retailers. Based in Switzerland, but also operating in Germany and Austria, the company offers a payment solution in the form of a mobile wallet based on the use of QR Codes. But Bluecode has also just officially announced an NFC hybridization solution.

FACTS

• Bluecode took advantage of the EHI Technology Days, a conference on technology in retail, to announce the launch of its new solution. The company will now offer contactless NFC payments for iOS and Android devices, complementing existing barcode and QR code technologies.

• The solution is integrated into the Bluecode SDK (software development kit), and can therefore be easily integrated into banking and other applications from Bluecode partners, such as merchants.

• End-users, customers of Bluecode partners, will now be able to make secure, contactless payments simply by placing their smartphone on payment terminals, via Bluecode NFC.

• This hybridization will be based on EMV Discover D-PAS technology, according to an industry expert.

CHALLENGES

• Optimize its services: The launch of the new solution should enable Bluecode to enhance its existing account-to-account transfer and barcode technologies by offering a more relevant and efficient combination of technologies.

• Taking advantage of regulations: Bluecode underlines the fact that the addition of NFC technology to its offering is a direct result of the recent regulatory change in the European Union, requiring Apple to allow NFC access to third-party payment providers on iOS devices.

• Surfing on a trend: Contactless payments have now become an integral part of consumers' daily lives. According to theObservatoire de la sécurité des moyens de paiement, published in September 2024, in 2023 in France, 68% of bankcard payments in proximity situations were made in contactless mode, compared with 61% in 2022. NFC usage is therefore taking off, in France as well as more widely in Europe and around the world, and the trend is set to grow even stronger with the mobilization of players like Bizum and its Bizum Pay, for example.

• Following Asia's lead: This momentum in Europe has also been noted in Asia, where some solutions that were already well advanced in QR code technology now offer NFC, notably in the context ofOpen Payment. The technology guarantees speed and velocity for passenger flows.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Bluecode is part of the EMPSA association, which also includes Bizum, presented as a potential competitor for Wero's EPI in Europe, given its local success and ambitions for international expansion. EMPSA also brings together two other players, Bancomat and SIBS, who, at the end of 2023, together with Bizum, expressed their ambition to prepare a riposte to EPI.

• WERO's EPI, on the other hand, is concentrating its efforts on peer-to-peer payments, with the service currently being used in the e-commerce market.