Dear Readers,
If you are reading this news review, there is, I suspect, a greater than average chance that you are NOT at Mobile World Congress 2013. Lucky you. However, just because you are not there doesn't mean I cannot keep you abreast of what is happening out here in sunny Barcelona. OK, so I'm writing this on a Friday evening in snowy Berlin and taking a gamble that it's sunny on a Monday morning in Barcelona - you got me. But you know what? I have a feeling that its sunny here. Call it intuition. That and the iPhone weather app.
However, back to the point. The point being that there have been a lot of companies working together to make this MWC conference an NFC extravaganza. Not least due to the fact that there are heaps of NFC tags around the place. Those tags are courtesy of Connecthings.
The company is to launch a panel of NFC services within the Catalan capital. Smart access points are installed throughout the city, the airport, hotels and at the heart of the event for the “NFC Experience”, allowing to access dynamic and contextualized services.
To make this new experience possible, Connecthings is building on its AdTagTM platform, a tag and contactless services management solution with unique capabilities. This cloud-based tool allows to optimally and dynamically deliver a wide range of mobiles services on every type of NFC handset: contextualized pages, campaign management, analytics tools and, since the latest release, couponing features.
The Connecthings platform will be showcased in the NFC Centre (NFC Pod 3) of the MWC. The GSMA, producers of the Mobile World Congress, and the city of Barcelona selected Connecthings to provide and deploy a reliable system available to the visitors and attendees. The services launched by Connecthings comprise smart posters displayed throughout the venue and at the airport as well as a NFC tourist trail linking 9 major city sites.
Not to be outdone, Visa and a load of partners are also involved in what they say is the delivery of a mobile contactless payment experience. They are CaixaBank, Gemalto, Telefónica, while Visa Europe will deliver a payments application which will be offered to 3,500 delegates at this years Mobile World Congress.
The app, developed by Telefónica Digital, will allow delegates to make mobile contactless payments using a pre-paid card especially developed for mobile payments, which has been enabled to work with Visa’s contactless payment technology. The card is issued by MoneyToPay, the new subsidiary for the prepaid business created by CaixaBank.
Delegates will experience the service on an Xperia™smartphone provided by Sony Mobile Communications, and using wallet technology developed by Telefónica Digital. The app will come pre-loaded with €15, allowing delegates to make payments at contactless payment terminals across the Fira Gran Via. In addition, the app will allow payments at any of the 16,000 Visa contactless payment terminals in stores, commercial centres and city markets, as well as 700 taxis installed by CaixaBank around Barcelona.
Sandra Alzetta, Senior Vice President at Visa Europe, said “Contactless transaction numbers quadrupled across Europe in 2012 and will quadruple again this year. In the UK there are now more than 2.5 million contactless transactions every month. There is a natural evolution from contactless cards to mobile devices and we’ve seen a fantastic response from the markets where this kind of service is commercially available.”
Just to make sure that everyone is aware that Visa is heavily into mobile and NFC payments, Visa have also announced that they are starting a 'Visa Ready' partner program. The program is designed to accelerate the introduction of innovative payment solutions globally and further drive the global migration from cash to electronic payments. The Visa Ready Partner Program paves the way for mobile device manufacturers, technology partners, mobile network operators and others, to easily navigate the complexities of the payments ecosystem, and to gain access to Visa IP, licenses, and best practices.
“The pace of innovation in the payments industry requires a new approach that ensures innovative payment methods can be tested, approved and commercialised quickly,” said Mariano Dima, Executive Vice President, Visa Europe. “While it is critical that we ensure new payment methods are secure and reliable, it is equally important to allow great ideas to become new ways to pay and be paid.”
The Visa Ready Partner Program is designed to provide innovators a path to ensure that devices, software and solutions used to initiate or accept Visa payments are compatible with Visa’s requirements, which may vary by country. It also provides a framework for the collaboration with Visa, as well as guidance and best practices to access the power of the Visa network. Mobile point-of-sale acceptance (mPOS) providers, and mobile NFC-enabled device manufacturers, chip and platform providers are among the stakeholders who are already playing a critical role in enabling new ways to pay and who will benefit from the Visa Ready Partner Program (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1qb ).
In other news, Gemalto has been busy in Brazil in the field of both NFC payments and mobile marketing campaigns (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pS ). The company has announced that its UpTeq NFC SIM and AllynisTrusted Services Management (TSM) platform are at the core of Brazil’s first mobile NFC payment program. TIM Brasil, a mobile operator with 70 million subscribers, and Banco Itaú, one of the world’s largest banks, are using Gemalto’s technology to transform smartphones into convenient mobile payment solutions that enable secure, on-the-go transactions by simply waving the handset close to a contactless payment terminal. Gemalto’s TSM platform will enable the secure integration and management of NFC services across the country. Smart move on gemalto's side as Brazil is looking to fully embrace mobile payments if all the press that is coming out of the country is anything to go by.
Not to be outdone and to show everyone how well their embedded secure element is doing, Oberthur last week announced their successful completion of the MasterCard Certification and have received certification by Google for the newly released PEARL Secure Element 800k Classic, a state-of-the-art NFC embedded secure element, which can host the most secure NFC payment applications. (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pW)
Oberthur is at pains to point out that the PEARL 800k Classic is also the first of its kind to be certified by Google. This allows compliance to Google Wallet to host NFC payment, loyalty, promotional offers and couponing applications which require stringent levels of security. Already deployed in Google Nexus 4 smartphones and in Google Nexus 10 tablets, the PEARL embedded secure element is ready to be integrated into any type of any AndroidTM device.
“This certification is the result of a best-in-class embedded secure element and Google Wallet integration work by joint teams” said Cédric Collomb, Telecom Business Unit Managing Director at Oberthur Technologies. “We are delighted to be recognised by Google as a trusted partner for the deployment of secured NFC services in the Google Wallet”.
Well done to Oberthur!
Finally, this year I think it would be worthwhile to stop by the Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) booth, if their press description is anything to go by. G&D, together with two German automakers and four international network operators, will be demonstrating how network-operator-specific information (subscriber data) can be installed in a customised and secure way via the mobile network at the time of vehicle delivery and later amended if required. (http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1oO)
With “Securing Mobile Life” as its motto, G&D will also be presenting other solutions that they consider makes life in the digital world more secure. Taking the example of mobile payment as it's foundation, G&D will be presenting its multi-application NFC SIM card, its interoperable mobile wallet and its TSM service, which enables secure installation of payment applications on cellphones. Further highlights include managed services for the secure roll-out of sensitive smartphone apps and a concept for how to use open cloud-based storage services such as Dropbox in a secure way. G&D booth (hall 6, booth D70).
I also want to remind everyone that this is the last week of the SAMSUNG sponsored INTELLIGENCE and it would be a shame not to have a go at the quiz. Come on, if you are reading this news feed it should be easy peasy/as pie/falling off a log (delete as applicable) for you. Regular readers should know the score by now. Read a bit of text. Answer five simple questions. Put the answers in the form provided and press send. Nothing could be simpler. Here's the link (http://wp.me/P1Jrjn-1lq) and all I want to do is wish you good luck - so, Good Luck!
If we see each other in Barcelona, and you have read this on your mobile device, and you see the Contactless Intelligence team, please say hello and invite us on your booth for a drink! I can pretty much guarantee we won't say 'no'.
Until next week,
Regards,
Steve Atkins
Contactless Intelligence
This week on C-ITV
Visa introduces Visa Ready Partner Program http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1qb
OSPT Alliance bring heavyweight Samsung to board of directors http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1q1
Oberthur receives certification from Google Wallet, MasterCard for embedded secure element. http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pW
Gemalto helps launch program for NFC payments and improves mobile marketing campaigns in Brazil http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pS
Orange and Morpho to unveil breakthrough for healthcare data mobility at Mobile World Congress http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pK
Wirecard’s card reader added to myTaxi Payment http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pG
Paydiant Awarded Comprehensive Mobile Payment and Mobile Wallet Patent http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pz
simpleshow explains Near Field Communication http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pv
Connecthings 'tags' Barcelona and the Mobile World Congress http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1pl
Giesecke & Devrient is Securing Mobile Life: in Cars, in Payments, and in the Cloud http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1oO
Responsibility for UK digital payments adoption passed back to banks http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1nW
INSIDE Secure increases NFC deployment in consumer electronics with ComboPulse http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1nT
Galeries Lafayette Selects VeriFone Managed Payment Services Solution - incorporates NFC into future plans http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1nP
Etisalat and Wirecard present future of mobile payments at MWC 2013 http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1nJ
Payments partners confirmed for GSMA's NFC Experience http://wp.me/p1Jrjn-1nl
Payments & m-Commerce
Oxygen8 takes mobile payments tech global http://bit.ly/139Dbgq
NFC Social Marketing Panel Seeks to Shift Attention Away from Payment http://bit.ly/139D9Ft
Isis to Change Wallet Design; Hires New Wallet App Developer http://bit.ly/139D6sZ
Norway’s Largest Telco and Bank to Launch NFC Commercially http://bit.ly/139D4Bq
Mobile Payments Getting Ready for Prime Time http://bit.ly/139D2cR
PayPal takes mobile payment service to Europe http://reut.rs/139CYd8
Paypal launches chip-and-pin device http://bbc.in/139CSSJ
Analysis: Contactless cards - are they the future for payments? http://bit.ly/YqJTaj
Visa Showcases Mobile Payments at Mobile World Congress 2013 http://bit.ly/15xlQ0E
M-Commerce Is on a Tear, Survey Says http://bit.ly/W4VWKz
Visa Gearing Up For NFC Launches in UK, Working with Banks and Telcos http://bit.ly/W4VV9w
mPowa consolidates its m-commerce position http://bit.ly/W4VRXm
MENA regions calls for advances in mobile payment industry http://bit.ly/W4VPPe
South Africa: FNB moves towards contactless payment http://bit.ly/Y0KByE
Australia: Coles testing new mobile payment system http://bit.ly/Y0KyTs
Banco Santander and iZettle Form Partnership http://bit.ly/15xl0RA
Visualizing the Impact of Credit Card and Mobile Payments http://bit.ly/XuwaBQ
MWC Preview: Are Women the Answer to Mobile Payments Adoption? http://bit.ly/15xlqHw
Trak Taps Growing Brazilian Middle Class with Feature Rich Mobile Wallet http://bit.ly/15xloiW
How far can Mobile P2P Payments take us? http://bit.ly/15xlln8
Dutch Banks Form Group to Launch Large NFC Payment Pilot http://bit.ly/15xlhDU
Belgian firm launches QR code-based P2P payments app http://bit.ly/YqKj0k
Dutch Police optimizes mobile payment administration http://bit.ly/139Disn
MasterCard to Focus on ‘Digital Convergence’ as It Revamps Mobile-Payments Effort http://bit.ly/139Dho9
NFC & Mobile
World’s First Dynamic NFC-Screen adds a new dimension to consumer communication http://bit.ly/YorniM
TAMOCO Provides Analytics About NFC Use http://bit.ly/Xuw4tT
HTC One to come with NFC http://bit.ly/XuvY5r
Tizen 2.0 ships with NFC http://bit.ly/XuvU5T
Vertu launches luxury Android NFC phone http://bit.ly/XuvSLj
PayPal sees mobile applications growing faster than NFC http://bit.ly/XuvPPG
GoMo discovers a NFC campaign that actually works http://bit.ly/WRCchi
eServGlobal Announces East African Mobile Money Deployment http://prn.to/Xuvz34
Dominican shops, grocers pay bills through Citi's new mobile payment service http://bit.ly/Y0Ljfx
China: Mobile payments soar http://bit.ly/Y0Lc3z
China Mobile promotes NFC mobile payment in full scale http://bit.ly/Y0L6Zw
Orange launches the "Orange NFC Awards" competition to support developers and companies creating new NFC services http://oran.ge/XuvNr2
Fiat investigates NFC car keys http://bit.ly/139DeJg
Transportation, Ticketing, Access, Security & Loyalty
We need Oyster cards in Bristol http://bit.ly/W4VMCV
A common ticket to ride for NCR http://bit.ly/W4VKev
Jerusalem: Bus Smart Card Validation Outside the Bus http://bit.ly/W4VIDl
Orange, EMT complete NFC m-ticketing trial on Malaga buses http://bit.ly/Y0KPGa
MetroCards now carry unlimited & pay-per-ride balances http://bit.ly/15xlfvR
India: Transport card shelved http://bit.ly/Xr7xEa
Other News & Opinion Articles
Square introduces “Business in a Box” to set stores up with hardware http://bit.ly/15xl4AE
Research and Markets: Emerging Opportunities in Malaysia's Cards and Payments Industry 2013 http://bit.ly/W4VFY2
PayPass credit cards easily breached by cellphone app: Security firm http://bit.ly/W4VDQ1
Heads-up, marketers: NFC will do more for you than QR codes http://bit.ly/W4VOLh
Increasing Demand for SmartCore™ Establishes Identive in High-growth Contactless Smart Card Market http://bit.ly/15xlMht
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