14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Canadian mobile phone maker Research In Motion announced that its solution for enabling mobile payments via NFC had been approved by Visa.
RIM came up with a Secure Element Manager (SEM) solution for NFC (Near Field Communication) mobile payments that should be adopted by wireless carriers interested in offering support for the functionality.
Through RIM’s SEM, operators will be able to securely manage credentials on SIM (subscriber identity module) cards that have been installed on various mobile devices with NFC capabilities packed inside.
“The approval from Visa of RIM’s SEM solution is an important step in that it will enable carriers to support Visa issuing banks and financial institutions,” said Frank Maduri, senior director, NFC Services and TSM Product Management at RIM.
“We now offer carriers a robust solution with around-the-clock global support that works on any NFC-capable device, and meets the stringent technology and usability guidelines for Visa.”
The new announcement falls in line with the recent rollout of mobile payments in Canada by EnStream (the joint venture of Bell, Rogers and TELUS that takes advantage of RIM’s aforementioned SEM solution).
The use of mobile payment services has seen a significant surge all around the world, and more and more wireless carriers are making them available for their users.
Furthermore, handset vendors (RIM included) have been releasing more and more devices with NFC capabilities packed inside, also offering support for these services.
“RIM’s success in gaining Visa’s formal approval as secure element manager is a crucial step in expanding RIM’s role as a key security partner for mobile payment solutions around the globe,” said Andy Castonguay, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.
“RIM’s secure network operations center provides a unique combination of global geographic reach, and has established trusted relationships with hundreds of carriers around the world with an unparalleled reputation for security, which sets RIM apart as an SEM partner in the growing mobile payments space.”