RIM to Provide Mobile Payment Software in Canada
Research In Motion announced today that it has been chosen by EnStream LP, a partnership between Bell Mobility, Rogers Wireless and TELUS Communications, as the provider of Secure Element Manager (SEM) solution, which will manage credentials for wireless handsets in Canada used for Near Field Communication (NFC) services such as mobile payment.
“We selected RIM for their long-standing relationships with mobile operators and financial institutions, and their track record of operating a secure network for connected services,” said Almis Ledas, Chief Operating Officer of EnStream. “By adopting the secure GSMA Global Platform standard and using SEM infrastructure hosted and operated by RIM, consumers and financial institutions can have full confidence in financial credentials enabled through EnStream.”
The SEM solution will securely manage credentials on SIM cards in a variety of mobile devices, including BlackBerry, Android and Windows smartphones. Financial institutions in Canada, through RIM’s software, will be able to support any customer with an NFC capable smartphone in a mobile wallet application capacity.
“More than 1 in 4 smartphones shipped worldwide in 2013 is expected to include NFC technology,” said senior practice director Jeff Orr of market intelligence firm ABI Research. “With an additional 5 million NFC-enabled smartphones shipping to Canada next year and upwards of 65 million over the next 5 years, consumers will increasingly turn to mobile payments instead of a separate debit or credit card.”
RIM has experience in handling mobile payment solutions as its BlackBerry smartphone was certified for SIM-secure NFC payments through use of the MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave.
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“RIM is very pleased to play a key role in this Canadian mobile payments solution,” said Andrew MacLeod, Managing Director for Canada at RIM. “Working with EnStream, we’re delivering a service that will enable speed, security and convenience in mobile, contactless payment. RIM’s SEM solution will help deliver mobile payments and other NFC services to all carriers across all handset platforms that support NFC technology in Canada. For banks and for Canadian consumers, RIM’s SEM solution is designed to make payments with your smartphone both seamless and secure. Whether you’re filling your gas tank, picking up a coffee, or buying groceries, making a purchase will be as simple as tapping your smartphone.”
