Rogers has announced a partnership with digital security technology firm Gemalto to offer mobile payment solutions via NFC (near field communication). Currently, Rogers is undergoing pilot testing of NFC-enabled devices, announced earlier this year in a partnership with CIBC.
Gemalto’s Upteq NFC is an EMV-ready (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), high-end SIM UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) solution that will store and secure a customer’s data to make payments with NFC-enabled smartphones, soon to be deployed by Rogers:
“It’s essential that consumers have peace of mind when it comes to storing payment cards on their mobile device and using it to make credit and debit transactions on the go,” said David Robinson, Vice-President, Emerging Business, Rogers Communications. “Working with Gemalto allows us to protect the consumer’s information by leveraging the SIM card, assuring a secure and seamless experience for mobile payments.”
UpTeq NFC will store secure payment credentials within a high-end SIM card for new mobile payment services expected to launch in Canada later this year by Rogers. UpTeq NFC was announced by Gemalto earlier this year at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. The UpTeq NFC SIM cards were deployed this summer in France on the Orange network.
Last September, Rogers applied to become a Canadian bank to offer credit and mobile payment services. Rogers, alongside Bell and Telus are set to launch a mobile wallet known as “Enstream”, possibly before the end of this year.
The iPhone 5 does not support NFC, as Apple feels the feature has not been widely adopted yet.
