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July 20, 2012

Giesecke & Devrient Intros Contactless Payment Sticker Compatible with Non-Smartphones

Smartphone users have been able to pay for things like their morning cup of coffee by scanning their devices, but the German firm Giesecke & Devrient is bringing the technology to other cellphones without Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology.

The technology, dubbed SECCOS Mobile comes in the form of a sticker that is attached to a user's phone. When the sticker is scanned, the user's bank or credit card account is charged for the purchase. The issuing banks determine whether a PIN or a signature is required for purchases. Signatures and PINs are only required for purchases over 25 Euros, or around $30 U.S. Using the sticker cuts the time to pay for things in half compared to using cash. The cards can be configured as either a prepaid, debit or a credit card.

The card uses the SECCOS Secure Chip Card Operating System, which is the standard for smart cards in the country.

The company says that supporting standard mobile phones is important because they make up the majority of phones in use today.

“Although there are around 50 NFC-enabled smartphone models now available, the number of users is still relatively low. This has left the field open for contactless payment stickers to play an important role as a bridge technology on the road to mobile payment by cellphone,” A Giesecke & Devrient release said.

The technology has been developed with the German mobile market in mind. The initial customers are Sparda-Bank Hamburg and Donner & Reuschel. The system also works with MasterCard's PayPass system, letting users pay at over 350,000 contactless payment centers worldwide. Cardholders can already make purchases at places including Aral, Vapiano, McDonald’s, Thalia, Douglas and Edeka.

Giesecke & Devrient has also created the technology used in a recent rollout of a debit card by the Canadian bank TD Canada Trust.

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Edited by Amanda Ciccatelli


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