G&D Adds Visa Mobile Approval to its Worldwide TSM Services
Munich, September 25, 2012 – Visa has approved the TSM (Trusted Service Manager) centers operated by Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) in Munich and Toronto for commercial NFC applications. After previously receiving MasterCard certification for its two TSM hubs last year, the technology group can now offer worldwide TSM services for contactless payment applications based on Visa’s payWave and MasterCard’s PayPass™ technology. This places G&D in an excellent position to roll out commercial NFC services such as payment and ticketing applications for mobile phones.
The Trusted Service Manager is a key component for the rollout and operation of secure NFC services. G&D’s TSM platform enables diverse market players such as banks, mobile network operators, and public transportation operators to securely install and manage their own NFC applications on their customers’ mobile phones.
Visa issued its approval after a series of tests had been carried out on critical security features and functions. The G&D data center in Munich was already running pilots using the Visa payWave payment application. Now that they have also been approved by Visa, G&D will be able to offer service providers the option of having the Visa payWave payment application installed, personalized, and managed Over-the-Air (OTA) in protected memory devices such as mobile-phone SIM cards or Embedded Secure Elements. Account data and other sensitive information are transmitted in multiple-encrypted form. Once the service has been activated, end users can use their mobile phones to make contactless payments at several hundred thousand merchant contactless terminals around the world.
“Now that Visa has approved our TSM facilities in Munich and Toronto, G&D is in an excellent position to offer contactless payment applications worldwide,” said Michael Kuemmerle, Group Executive Mobile Security at Giesecke & Devrient. “Being approved by the world’s largest retail payment networks is proof that these centers meet critical security and reliability requirements,” Kuemmerle adds.
By operating two separate but interlinked data centers, one in Munich and the other in Toronto, G&D can guarantee service providers uninterrupted access even if one of the centers should encounter technical problems.
About Giesecke & Devrient
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is a leading international technology provider headquartered in Munich, Germany. Founded in 1852, the Group has a workforce of around 10,500 employees and generated sales exceeding EUR 1.64 billion in fiscal 2011. 58 subsidiaries and joint ventures in 32 countries ensure customer proximity worldwide.
Over 150 countries place their trust in G&D solutions when producing and processing their banknotes. The company primarily supplies central and commercial banks, cash-in-transit companies, and security printers with innovative technologies that render the cash cycle efficient and secure. G&D bank and SIM cards are used all over the world to make payments and telephone calls. As an end-to-end provider of smartcard and mobile security solutions, the Group develops and distributes hardware, software, and services to a client base that includes banks, mobile network operators, transportation companies, business enterprises, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Governments and public authorities turn to G&D for passport, ID card, and border control systems, ensuring reliable identity verification right around the globe. For more information, please visit: www.gi-de.com
