THALES AND SPIRE PAYMENTS DELIVER SECURE, TRUSTED AND RELIABLE MOBILE PAYMENT SOLUTION
Support for PIN based payment card transactions at mobile point of sale (mPOS) lowers risk and transaction fees for mobile merchants moving away from cash
Cambridge, UK – xx November 2013 – Thales, leader in information systems and communications security, and Spire Payments announce a strategic relationship to deliver an integrated mobile payment solution enabling merchants to adopt mobile point of sale (mPOS) systems that fully support PIN based transactions, including the use of EMV chip cards.
The combined solution from Spire and Thales delivers an easy to deploy, low cost, portable card acceptance solution with strong end-to-end security. Micro merchants such as market stall traders and home repair tradesmen, who have traditionally been forced to rely on cash only, can now accept card payments using their smartphone or tablet.
Any payment system relies on end-to-end protection of the transaction from the customer terminal right through to the payment processing infrastructure. Thales and Spire have worked to protect that back-end infrastructure by delivering interoperability between the Spire PosMate™Smart and the Thales payShield 9000 hardware security module (HSM).
News facts:
- PosMate™Smart from Spire is a chip and PIN mPOS terminal that allows merchants to accept card payments securely in a mobile environment by connecting to any smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. PosMate™Smart is certified to EMV level 1 and 2 and compliant to PCI PTS 2.0 SRED, delivering the same security as familiar in-store point of sale terminals
· The Thales payShield HSM is specifically designed to support all forms of card based transactions and includes enhanced support for key management for mPOS terminals and encryption of cardholder data
· With the Spire and Thales solution compliance with payment system rules is focused solely on the card reader – everything else in the communication path between the merchant and the PSP is out of scope for security audits, enabling PSPs to on-board new merchants at minimal cost
- Through the integration work performed by Spire and Thales, merchants and PSPs are able to take advantage of proven interoperability and a rapid deployment toolkit to quickly and simply provide their customers with a wider range of payment options and take advantage of the lowest cost transaction model available
Nigel Dean, International Product Marketing Manager at Spire Payments says:
“Thales has extensive expertise and resources in the payments space and this makes them the perfect strategic partner to enable the provisioning of high assurance payment processing as required by Spire Payments’ mPOS solution. This integrated joint solution allows PSPs to provide a secure yet flexible and easily managed mPOS infrastructure that satisfies their own and card scheme compliance obligations.”
Ian Hermon, mobile payments specialist at Thales e-Security says:
“Mobile acceptance has seen tremendous growth globally over the past year, but there has remained a gap between the payment options available at fixed, in-store point of sale terminal and mobile devices. Furthermore, the fact that mobile acceptance devices have lacked the appropriate security technologies to qualify for lower fee structures has penalized smaller merchants that are accepting card payments for the first time. As a payment technology leader, Thales is working with innovators such as Spire to close that gap by delivering the same high levels of security to the mobile world as have become commonplace in the traditional in-store fixed terminal environment.”
Spire Payments is a member of the Thales Alliance for Solution and Application Providers (ASAP) program. Thales partners with leading technology companies and systems integrators to meet the data security needs of security-conscious organizations around the globe. The ASAP program develops technical partnerships to ensure that Thales solutions integrate seamlessly with leading applications and hardware, making it easy to deploy best practice security solutions.
Visit Thales on stand #4M 074 and Spire Payments on stand #3F 018, at Cartes 2013, Paris, to see mPOS in action and take part in live demos of our mPOS solutions.
Learn more about the Thales mPOS ecosystem in our whitepaper mPOS: Secure Mobile Card Acceptance: more cards, more volume, less cash. For industry insight and views on the latest key management trends check out our blog www.thales-esecurity.com/blogs
Follow Thales e-Security on Twitter @Thalesesecurity, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube
About Spire Payments
In a world of converging technologies in which e-commerce, mobile commerce, and social networks cross over into traditional electronic payment, Spire Payments applies its thirty years of expertise to bring to market innovative, highly secure and future proof devices and solutions that promote seamless payment transactions to all end-points around a user experience that is both interactive and rewarding. Spire Payments, the fastest growing European POS solutions provider, is one of the original pioneers to develop world-class secure electronic payment solutions – from fixed, portable and mobile payment solutions to PIN pads and unattended terminals for integration with cash register systems and self-service kiosks.
Serving market segments ranging from the financial and retail to hospitality and transportation and with offices in Spain, the UK, the Czech Republic, Dubai and Hong Kong, Spire Payments is a forward-looking alternative to traditional payment terminal suppliers. With some of the world’s top financial and retail organisations among its customers, the Spire Payments team will always be at the forefront of progress in electronic payments. www.spirepayments.com
About Thales e-Security
Thales e-Security is a leading global provider of data encryption and cyber security solutions to the financial services, high technology, manufacturing, government and technology sectors. With a 40-year track record of protecting corporate and government information, Thales solutions are used by four of the five largest energy and aerospace companies, 22 NATO countries, and secure more than 80 percent of worldwide payment transactions. Thales e-Security has offices in Australia, France, Hong Kong, Norway, United States and the United Kingdom. www.thales-esecurity.com
About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace & Transportation and the Defence & Security markets. In 2012, the company generated revenues of €14.2 billion with 65,000 employees in 56 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers and local partners.
Positioned as a value-added systems integrator, equipment supplier and service provider, Thales is one of Europe’s leading players in the security market. The Group’s security teams work with government agencies, local authorities and civil operators to develop and deploy integrated, resilient solutions to protect citizens, sensitive data and critical infrastructure.
In the IT security market, the Group is one of the world leaders in cryptographic security solutions for critical government and military infrastructure, satellite constellations, enterprise customers and financial institutions. Thales’s unique positioning in the marketplace derives from its ability to address every link in the security chain and deliver end-to-end security and asset protection assurance.
