Ericsson is to license its technology for wireless chip-based transactions to Schlumberger affiliate Xiring, which specialises in the design and marketing of personal smart card readers and secure payment solutions for consumers.
Under the terms of the agreement, Xiring receives exclusive rights to further develop the Ericsson Wireless Wallet technology platform. Ericsson first demonstrated an early prototype of the technology in 1999 at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany. It is designed to meet the needs for authentication, digital signature and secure payment on the Internet.
Bo Bergström, executive vice president of Ericsson's GSM/TDMA/EDGE mobile systems unit, comments: "We are pleased to be partnering with Xiring, which we consider as the best partner to develop the use of this technology and bring to market volume commercial products for secure m-commerce."