Germany's Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) has unveiled a token-based system for secure offline payments.
G+D Filia Unplugged promises consecutive, secure offline payment transactions anytime and anywhere with the advantages of cash, including privacy protection, and high levels of data security.
The firm says its technology can be integrated seamlessly into existing digital payment offerings, including commercial banks’ tokenised deposit systems, instant payment systems, or mobile money services.
Filia Unplugged adds resilience to digital payments which can be hit by connectivity issues thanks to the likes of power outages, weak internet signals, or telecoms failures.
In addition, G+D argues it can drive financial inclusion for nearly 1.4 billion unbanked people worldwide, offering a new payment method for people to make digital transactions without the need for expensive devices like smartphones.
The function enables P2P and P2B payments, says G+D, adding that central banks are also making offline a critical part of the digital currency work.
The technology stores monetary tokens on a hardware wallet (eg the SIM of a smartphone or a smart card) and requires only two wallets to operate, which can then be used without an online connection, for example via NFC.
Raoul Herborg, MD, CBDC, G+D, says: "The capability of paying also offline in an existing digital system can enhance financial inclusion and payments resilience, support cash-like features in the digital world, and drive innovative use cases for the tokenised economy."