Inside Contactless, Sagem Orga (Safran Group) and TazTag today announced the joint development of a new method of delivering NFC payment functionality. Based on TazTag's innovative TazCard, the new device is currently in pre-alpha testing and shows the feasibility of an option that facilitates NFC contactless payment transactions while providing full NFC functionality for other applications as well.
"Today's announcement marks a milestone in the development of commercial products for NFC payments and other NFC applications, and demonstrates the flexibility of our TazCard NFC platform," said Eric Fouchard, CEO of TazTag. "TazTag is excited to be partnering with technology leaders like INSIDE and Sagem Orga to develop a variety of innovative solutions based on our TazCard platform."
About the size of an ordinary credit card, the TazCard is a special-purpose, Java-based handheld device capable of supporting a variety of NFC applications, including payments. For this new payment device, INSIDE's Java-based test payment application has been installed on a Single Wire Protocol (SWP)-enabled SIM card developed by Sagem Orga, which is connected to the INSIDE MicroRead NFC controller built into the TazCard. The TazCard also utilizes INSIDE's Open NFCTM protocol stack. With its 3.5-inch color touch screen, the TazCard is able to provide the user with a full NFC experience for payment and other NFC transactions.
"This TazCard innovation clearly demonstrates the versatility of our NFC-enabled SIM card and our interest in reaching beyond mobile phone applications to provide secure elements for innovative NFC products," said Jean-Christophe Tisseuil, head of marketing and business development, telecommunications product line at Sagem Orga. "We believe this device will enable card issuers to provide their customers with a viable NFC bridge-a key success factor towards market adoption of Mobile NFC payments."
For Sagem Orga, the TazCard is part of the strategy to kick-start the NFC market with intelligent bridge-solutions. This SIM-based, SWP-compliant solution can be used for payment, identification, ticketing, loyalty and more. Through an accessory, it can be connected to MNO networks.
"Our partnership with TazTag is part of an ongoing commitment to support companies creating innovative NFC solutions based on the MicroRead platform," said Charles Walton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for INSIDE Contactless. "It also demonstrates the versatility of our Open NFC protocol stack to support a variety of innovative NFC-based products for consumers."
INSIDE's third-generation MicroRead NFC chip provides the most mature NFC implementation. The award-winning MicroRead suite combines third-generation silicon, multiple host interface support, the Open NFC protocol stack and APIs, a field-proven reference design and robust standards support.