First Data Corporation, a global leader in electronic commerce and payment processing, and SK C&C USA, a pioneer in mobile commerce technology, today announced the commercial release of a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) solution.
The comprehensive First Data TSM solution is now available for enablement of Near Field Communication (NFC) devices for issuers, merchants and mobile network operators (MNOs) looking to quickly prepare consumers for the fast approaching mobile payment reality through the most scalable, cost-effective and secure service available today.
"As more consumers go mobile while managing their busy lives, an increasing number of smartphones equipped with NFC technology are now being deployed across a range of carriers and handsets," said Dom Morea, SVP and division manager, Advanced Solutions and Innovation at First Data. "We're nearing a tipping point where connected consumers with access to a range of NFC-enabled devices and mobile wallets will be able to migrate all of the accounts in their leather wallet to their mobile device in order to make payments anytime or exchange value, anywhere."
Managing 2.7 billion accounts across the widest array of account types and networks, First Data has the time-tested scale, industry relationships and security expertise to enable the broadest payments ecosystem as a strong, neutral provider. SK C&C USA, the technology partner in First Data's TSM, has been a leading innovator in mobile commerce technology since 2002 through its best-in-industry mobile technology platform.
"In September 2010 we announced our strategic partnership with First Data and the plan to have a state-of-the-art TSM solution available to customers in Q1 of 2011," said Keith Smith, president and COO SK C&C USA. "We are proud to have met this deadline and enable First Data's customers to accelerate their mobile commerce initiatives and commercially deploy services to the consumer in 2011; knowing that the First Data TSM comes with a decade of technical development, security and industry expertise."
To meet their customers' expectations, NFC device suppliers, MNOs and issuers of secure payment accounts such as financial instititutions and merchants will need the ability to deliver and manage these accounts as consumers continue to embrace a mobile lifestyle. The First Data TSM provides the infrastructure, functionality and comprehensive business service to enable over-the-air (OTA) provisioning and management of a variety of accounts to any mobile device for use at a physical point of sale.
Together, First Data and SK C&C USA built the TSM as a service model that enables account issuers such as financial institutions or merchants and MNOs to integrate once and avoid the complexity of costly, many-to-many integrations with little return on investment.
With increasingly complex technologies emerging throughout every industry, the First Data TSM was designed with security as a top priority. Through a secure interface to the service provider, the TSM can access any account and provides robust account lifecycle management. For MNOs, the TSM can securely access MNO systems for functions such as subscriber eligibility management, device management, billing and customer service.
Other key features of the TSM include card application, participant and subscriber management as well as chip data personalization, key management and remote download management.
"Given the huge opportunity for mobile payments, it is imperative that the security and integrity of mobile transactions are provided by companies that know what they are doing. First Data's reputation, experience and expertise in the payments industry makes them the obvious candidate to take payments to the next level as Trusted Service Manager," said Nick Holland, senior analyst at Yankee Group.