G&D in Munich, Germany received MasterCard certification for their TSM site in 2009. G&D is now well positioned to offer commercial TSM services at two sites globally, providing customers with the ability to implement robust and reliable mobile payment solutions. G&D's TSM hub in Toronto is the first in Canada to be approved by MasterCard's Mobile Partner Program and is established as the North American TSM hub for NFC application management and provisioning.

With G&D's TSM, banks and service providers have a standardized, easy to use, cost-effective and secure method to transfer and install PayPass™-enabled payment account information, on demand, in real time, onto Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled mobile phones. After account provisioning, consumers can immediately use their mobile phone at more than three hundred thousand merchant locations worldwide where PayPass is accepted.

"G&D's Trusted Service Manager (TSM) solution is an important component in accelerating the deployment of PayPass onto NFC ready handsets. Having evaluated this TSM platform and used these services in several initiatives since 2009, we are delighted to have certified G&D's newest installation of the TSM solution in Toronto, Canada," said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer at MasterCard.

OTA (Over-the-Air) is a remote process that enables service providers to securely download and personalize credentials into a secure element such as an NFC SIM or embedded secure element residing in the consumer's handset. Certification is based on a detailed security and functional assessment process.

"We see a very rapidly growing demand for NFC applications worldwide, and G&D is well positioned to offer complete solutions for the commercial roll-out of NFC TSM services, due to our strong position in contactless payment cards," remarks Michael Kuemmerle, member of the Management Board and Group Executive of Mobile Security at G&D. "This MasterCard certification is another important milestone G&D has realized to enable the NFC ecosystem in Canada and globally. We are proud to play a key role in this next payment innovation with our partner MasterCard."

G&D is currently preparing multiple commercial NFC roll-outs in its Toronto TSM hub as well as in its Munich TSM hub.