The standardization of this functionality ensures industry-wide consistency in the lifecycle management of contactless applications and how end-users select and activate secure contactless mobile services. The certification of compliant products to this specification demonstrates market agreement on a complex issue and offers reassurance to service providers that applications will perform as intended regardless of the mobile handset being used.

Card Specification v2.2 Amendment C - also known as Contactless Services - defines the deployment and lifecycle management of contactless applications, where all necessary information about the contactless protocols is defined at the time of installation. A key aspect of this specification is the consistent end user experience that is provided regardless of the user interface, which is generated by a rich OS application and can be tailored by the wallet issuer to meet their needs and those of the service provider.

Barnes International, FIME, Galitt and Collis have launched GlobalPlatform qualified test tools which verify that a UICC product meets the functional requirements outlined within the GlobalPlatform Card Specification v2.2 Amendment C. From October 1, the GlobalPlatform Compliance Secretariat will be processing qualification claims and listing certified products. A complete list of qualified tools, accredited GlobalPlatform laboratories and certified products is available on the GlobalPlatform website.

Gil Bernabeu, GlobalPlatform's Technical Director, comments: "Amendment C provides the mobile contactless marketplace with a neutral platform that offers service providers the capability to directly interact with an end-user. From a commercial perspective, for example, it is vital to have the functionality to display logos to support brand recognition and awareness while also guaranteeing the highest level of security.

"The extension of the GlobalPlatform UICC Compliance PProgram to incorporate Amendment C functionality is a significant advancement for the marketplace. For mobile network operators it reflects industry agreement on a very complex subject matter, while for service providers and issuers it provides reassurances that an application will perform as intended regardless of the mobile device being used."

Bernabeu highlights that this level of interoperability is essential to ensure customer convenience is delivered and ultimately, to achieve end-user adoption of mobile contactless services technology. Bernabeu adds: "While we are all using smartphones to access more services, the delivery of secure mobile services such as payment not only brings more value but also more risk. The industry is working to contain the risks yet without compromising technology interoperability; consumers need to be able to use mobile services as and where they want. Creating an agreed and certifiable mobile contactless services framework for secure applications will be fundamental to achieving a sustainable infrastructure and mass market adoption."

GlobalPlatform is currently finalizing its Secure Element (SE) Configuration for applying GlobalPlatform Card Specification v2.2 to embedded SEs and smart microSD. It is expected that the supporting compliance program will be available in 2013.