The State Printing House Plc. and Telenor Hungary have taken measures to prepare the testing of NFC technology for simplified mobile payment. During the test, participants will use the solution capable of replacing bank cards and various loyalty cards in a live environment. The security infrastructure used in the project will be supplied and operated, and the required mobile applications and expert support will be provided by the State Printing House.�
Telenor, founding member of the Mobile Wallet Association, decided to test NFC-based services (e.g. m-payment, recording loyalty points by holding a mobile phone to a merchant terminal, etc.) in partnership with market players and customers in 2012. It selected the State Printing House as its technical partner. The State Printing House started developing a TSM (Trusted Service Manager) system enabling the secure operation of NFC technology and set up a Mobile Development Business last year. Being member of the NFC Forum, the international organization promoting NFC technology, the company has been among the first to join the Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association. Leading the TSM workgroup, it actively cooperates with service providers across Hungary.�
During NFC testing, Telenor will also participate in the Mobile Wallet Association’s consumer test programme aiming to make NFC-based virtual bank cards and loyalty cards embedded in mobile phones and other services available to users. Together with financial institutions and commercial service provider partners involved in the pilot project, Telenor will test mobile payment and other solutions in practice.�
The parent company of Telenor Hungary has completed several successful NFC tests in Norway. The results of tests conducted together with other market players were well received both by users and service providers.�
“Telenor Hungary’s decision is a recognition of our efforts and gives us new momentum for reaching our goals in the upcoming period. The State Printing House will be an independent aggregator of the mobile NFC service chain. We make continued effort to establish the required partnerships and start working together with our partners. We hope that Telenor’s experience gained in the pilot project will confirm the viability of commercial mobile NFC services for the broader public”, said Gábor Zsámboki, CEO of State Printing House Plc.�
“Telenor Group’s NFC results indicate that this technology will make daily shopping simpler and faster also in Hungary. Therefore, we want to make the new payment system available to Telenor customers as soon as possible. Together with the State Printing House and the Hungarian Mobile Wallet Association we’ll do our best to create a technology infrastructure framework for the adoption of NFC technology in Hungary” said Zoltán Takács, Product and Innovation Director of Telenor Hungary and Presidium Member of the Mobile Wallet Association.�
About NFC
NFC (Near-Field Communication) is a short-range transmission technology covering a distance of up to 2 centimetres. This feature makes NFC-enabled smartphones suitable for payment applications and transactions where personal presence is a must for security. In this case, buyers only have to show their mobile handset to the POS terminal and authorize payment on the screen. NFC can also be used to distribute location-sensitive information: holding an NFC-enabled mobile device to an NFC sticker or tag users can launch interactive applications and Websites on their device. NFC technology has been available on a rising number smartphones including some of the latest additions to the Samsung Galaxy series and select Blackberry models.