17 Jul 2012

G&D reveal German mobile payment sticker

Technology developer, Giesecke & Devrient, has unveiled what it claims is the first mobile payment sticker to meet Germany's banking specifications.

Users can attach the sticker - known as SECCOS - to a mobile phone or smartphone for contactless payment, even if the device is not NFC-enabled.

"SECCOS" is certified for the MasterCard contactless payment method, PayPass, and allows bank customers worldwide to pay bills at over 350,000 PayPass locations.

Although there are around 50 NFC-enabled smartphone models now available, the number of users is still relatively low. According to G&D, this has left the field open for contactless payment stickers to bridge the gap between mobile payments and cell phone.

Developed for the German market, the mobile payment sticker is designed to operate on the SECCOS Secure Chip Card Operating System, which is the German banking industry system for smartcards.

Depending on the requirements of the issuing bank, the stickers can be configured as prepaid, debit, or credit cards.

The first customers for the payment sticker are Sparda-Bank Hamburg and Donner & Reuschel.

The Deutsche Genossenschafts-Verlag (DG VERLAG), system integrator and partner of cooperative banks as well as other institutes, is supplying the new technology to the banks as part of a trial conducted by the cooperative financial group.

Cardholders using the 48 x 28 millimeter G&D stickers as a MasterCard credit card can make payments at over 350,000 contactless PayPass payment terminals in 37 countries worldwide.

All transactions made this way are listed on the user’s normal credit card bill. For amounts up to 25 euros, there is no need to enter a PIN or provide a signature, cutting the transaction time by about a quarter compared to a regular card payment and by half compared to cash payments. For amounts above 25 euros, the issuing bank determines whether authentication by PIN or signature is required.

In Germany, bank customers can already make payments at various PayPass locations, including Aral, Vapiano, McDonald’s, Thalia, Douglas, and Edeka. MasterCard has a PayPass Locator tool on its website, which provides users with an overview of contactless payment terminals in their vicinity.

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