Mondex International (Stand G81) has teamed up with mobile phone giant Vodafone, smart card provider, Giesecke & Devrient, and Arena Leisure, to showcase a groundbreaking GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) payment solution for value added services.
At Cartes™99, Europe™s largest smart card exhibition, the companies are demonstrating a mobile phone equipped with in-built smart card reader, which allows users to make spontaneous small value purchases over the European GSM network.
Mondex allows GSM users to make immediate cash payments for a range of network services quickly and easily. In addition, smartcards like Mondex enable cardholder verification giving both the consumer and the service provider the greatest possible assurance and security.
Michael Keegan, CEO of Mondex International, said: Mondex fits perfectly into the GSM environment as it adds no additional cost to a transaction, it is secure over open networks and, best of all, it allows easy and immediate value exchange between service provider and consumer. As e-commerce begins to broaden its base from the PC environment to the mobile phone and wireless devices, we see a huge opportunity for Mondex to become the payment option of choice for people on the move.
Because Mondex allows for the transfer of value between cards, the Mondex e-cash application can function without developing a costly and comprehensive infrastructure to support it. In addition, Mondex™s unique security architecture, enables cardholders to carry up to five different currencies at once. This interoperability means that the technology is flexible enough to be used as an alternative to cash across a number of different markets.
MXI has developed the GSM solution with a number of partners including Vodafone and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D). Vodafone has contributed the network and airtime to this project, as well as acting as a centre of expertise for GSM applications and solutions.
According to Paul Donovan, Marketing Director at Vodafone Ltd: This solution is exactly the sort of cutting edge technology we would like to be involved in rolling out globally. Vodafone is dedicated to providing mobile communications solutions to support every aspect of customers™ lives, and working with Mondex is a good example of the electronic commerce initiatives that Vodafone will lead in the UK. We look forward to working with Mondex in future to make secure smart card payment options possible for our customers.
Smart card solution provider, Giesecke & Devrient, provided the Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMīs) and built the application based on the SIM Application Toolkit Standard (STK), which enables Mondex to be used in the GSM environment.
Dr. Klaus Vedder, Executive Vice President Telecommunications of G&D said of the project, As a leading SIM Card and solution provider, we have unrivalled expertise in developing applications for GSM networks, and we believe Mondex has the edge in functional, secure and cost-effective payment solutions to accompany those applications. We are confident that Mondex makes an important contribution providing those services to develop GSM as a platform for mobile commerce.
Michael Keegan concluded: We see a tremendous opportunity to enable value added services with Mondex. We have the technology to provide people with a guaranteed, secure and immediate form of payment, as well as giving companies a means of ensuring that users are valid card holders. The wireless market is exploding, and a secure form of remote payment is needed for people to take full advantage of what mobile technology can deliver, and that is what Mondex provides.
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