Mobey Forum, the global leader indefining a sustainable and prosperous mobile financial services ecosystem, hasreleased a white paper which examines the important role of the secure elementin delivering mobile payment services to end users.  The paper, which willbe of particular interest to senior management and other decision makers infinancial institutions, is free to download from www.mobeyforum.org.

Entitled ‘Alternatives for Banks toOffer Secure Mobile Payments’, the white paper provides an analysis of themobile financial ecosystem, its stakeholders, and the value chain positions thatcan be achieved by banks though different business models.  The paper’skey focus is on the role of the secure element, a tamper-resistant hardwareelement located within a mobile device, which is required to securelyfacilitate mobile financial services, such as near field communication (NFC)and contactless payments.  It highlights the features, application andimpact of different secure element technologies including stickers, securemicro SD cards, universal integrated circuit cards (UICC), embedded secureelements and trusted mobile bases.

Thedocument, which has been welcomed by the payments industry*, aims to assistfinancial institutions in deciding the role they will adopt in the mobile financialservices value chain, providing them with the necessary insight to select adeployment model that aligns with their current business requirements andtechnical architecture.

Ronvan Wezel, Chairman of Mobey Forum and Director of Emerging Payment Streams atDeutsche Bank, comments: “Discussions in mobile payments can become highlytechnical, confusing the issue for business managers who require clear andeasily accessible information to inform decision making. With this new whitepaper the Mobey Forum offers the necessary business detail on one of the mosthotly debated topics in mobile payments.”

Thewhite paper also contains valuable information to help financial institutionsdecide if they want to implement contactless payments and NFC enabled servicesimmediately, using widely available secure elements such as secure micro SDcards and stickers, or invest in solutions that are still advancing, forexample UICC technology.   

LiisaKanniainen, Executive Director of Mobey Forum, concludes: “Although bothconsumer and merchant feedback from NFC payment pilots has been extremelypositive, highlighting the fast throughput, convenience and innovative loyaltyservices available, the advancement of mobile contactless payments has beenmore challenging than expected. The main reason for this is the complicated andfragmented ecosystem, which requires new business relationships to be formedbetween financial institutions, mobile network operators, handset vendors, merchantsand other service providers.

“Thiswhite paper promotes collaboration and is intended to reduce the complexity ofthe ecosystem by educating readers on how the secure element will empower thevarious stakeholders, and offer new and creative commercial opportunities. Bydefining precise value chain positions, and outlining the range of secureelement technologies available, the paper will also help financialorganisations to identify the most interesting partnerships and implementationmodels open to them.”

AboutMobey Forum

Mobey Forum is the globalleader in defining a sustainable and prosperous mobile financial servicesecosystem.  Established in 2000, it brings together leading financialinstitutions, mobile network operators, mobile handset manufacturers, paymentprocessors and vendors, committed to accelerating the mass-market deployment ofuser-friendly mobile financial services by promoting open and secure technologystandards. 

Driven by its membership, the MobeyForum produces comprehensive documentation on the recommended architecture fora wide range of mobile financial services, which is further supported by trialsand demonstrations.  The association also supports members' deployments,and actively contributes to new pilots and implementations within themarketplace.  Through its information and analysis sharing andcross-industry collaborations, Mobey Forum is known as the key source ofindependent insight within the mobile financial services sector.

As a not-for-profit organization,Mobey Forum is led by its Board Members from BBVA, Deutsche Bank, DnB NOR, “laCaixa”, HSBC, Nokia, Nordea, Rabobank and UBS.  Its work initiatives arecoordinated through highly interactive strategic meetings, specially designedworkshops to address the most challenging current issues, and working groupswhich facilitate the exchange of expertise, insight and technology.  Theassociation also has extensive liaison agreements with relevant industryorganizations and standardizations bodies, enabling the Mobey Forum tocontribute to all aspects of this dynamic landscape.  For furtherinformation visit www.mobeyforum.org