Gemalto has unveiled its LinqUs Mobile Wallet to the African market.
The digital security solutions provider describes the LinqUs Mobile Wallet as a suite of software solutions that offers near-field communications (NFC) services, mobile banking, mobile payment and loyalty programmes in a single wallet.
The new LinqUs Mobile Wallet was showcased at the Cards Africa conference, in Johannesburg, last week. The wallet extends Gemalto's software offering, and according to the company, is fully integrated with the broader portfolio of mobile financial services (MFS) solutions.
The solution enables financial service providers and retailers to rapidly deploy a breadth of services that can be customised to their specific needs, says Gemalto.
According to Benjamin Binet, VP of telecommunications solutions in sub-Saharan Africa for Gemalto, NFC enables proximity payment solutions integrated into Gemalto's broader suite of MFS solutions.
"The key benefit of the MFS solution is that it is designed to address existing requirements in the market, such as mobile money transfer services, while at the same time providing a future-focused platform that allows for alternative growth paths such as proximity payment."
He explains that Gemalto's backend platforms are pre-integrated with the mobile wallet, creating the ideal environment for swift adoption by service providers.
"Mobile operators can, therefore, implement a mobile money solution then complete their existing mobile wallets with additional features over time and implement NFC services, which will come to complement mobile money transfer features, for instance. Mobile money combined with NFC enable mobile operators and banks to offer both remote and proximity mobile payment facilities."
According to Binet, LinqUs Mobile Wallet comes with a unique on-boarding service provided by Gemalto. "We work effectively at testing our wallet on new handsets and new operating system versions, thus saving our mobile operator customers from the hassle to go through long handset testing and qualification phases."
He adds that Gemalto provides the highest levels of security on the market, adding that all communication with backend systems are encrypted and secured using state-of-the-art security measures. "Our wallet also comes pre-integrated with all Gemalto products (Trusted Services Management platform, payment applications, etc) and provides easy integration mechanisms with third-party solutions.
"Our UpTeq NFC SIM card was the first on the market to be certified by Visa, MasterCard and Amex, and offers the same level of security as a banking card."
Another main advantage of the m-wallet is its scalability, he adds. "Once implemented, service providers, such as transport agencies, merchants, events agencies and airline companies, can easily plug into the existing infrastructure to offer additional services to end-users, such as events NFC e-ticketing, NFC airline boarding passes, e-coupons, etc."
"Interest in mobile financial services is accelerating due to the convenience and added user engagement they provide," says Jean-Claude Deturche, Gemalto senior VP of mobile financial services.
"By offering a rich suite of front-end mobile applications, through which end-users can access the services delivered by our powerful servers, the mobile wallet sets new standards in terms of choice, flexibility and freedom to tailor solutions to individual requirements," says Deturche.
For Binat, the tremendous growth in the use of mobile handsets for financial transactions has had a dramatic impact on the lives of millions globally. "This has made MSF a critical topic for different industries, ranging from banks, retailers and financial institutions, to mobile network operators."
Share