Do NFC Payments Need Biometric Security to Speed Uptake?

August 02, 2011 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time 

NXP, AuthenTec and DeviceFidelity Complete First Fingerprint-enabled NFC Payment Transaction in the U.S., Jointly Collaborate on Secure NFC Mobile Wallet Solutions

Leading providers of NFC, fingerprint sensor security and contactless mobile payment technology join forces to create solutions that transform today’s smartphones into highly secure mobile wallets

Recently completed first ever fingerprint-enabled NFC transaction in the U.S. via a Motorola Android phone using technology from the three companies

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands & MELBOURNE, Fla. & RICHARDSON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI), AuthenTec (NASDAQ: AUTH) and DeviceFidelity, Inc., announced today that they are jointly developing reference designs that enable highly secure mobile payments via Android-based phones through the use of fingerprint biometrics and near field communication (NFC) technology. Reference designs created by the companies are expected to help mobile phone OEMs and wireless carriers address the growing demand for NFC-capable smart phones, which are forecast to grow to nearly 300 million units worldwide by 2014 according to Juniper Research.

“The fingerprint transaction shows how future mobile transactions may become increasingly convenient through the use of NFC and biometrics. In the meantime, however, we continue to focus on bringing easy-to-integrate yet highly secure solutions to mobile phone OEMs and carriers eager to offer secure mobile wallet designs.”

NXP, AuthenTec and DeviceFidelity also recently collaborated to complete the first biometrically-enabled NFC mobile payment transaction in the U.S. The successful transaction was made possible via a Motorola ATRIX 4G smartphone equipped with AuthenTec’s AES1750 smart fingerprint sensor and DeviceFidelity’s In2Pay microSD card based on NXP’s secure NFC solution. The quick, convenient and secure mobile payment was conducted when the demonstrator swiped a finger over the smartphone’s fingerprint sensor, authenticating him as the pre-enrolled account owner and quickly launching a credit card app. Following authentication the user simply tapped the ATRIX smartphone against a payment terminal to complete the first fingerprint-enabled, secure NFC transaction in the U.S. NXP, AuthenTec and DeviceFidelity plan to collaborate further on additional, similar NFC-based designs to help enable broad proliferation of mobile wallets in the U.S. and other regions.

“The payment experience demonstrated by NXP, DeviceFidelity and AuthenTec provides the convenience, speed, and security consumers require for broad adoption of mobile wallets. As the global leader in NFC solutions, we look forward to building on our leadership through collaboration with AuthenTec, the world’s No. 1 provider of fingerprint sensors, and leading pluggable payment solutions provider, DeviceFidelity,” said Henri Ardevol, vice president and general manager, secure transactions, NXP Semiconductors. “The fingerprint transaction shows how future mobile transactions may become increasingly convenient through the use of NFC and biometrics. In the meantime, however, we continue to focus on bringing easy-to-integrate yet highly secure solutions to mobile phone OEMs and carriers eager to offer secure mobile wallet designs.”

“AuthenTec has helped to make NFC-based mobile payment transactions more secure, yet easier to execute since 2004, and we are very pleased to collaborate with NFC and mobile payment leaders NXP and DeviceFidelity to create designs that will help bring a new generation of fingerprint-enabled mobile wallets to the U.S. and other regions,” said AuthenTec CEO Larry Ciaccia. “Security is often cited as the biggest impediment to the broad adoption of mobile wallets, and we believe our jointly developed NFC reference designs will give consumers greater confidence that mobile wallets are not only an easier way to pay but are much more secure than other means.”

“Our In2Pay platform continues to create exciting new use cases for NFC based transactions, each of which aim to transform the end user payment experience. Through collaborations with NXP and AuthenTec, DeviceFidelity’s ability to offer secure consumer centric mobile contactless payment technologies for top tier issuers of NFC products is amplified,” said DeviceFidelity COO and cofounder Amitaabh Malhotra. “Our jointly-created designs, including the new In2Pay microSD integration credited with the first fingerprint-authenticated mobile payment transaction in the U.S., will form the basis for the adoption of enhanced security for NFC capabilities in mobile devices.”

The companies are fully committed to developing highly secure and easy to use mobile commerce subsystems to help ease design integration for mobile phone OEMs. Field upgradeable solutions and integrated reference designs will provide a variety of options to mobile phone OEMs for fielding mobile commerce transaction-ready platforms.

AuthenTec offers complete security and identity management solutions for the mobile market, including embedded security, smart fingerprint sensors and software. AuthenTec’s mobile market offering includes embedded and downloadable DRM content protection, mobile VPN client solutions, security hardware IP, identity management software, and smart fingerprint sensors that are used in more than 15 million mobile phones. AuthenTec provides the most advanced levels of security, reliability, and performance for mobile phone users, mobile operators, content providers, embedded security developers and many others, saving them time and money while optimizing performance.

About DeviceFidelity, Inc.

DeviceFidelity, Inc. develops plug-and-play technologies that empower a variety of institutions to deploy their services and applications on millions of mobile phones worldwide. Its patented In2Pay™ iCaisse and In2Pay™ microSD solution transform popular mobile phones into interactive contactless transaction devices. Committed to bringing contactless innovation to the mobile phone, the company has numerous patents pending in both U.S. and international patent offices. DeviceFidelity is a private corporation with headquarters in Texas and offices in California, New York and London. For more information, visit www.devicefidelity.com.

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions that leverage its leading RF, Analog, Power Management, Interface, Security and Digital Processing expertise. These innovations are used in a wide range of automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications. A global semiconductor company with operations in more than 25 countries, NXP posted revenue of $4.4 billion in 2010. Additional information can be found by visiting www.nxp.com.

About AuthenTec

AuthenTec is the world’s #1 provider of fingerprint sensors, identity management software, and embedded security solutions. AuthenTec solutions address enterprise, consumer and government applications for a growing base of top tier global customers. Already shipped on hundreds of millions of devices, the Company's smart sensor products, software and embedded security solutions are used virtually everywhere, from the PC on your desk to the mobile device in your hand to the server in the cloud. AuthenTec offers developers and users secure and convenient ways to manage today's rapidly evolving digital identities and security needs. For more information, visit www.authentec.com or follow us at twitter.com/authentecnews.

Contacts

AuthenTec
Brent Dietz, +1-321-308-1320
Director of Communications
brent.dietz@authentec.com
or
NXP Semiconductors
Michael Maader, +49 40 5613 3371
Director Communications, ID Business
michael.maader@nxp.com
or
DeviceFidelity, Inc.
Stephanie Fulqui, +1-650-587-1970
Marketing Manager
marketing@devicefidelity.com