STMicroelectronics and Fidesmo, the contactless-services developer and Mastercard Approved Global Vendor, have created a turnkey active solution for secure contactless payments on smartwatches and other wearable technology.
The complete payment system-on-chip (SoC) is based on ST’s STPay-Boost IC, which combines a hardware secure element to protect transactions and a contactless controller featuring proprietary active-boost technology that maintains reliable NFC connections even in devices made with metallic materials. Its single-chip footprint fits easily within wearable form factors.
Fidesmo’s MasterCard MDES tokenization platform completes the solution by allowing the user to load the personal data needed for payment transactions. Convenient Over-The-Air (OTA) technology makes personalization a simple step for the user without any special equipment.
“STPay-Boost, featuring our secure element and performance-boosting active contactless technology, is a unique single-chip payment solution that fits the design constraints of wearable devices,” said Laurent Degauque, Marketing Director, Secure Microcontroller Division, STMicroelectronics. “Fidesmo’s personalization platform provides the vital ingredient to create a turnkey payment solution that device makers can simply take and use with minimal engineering and certification effort.”
Kronaby, the Malmö, Sweden-based hybrid smart-watch maker, has embedded the STPay-Boost chip in its portfolio of men’s and women’s smart watches that offer differentiated features such as freedom from charging and filtered notifications. The SoC with Fidesmo tokenization enables Kronaby watches to support a variety of services such as payments, access control, transportation, and loyalty rewards.
STPay-Boost chips with Fidesmo OTA personalization are sampling now to lead customers and are scheduled to enter production in November 2018, priced from $3.50 for orders of 1000 pieces (excluding Fidesmo license).
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