Did you know that both VISA and MasterCard have certified BlackBerry smartphones with NFC capabilities to be used for mobile payments?

Over the last couple of years, NFC technology has become increasingly popular in smartphones. Recent blog posts on the Inside BlackBerry for Business blog have shown that NFC-enabled devices can be used for a wide range of tasks, including access to your workplace and paying for your morning coffee. NFC has enabled many of us to see our BlackBerry smartphone as not only an important communications tool, but also as an efficient, contactless payment tool. When considering the use of a smartphone for mobile payments security is a major factor.

If you’re interested in learning more about some of the security features embedded in your BlackBerry smartphone when using it as a mobile payment solution, here are the details – straight from the BlackBerry experts!

According to our BlackBerry Security Certification Manager, Nayef Khan, “One major concern customers have when making mobile payments is security. A lot of focus in the mobile industry is put on the security of the “payment tap” process and overall device security. However, what’s often overlooked is how a credit card’s information travels directly to a smartphone, and how that overall data transmission process is secured.” In the NFC industry the systems that get your credit card data securely onto the device are called Trusted Service Managers (TSM). They are a key part of making NFC payments secure. BlackBerry is actively working on TSM functionality. The certification of BlackBerry as a VISA approved Trusted Service Manager (TSM) proves that the world’s top banking organizations recognize the high level of BlackBerry security standards.

So what are Trusted Service Managers (TSMs)?

A TSM is a cloud-based service that creates a secure communication channel between your NFC-enabled smartphone and the financial institution’s payment tool. The BlackBerry solution is designed to create a secure location within a ,secure container called a “Secure Element.” This secure storage area on an NFC-enabled smartphone enables financial institutions to store the sensitive payment information directly within the smartphone.

Our implementation of the TSM is known in the mobile payments industry as a “Secure Element Manager” (SEM). The SEM is responsible for managing space on a Secure Element. SEM also grants access to this secure space to mobile network operators or issuers of credit cards (know as Service Provider TSM or SP-TSM). Through the infrastructure that our SEM provides, SP-TSMs will have a single secure gateway allowing them to support any customer with an NFC-enabled smartphone that wants to enable a “mobile wallet” application. While the provisioning of credit card information is left to the SP-TSMs, the SEM allows for them to make a secure connection to the Secure Element. This arrangement also makes our solution highly scalable – new issuers can be on-boarded quickly.

Can you clarify what a secure element is, exactly?

As an analogy, think of the Secure Element as an apartment building. The manager of the apartment building (BlackBerry) allows each individual apartment (location for issuers and application providers) to be unlocked by a unique key. New tenants (issuers and application providers) can move in as soon as they are approved by the manager and provided with the key.

Visa’s approval of the BlackBerry SEM shows that we have been able to meet the rigorous standards that are expected in the financial industry. Over the years, BlackBerry has been associated with strong security and we are using our experience to build a secure foundation in this new domain.

Securing the “payment tap”

We have talked about how we secure the transmission and storage of sensitive information. In order to provide end-to-end security for a mobile payment transaction, the payment process also needs to be secure. Ever since BlackBerry launched NFC-capable smartphones, we have been working with the financial industry and credit card companies to certify our devices for use of mobile payments. The BlackBerry Curve 9360 and BlackBerry Bold 9900 were among the first smartphones to be certified by MasterCard and Visa for NFC-based mobile payments.

These certifications were granted on the basis of the BlackBerry smartphones meeting the functionality, interoperability and security requirements of MasterCard and Visa. The process includes extensive technical, security, and usability testing. This helps to ensure reliable and secure transactions which are compatible with the global standard for chip-enabled payments. With these certifications, any MasterCard PayPass or Visa payWave issuing bank globally will be able to deploy accounts to the SIM card of these smartphones.

Currently, all NFC-enabled BlackBerry devices in market have received the necessary payments certification. We have also done some great work with our brand new BlackBerry 10 platform. Looking at the device and back-end certifications in unison, BlackBerry is undeniably at the center of NFC innovation. The tools and security are available; we expect wireless carriers and financial institutions to pursue mobile payment solutions using BlackBerry smartphones in the near future – and some have already been implemented.

Is your business looking to make use of mobile payments? Does the TSM infrastructure alleviate some of your concerns regarding mobile payments? Share in the comments below.

Earlier this month, I sat down with Geoff from the Near Field Communications (NFC) Product Management Team at RIM to get his take on a top NFC myth we often see from our Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog readers. (FYI – the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900/9930 smartphones and BlackBerry® Curve™ 9350/9360/9370 smartphones have built-in NFC.)

Editor’s Note: About a year ago, we sat down with Geoff for the first time to get his perspective on where RIM is going in the NFC space. If you haven’t had a chance to watch Geoff’s video interview, check it out here: How to use Near Field Communication (NFC) for Business.

Debunking The Top NFC Myth: NFC is not just about mobile payments!

Popular perception seems to be that NFC is just a way to make mobile payments. Although RIM has been a key mobile payment advocate – including becoming among the first smartphones to be certified by MasterCard® and Visa® for NFC-based payments and working with EnStream in Canada – this capability was merely a stepping stone to a BlackBerry presence in the NFC space. Mobile payment capability is just one part of NFC technology’s true potential.

With BlackBerry solutions, our vision is that NFC will become part of daily life, saving people bits of time wherever they are. The ability to pay for things, securely access the workplace, and exchange contact info with colleagues with the tap of a BlackBerry device are just a few of the NFC capabilities you can take advantage of today!

Here are a few examples of how NFC is already empowering today’s mobile workforce:

1. Replace access badges with BlackBerry smartphones

BlackBerry partner HID Global offers Secure Identity Services™, a comprehensive suite of web-based tools for managing physical access credentials (here’s the HID press release with more info). In case you didn’t know, Secure Identity Services is the first all-in-one web-based solution for enterprise credential provisioning and management. The HID platform provides businesses with the tools to create, use, and manage identities for traditional badges on plastic cards, for tokens, and for digital credentials on NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones.

2. Share information with BlackBerry NFC capable devices using BlackBerry Tag

Earlier this year, RIM announced BlackBerry® Tag, which allows customers to exchange information with a simple tap between any two NFC-enabled BlackBerry® smartphones. This technology makes sharing information a lot faster and much more personal. Here are just a few examples of what you can share with a single tap using BlackBerry Tag:

• Invite your friend to BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™)
• Share contact information
• Share content from the media applications
• Share voice notes
• Share documents from within Documents To Go®
• Share a URL from the browser
• Create Bluetooth® pairing with ease
• Transfer files

3. Smart Tags – “Work Like Magic”

Smart tags can contain a range of information, including web addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, coupons, graphics, media files, event details, and more. When you tap the smart tag reader on the back of your BlackBerry smartphone against a smart tag, your smartphone views the smart tag and presents you with the options to view or delete the smart tag. Smart tags can also help automate common tasks that you perform on a regular basis.

According to Annu, Senior Product Manager for BlackBerry 7, NFC technology on BlackBerry smartphones “works like magic”. Some smart tag ideas from Inside BlackBerry For Business Blog readers include launching the BlackBerry® Travel app when tapping the NFC tag on their suitcase, tapping an NFC tag beside their bed to set their alarm, and so much more. If you are interested in taking advantage of this unique technology, check out this blog post: Automate Common Tasks in Your Life Using NFC Tags and Your BlackBerry

We’d love to hear how you’ve been taking advantage of NFC technology – share you experiences with us by commenting below!

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

What is Near Field Communication?

NFC is a very short range (within a few centimeters) communications technology that allows a data connection to be created between two devices. Basically, it allows you to tap one device against another to create a connection between them to exchange data. NFC can also be used to bootstrap a Bluetooth® or Wi-Fi® connection, allowing you to continue to stay connected even when you pull your device away.

How will NFC affect business?

As Geoff discussed in the video, Near Field Communication has the capacity to change the landscape of business with things like information sharing, mobile payments or gaining access to a building. The use cases extend both internally to organizations as well as externally as part of the customer experience. Let’s look at a few of these ideas in further detail.

Sharing information at an end-user level

BlackBerry® Tag, which is available with the BlackBerry® 7.1 OS in NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones, offers a new way to share information at an individual level. Almost any type of media can be shared with a single tap to another NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphone. Consider sharing contact information in this manner at a conference, passing around a document for review on the go, or providing a customer with a PDF product brochure just by tapping their smartphone. The ability to share while mobile is being significantly enhanced with NFC and apps like BlackBerry Tag, and businesses can experience a clear benefit as a result.

The mobile payment ecosystem

The concept of a digital wallet garners much press and discussion in the market. I think we can all agree that centralizing activity on your mobile phone so that you can leave your wallet at home is an exciting concept; many of us already own credit cards that we can pay with by tapping on a point of sale terminal. But I’m intentionally referring to this as an “ecosystem”, as it’s just that: building mobile payments requires collaboration between banks, merchants, carriers, point of sale technology producers, and several other service providers.

The good news is that much work has already been done to lay the groundwork for mobile payments with BlackBerry devices. In fact, mobile payments using NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones is already being done in several parts of the world. BlackBerry smartphones were the first to be certified for mobile payments by Visa and MasterCard. And we’ve been working with Turkcell in Turkey, the ISIS group in the U.S., Rogers in Canada, and many others worldwide to make mobile payments with BlackBerry smartphones a reality.

While security may be a concern held more by organizations than end users at this point in time, once you put your money where your phone is, it becomes a concern for everyone. And given our heritage in security, we continue to work closely with our partners around the world to help alleviate many of those concerns.

Physical and logical access

You may be able to leave your security badge and parking pass at home in the near future. NFC enables physical access, such as tapping your phone to gain entry into your office building, as well as logical access, such as tapping your computer to unlock it. These use cases will bring speed and convenience, not to mention cutting the cost of producing multiple access devices, and allowing you to digitally manage these assets. To that end, RIM has been working with companies like HID Global and Iris ID Systems Inc. to allow the use of NFC-enabled BlackBerry smartphones with their access systems.

What does the future hold?

As these ecosystems develop and the use cases continue to expand into the daily activities of organizations and employees in a wide range of industries, it will be very exciting to see what comes next. We’re constantly working to enable application developers and many other stakeholders in NFC technology to integrate and succeed. RIM remains committed to Near Field Communication moving forward, including the upcoming BlackBerry® 10 platform.

What are your questions about NFC? How could you see NFC technology making your life at work easier and more convenient? Share in the comments below.