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  5. The Networks' Support for HCE Breathes Life Into NFC Payments

The Networks' Support for HCE Breathes Life Into NFC Payments

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21 February 2014
Zilvinas Bareisis
In my report on Top Trends in Retail Payments published a few weeks ago, I wrote the following paragraph: "Of course, doubts remain over HCE. For example, the payment schemes are yet to clarify on whether they will deem the security and performance of the technology acceptable. However, we view it as a positive development. Inexplicably, HCE was being described by some as the “NFC killer.” Yes, if successful, it might indeed kill the SIM-based business model (and have a negative impact on Trusted Service Managers), but it might actually breathe life into NFC and contactless payments." The developments this week removed some of those doubts. Both Visa and MasterCard announced their support for Host Card Emulation (HCE) technology, paving the way for banks to offer NFC-based secure payments without relying on the secure element inside the phone. HCE reduces the need for banks and telcos to cooperate, thus helping overcome the business model challenge. However, approval and recognition from the networks was a critical pre-requisite to the technology's success. Networks executives stressed that it is not an "either/ or" situation and they will continue to support the "traditional" SIM-based secure element solutions. As such, it doesn't immediately change any of the established ventures, such as Isis, but it certainly makes it easier for others to take an alternative path. I would expect HCE to be important in Europe, which already is further ahead than the US in terms of deploying contactless terminals. European banks have been issuing contactless cards, and HCE will make it easier for them to make use of that infrastructure for mobile payments as well. Having said that, HCE technology is only available on Android, so iOS devices continue to be excluded from these developments at least for now. It will be interesting to see what Apple does in payments. I plan to publish a short report soon speculating on how Apple might enter payments more aggressively - keep an eye on it!

Comments

  • Ian, thank you for your comment. I am not sure yet how HCE-initiated payments would be treated, but I definitely see a growing recognition in the industry, including the networks, for the need to have a new category of transactions, such as "mobile present." It remains to be seen when it happens and whether it would include HCE transactions.