RIM to manage Canadian NFC secure elements

The BlackBerry maker has been selected by Canadian carrier joint venture EnStream to handle secure credential management for SIMs used in both Android and Windows smartphones as well as its own BlackBerry NFC devices.

Research In Motion (RIM)
RIM: Chosen for “track record of operating a secure network for connected services”

Canadian carrier joint venture EnStream has selected RIM to provide it with secure element management services.

EnStream — owned by Bell, Rogers and Telus — plans to have its NFC TSM service live in Canada before the end of 2012 and says it has also contracted with regional carriers SaskTel and MTS so that the service will be available to all Canadian consumers.

EnStream will offer TSM services to both carriers and service providers, with RIM providing the secure element management (SEM) platform that mobile network operators will use to manage on-device secure credentials. The EnStream platform will be “accessible to any financial institution, government agency, corporation or other entity, regardless of size or technical sophistication,” the venture says.

“While mobile payments will be the first widely adopted smartphone capability, the EnStream solution will also allow smartphones to be used for transit passes, tickets, access keys, couponing, loyalty rewards, library cards, driver’s licences, health cards — in effect placing much of the contents of our wallets securely and directly into smartphones.”

“EnStream is leading the way by providing a single interconnection gateway for all Canadian carriers and all Canadian banks,” says Almis Ledas, EnStream’s COO. “We’re proud that Canada will be one of the first countries in the world to make a shared gateway available to accelerate the adoption of this technology, thanks to the capital commitments and technological capabilities of Canada’s wireless carriers.”

RIM’s SEM platform is designed to securely manage credentials on SIM cards “installed in all types of mobile devices, including BlackBerry smartphones, Android devices, and Windows phones,” the BlackBerry maker points out.

“Working with EnStream, we’re delivering a service that will enable speed, security and convenience in mobile, contactless payment,” says Andrew MacLeod, RIM’s managing director for Canada. “RIM’s SEM solution will help deliver mobile payments and other NFC services to all carriers across all handset platforms that support NFC technology in Canada.”

“We selected RIM for their long-standing relationships with mobile operators and financial institutions, and their track record of operating a secure network for connected services,” says EnStream’s Ledas. “By adopting the secure GSMA Global Platform standard and using SEM infrastructure hosted and operated by RIM, consumers and financial institutions can have full confidence in financial credentials enabled through EnStream.”

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