French banks, network operators publish Payez Mobile specifications

Following extensive field testing, the banks and mobile operators behind the NFC tests in Caen and Strasbourg have now published the functional and technical specifications for Payez Mobile applications.

WORKING TOGETHER: AEPM is a group of six French banks and four mobile network operators
WORKING TOGETHER: AEPM is a group of six French banks and four mobile network operators

AEPM, the Association Européenne Payez Mobile, has published the functional and technical specifications for Payez Mobile, the NFC solution developed by the leading French banks and mobile operators. Payez Mobile has been on test in the French towns of Caen and Strasbourg since November 2007 in a trial run by six banks and four mobile operators in conjunction with Visa and Mastercard.

AEPM says that the specification is based on existing international standards and was developed by its members in collaboration with both French and international organisations and commercial entities.

The aim of the specifications, says AEPM, is to:

  • Provide customers and retailers with a homogeneous payment framework designed to facilitate the adoption of contactless mobile payment.
  • Lay the groundwork for the successful deployment of NFC systems, driven by an interoperable solution.

The specifications have been published in five parts, providing:

  • A general introduction to mobile contactless proximity payment and the main concepts set forth within Payez Mobile.
  • Specifications for mobile handset, UICC architecture and payment applications.
  • Specifications for payment service delivery and management.
  • The impact of the Payez Mobile solutions on payment processing including acceptance, acquiring and issuing.
  • Mechanisms to configure a group of applications to seamlessly execute payment transactions locally and internationally, via a Virtual Payment Card.

The specifications describe the technical solution required to install a bank’s payment instrument in a SIM in an NFC phone, the user interface and the input rules for personal codes and bank authorisations and the processes required to manage the life cycle of a customer’s payment instrument.

AEPM’s membership is made up of France’s leading banks and mobile operators, including BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole-LCL, Crédit Mutuel-CIC, Banque Postale, Groupe Banque Populaire, Groupe Caisse d’Epargne and Société Générale on the banking side and Bouygues Telecom, NRJ Mobile, Orange and SFR on the mobile operators side.

Readers can download the full specifications, in English, from AEPM’s website.

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