BNP Paribas, Oberthur Team Up for NFC

BNP Paribas (Paris) selected Oberthur Technologies (Levallois-Perret France), a supplier of smart card solutions, to supply the Near Field Communication Services Management Solution for an NFC project in Nice, France. Oberthur will manage the mobile payment service on behalf of BNP Paribas via an Over the Air (OTA) Platform.

This coming spring, over 3,000 residents in Nice will be able to pay for public transport tickets and obtain information on routes and timetables using NFC-enabled handsets. Additional NFC-based services are also due to be available at local museums, cultural events and on campus at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. Future NFC functionality is expected to be rolled out gradually, in a bid to turn Nice into France's 'NFC City,' noted a release.

BNP Paribas will be offering the NFC mobile payment services to its customers in the area to allow them to pay for goods with their mobile devices.

Oberthur's NFC Now solution for banks and financial institutions provides an integrated solution for secured remote personalization, PIN management and EMV parameter updates. The NFC solution is compliant with the latest standards for mobile payment and is hosted by Oberthur's secured Service Centers which are certified by MasterCard, Visa and GIE CB.

"Following the Payez Mobile initiative, it is important for BNP Paribas to be recognized as a leading innovator in the NFC payment market and the bank is looking forward to showcasing its service in Nice in early 2010," sais Willy Dubost, SVP Cards & Merchant Services, at BNP Paribas in a statement. "Together with Oberthur Technologies we have strengthened our existing partnership in order to create and implement a comprehensive solution which facilitates secure NFC payment."