From payment to ticketing: contactless technologies are on the rise in smart cities

Munich, Germany, and Montreal, Canada – 12 May 2017 – Contactless card and touch-and-go mobile technology payments are on the rise: especially consumers and commuters in highly populated urban areas require higher transaction speeds and more convenience. Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY), the world leader for chip-based payment products, helps card and device manufacturers and transport operators to cope with the security and performance challenges of this trend.

At the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Montreal next week, Infineon will present both, payment and transport ticketing solutions at its booth 2C156 in hall 2.

By 2020, more than 60 percent of payment transactions will use contactless technologies such as NFC (Near Field Communication). This development mostly affects commerce and the financial sector and becomes most obvious in transport ticketing. All over the globe, transport operators are striving to implement standardized contactless ticketing solutions that simplify commuters’ daily lives and save overall costs. Furthermore, transport ticketing schemes are increasingly being merged with other services such as micro-payment, identification, access or loyalty, all offered on a single device or application. With this trend some security challenges in regards to unauthorized access to banking accounts or customer credentials are expected. The migration to new chip technologies such as from magnetic to chip-based cards becomes essential as it is the most efficient way to prevent fraud.

Infineon offers a specialized array of chip solutions for contactless payment and multi-application in several form factors, including smart cards, smart phones or wearables. These security solutions stand out with optimized footprint and low power consumption. Data transmission can be done within a few milliseconds, are robust and below industry-average rates. Being an active member in all relevant standardization bodies and striving for open standards, Infineon’s chip solutions provide interoperability and certified security. They are compatible to international standards such as Common Criteria for computer security and EMVCo for card payment. Furthermore, all components are CIPURSE™-ready or enable CIPURSE™ Mobile transactions. CIPURSE is an open standard defined by the OSPT Alliance for highly secure, interoperable, and flexible transit fare collection solutions.