MUNICH, GERMANY - The Swiss mobile network provider Swisscom is counting on highly secure NFC-enabled SIM cards from Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) to allow its customers to make payments with "Tapit". Tapit is the digital wallet for smartphones in Switzerland.
The platform is used by every mobile network provider in the country. The smartphone app uses NFC technology to allow users to make payments, collect loyalty points and open doors. G&D's SIM card is the central security element in this system, safely storing sensitive information such as digital payment cards or employee ID for building access.
Since the beginning of July, Swisscom mobile network customers are able to use Tapit in all shops which already accept contactless payments. There are already more than 50,000 such shops in Switzerland, including branches of Coop and Migros – and the trend is up. In the future, Swiss mobile network customers will also be able to use the digital wallet to manage their loyalty cards. Tapit’s payment function currently supports Visa payment cards issued by Cornèrcard, with further card issuers set to follow, for example Aduno Group/Viseca, provider of MasterCard cards.
The NFC-enabled SIM card from the SkySIM CX family, which G&D delivers to Swisscom, fulfills the particular security requirements stipulated for conventional payment, ticketing and identification applications. The SIM card is approved by EMVCo, American Express, MasterCard and Visa. Several different NFC applications can be run securely at the same time on the SIM card. The SkySIM CX family also supports the transit applications MIFARE, CIPURSE and Calypso, meaning it can also be used as a travel pass for local public transport. The SIM cards can be supplied in the 2FF, micro-SIM, nano-SIM and triple-SIM form factors and are compatible with 2G, 3G and LTE networks.