The GlobalPlatform Compliance Program for validating secure elements (SEs) has been recognised by EMVCo – the EMV standards body collectively owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa – as an integral part of the mobile payment certification process.
GlobalPlatform is the organisation which standardises the management of applications on secure chip technology. Its certification program, which was launched in 2011, confirms that a SE will perform as outlined in the GlobalPlatform Specifications. By ensuring this level of functional consistency, GlobalPlatform promotes the creation of a globally interoperable and secure multi-application environment. EMVCo will continue to manage its own Security Evaluation Process, which certifies that the SE meets the required payment security standards.
For SEs based on the GlobalPlatform Specification and that have received GlobalPlatform’s Letter of Qualification, EMVCo will undertake the required tests to validate the Application Activation User Interface. This ensures that the end-user can easily select their preferred payment provider via the mobile handset screen.
The final certification stage will be carried out by individual payment schemes – as is the process today for chip-enabled payment cards – to certify that their respective payment application is ready for market release.
Gil Bernabeu, GlobalPlatform Technical Director, comments: “GlobalPlatform is delighted to be recognised by EMVCo in this manner. We launched our compliance program last year as we identify that market stability in any sector can only be achieved through agreeing on a framework and committing to test, verify and maintain this technology in the future. Mobile payment is no exception and we need to establish an infrastructure that will allow products to be confidently and securely brought to market. EMVCo is the first standards body to endorse the GlobalPlatform Compliance Program and we invite all parties to follow EMVCo’s example and minimise certification costs for the mobile ecosystem.”
Patricia Partelow, EMVCo’s Executive Committee Chair, adds: “EMVCo is working with a number of industry bodies in the mobile payments area to ensure that we create a workable, efficient and trusted transaction infrastructure. At the same time, the end-to-end solution – which incorporates mobile devices, terminals and the backend systems – must be interoperable globally, regardless of technology adopted, to deliver ultimate user convenience. We believe that GlobalPlatform’s Compliance Program is a key step in achieving this goal and creating a sustainable and scalable framework to be implemented by the payment and mobile communities.”
The GlobalPlatform Compliance Program, which currently offers testing for SEs in the form of a UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card), will be expanded in 2012 to cover testing for embedded SEs and microSDs. For further details please visit: http://www.globalplatform.org/compliance.asp.