Handset makers and terminal manufacturers will be able to trial m-payments thanks to a test system from Agilent Technologies and chip tester FIME.
The product is based on the contactless level one specification for m-payments laid out by trade body EMV. It allows users to test whether a mobile device or contactless card can perform at EMV 2.1.1 industry standards for pre-certification test and device evaluation. The test systems cover both analog RF and digital protocols and are built using Agilent’s T3111S NFC Conformance Test System.
Other features of the Agilent T3111S system are test suites for NFC Forum Analog RF, Digital Protocol, the NFC LLCP and SNEP1 protocols as well as testing for proximity (ISO 14443/18092) and vicinity (ISO 15693/18000-3) coverage.
Joe DePond, Vice President and General Manager of Agilent’s Mobile Broadband Operation, said: “We’re excited about the addition of FIME’s EMV RF test capabilities to the Agilent T3111S Conformance Test System. Our ongoing work with FIME enables us to bring our measurement technologies into the global mobile payment marketplace.”
The deal is an extension of a partnership agreement between the two companies that they signed in February 2014 to offer payment solutions to the payments and telecoms markets.
NFC m-payments have recently been criticised as too unwieldy to aid widespread adoption on handsets. In a report issued yesterday, Juniper Research claimed banks remained unconvinced by its capabilities, with the bulk of NFC products driven by operators. However, researchers added that developments in the Host Card Emulation space could speed up the implementation of NFC services.