On Track Innovations (OTI) has been awarded two U.S. patents for its NFC hardware and applications technology.

The first patent, titled “Retrofit Contactless Smart SIM Functionality in Mobile Communicators” (U.S. Patent No. 8,195,236), concerns the addition of NFC and contactless payment capabilities to existing mobile handsets through a phone’s existing SIM card. According to OTI, this is the foundation of the company’s Contactless Payments and NFC Insert (COPNI) solution, which enables mobile network operators to provide after-market NFC payments services to their subscribers’ phones, whether they’re embedded with NFC or not.

The second patent, “Multi-Application Contactless Smart Card” patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,186,602), details how multiple applications and payment mechanisms can be supported on a single contactless device and operating system.

These new patents join OTI’s portfolio of more than 100 issued patents and pending patent applications, covering product applications, software platforms, system and product architecture, product concepts and more in the fields of NFC, contactless payment, secure ID, petroleum and parking solutions.