Gemalto, mChek to serve mobile payment markets in South Asia
02 February, 2009
category: Contactless, Financial, NFC
India-based mChek has partnered with Netherlands digital security company Gemalto to provide a secured SIM-card-based mobile application for markets in South Asia. Since last September the two companies have deployed a range of mobile banking services with telecom operators in India and Sri Lanka on millions of SIM cards. This includes a mobile top-up service where its customers can recharge anywhere, anytime.
The adoption of mobile phones around the world, notably in emerging countries, provides an opportunity for the telecom and banking industries to leverage the SIM card to provide a range of banking services. While some mobile operators have implemented stored-value account wallets, in most countries, banking regulations do not allow non-banks to accept deposits or limit the scope and value of operator managed wallets.
The mChek platform addresses these two issues and provides a solution for telecom operators through Gemalto SIM cards. In a unified environment, mChek enables a broad range of services, including mobile banking, two-factor authentication, secure message delivery, cross-border and domestic money transfer and mobile payments using stored-value wallets, direct debit and credit/debit card support.