Bank of America will be testing NFC payments enabled through microSD cards, a spokesperson for the bank tells NFCNews.com. The program will begin in September and run through the end of the year in New York.
Since the test will use microSD cards, iPhone users will not be able to participate. Other smart phones, such as Blackberry and many of the devices running the Android operating system, do have microSD slots. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/nfcnews-4.gif)
From the picture, it looks like it is the Visa card. I am guessing the backend will be applications provided by DeviceFidelity.
BofA wouldn't tell me if the DeviceFidelty case was being used but I have seen it reported at other places. We're trying to find out more and will update when we can.
Payment cards used in USA are not having a high level of security, compared to EMV standards deployed in Europe and in other countries. MicroSD NFC Payment is one very innovative opportunity to enhance security. with an embeded secured element into a mobile phone. Very nice idea of VISA to get this market also :-) before mPayment startup take it. Let me share a little bit of return on experience on this, from "Old Europe" : we are deploying NFC Trials with contactless cards and stickers, with our payment gateway Wonderpay. In Europe and in Africa also things are going fast on contacless side. Embedded "SIM Centric" Payment solution vs NFC Micro SD Cards ? My bet for Europe : banks will win the battle against telecom operators if MicroSD NFC Card trials are successful. Helped by innovative payment operators and by a green juridic context, thanks to the Payment Service Provider european directive allowing startups to perform payments with innovative channels.
The missing link for all mobile payment options is convenient security that works in the real world. We have a patented biometric solution that can be used to unlock the encrypted data stored on a NFC enabled microSD card or traditional smart card.
Good things are coming...