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U.S.: U.S. Bank to Test Contactless microSD Card with payWave Onboard
One of the first tests by a bank of a microSD card embedded with an RF antenna, U.S. Bank issued the tiny contactless flash memory cards with a Visa payWave application onboard to employees and their families and friends in 20 cities. Some of the participants used a special attachment for Apple's iPhone, which does not come with its own microSD card slot. BlackBerry models were also involved in the trial. Users could insert the cards into phones and tap to pay where payWave is accepted.
Visa Inc. has certified the microSD card technology in several handsets, including Apple's iPhone and some BlackBerry models, based in part on the results of this trial. Much is riding on the technology, which could enable banks to offer contactless-mobile payment without relying directly on mobile operators. Technology vendor DeviceFidelity produced the cards and a special range extender for the back covers of the BlackBerry phones used in this trial. It supplied an Apple-certified attachment for the iPhone, which enabled consumers to use the contactless microSD in the popular smartphone. The iPhone doesn’t have its own SD-card slot.
* Trusted Service Manager: Defined loosely to include companies or other organizations securely distributing, provisioning and managing applications, generally over the air, on secure elements in NFC mobile phones; or licensing their platforms for this purpose.
N/A: Not available or not applicable. Last update: June 2011
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