American Express Begins First HCE Test (Aug. 5, 2014)
American Express has begun testing host card emulation (HCE) technology for mobile NFC payments at POS terminals in Croatia. Also part of the pilot is Croatian bank Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ) and Intesa Sanpaolo Card Ltd. The pilot in Croatia marks American Express’ first test of HCE technology anywhere, according to a company spokesperson. Using HCE’s cloud-based credential storage, a cardholder initiates payment using an NFC-enabled mobile phone and the card account and payments details are transmitted from the cloud to the NFC-enabled mobile phone and POS terminal, enabling the cardholder to complete the transaction. Earlier this year, Visa and MasterCard announced their support of HCE technology. Discover says it’s currently evaluating HCE to “determine alignment” with the company’s roadmap. “Our goal is to make sure the technology can create a seamless, ubiquitous and globally interoperable exchange to ensure mobile payments are safe and secure for both consumers and our merchant clients,” a spokesperson tells Paybefore.
See related stories:
