News
Belgian Mobile Operator Proximus Using Highly Secure SIM Cards from Giesecke & Devrient for Mobile Payment
Proximus customers able to use cell phones for everyday payment transactions
• Certified SIM card from G&D ensures required data and transaction security
• Starting immediately, all newly issued and replacement SIM cards from Proximus will come with the mobile banxafe application
Proximus, BASE, Mobistar, telecommunications operators in Belgium and Banksys, Belgium’s leading player on the electronic payments market, recently announced that they are now offering their clients a mobile payment service. Thanks to the Mobile banxafe application from Banksys, wireless customers can conveniently use their cell phones to make payments on a day-to-day basis, for example, when taking deliveries at their front door. Mobile banxafe is stored on a G&D SIM card, which meets the especially strict security requirements and has been officially certified at security level EAL 4+ to prove it.
With Mobile banxafe, all Belgian customers can conduct the same transactions using their mobile phones that they have previously been able to carry out via card terminals located in stores. These payments are made between two banxafe-enabled cell phones What’s more: they can also use the function to recharge their prepaid balance. The technology that makes such secure payments possible is also provided by G&D. The 128 KB SIM card from G&D comes with the Mobile banxafe applet stored on it. “The chip platform has passed certification according to Common Criteria (CC) at level EAL 4+ based on a hardware and software evaluation approach and thus fulfills the highest security requirements, which are essential for sensitive applications such as monetary transactions” said Dr Klaus Vedder, Group Senior Vice President and Head of G&D’s Telecommunications division.
You can find a high-resolution picture of the Proximus SIM card here.
About Giesecke & Devrient:
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is a technology leader in the field of smart cards, providing smart card based solutions for telecommunications, electronic payment, health care, ID, transportation, and IT security (PKI). G&D is also a leading producer of banknotes and security documents and is dominant in the field of currency automation. Based in Munich, Germany, the G&D group has subsidiaries and joint ventures around the world. In fiscal 2005, the Group employed some 7,500 people and generated revenue of €1.24 billion. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.gi-de.com/press.
About Proximus:
Proximus is the market leader in mobile telephony in Belgium. On 31 December 2006 Proximus had 4.3 million active customers* (46% postpaid and 54% prepaid customers).
* Active customer = user of a mobile phone card who received or sent a call or SMS during the past three months.
About Banksys:
Banksys was founded in 1989, as the result of the merger of the Mister Cash and Bancontact networks. Its principal mission is the authorization, security and guarantee of electronic payments in Belgium. Next to its processing activities, Banksys capitalizes on its know-how for the development of terminals and payment applications like “banxafe” and “mobile banxafe”. Banksys also operates a wide set of services such as terminal maintenance and CardStop to merchants and cardholders. Banksys has approximately 1000 employees nowadays. In 2006 Banksys performed over 1,05 billion transactions through an acceptance network of 120,000 merchants. On December 7th 2006, Banksys was taken over by Atos Origin, through its subsidiary Atos Worldline, thus creating a European leader in Payment Services, with combined pro forma 2006 revenues of EUR 630 million and 4,000 employees.
Contact:
Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
Vera Schuh, Press Manager
Tel.: +49 89 4119 2985
vera.schuh@gi-de.com