HID Global, a provider of solutions for the delivery of secure identity, and INSIDE Contactless, a provider of advanced, open-standard contactless chip technologies, announced they have extended their partnership to bring access control and identity credentials to near-field communications (NFC) mobile phones. Embedding virtual credentials into NFC mobile phones will enable potential substitution of numerous plastic cards for a variety of commercial and consumer identity applications, including not only physical access control, but also secure PC log on, time and attendance monitoring, equipment and material checkout, authorized access to office equipment and manufacturing machinery, private label retail payments, prepaid transit passes, and customer loyalty and membership programs.
HID Global, a provider of solutions for the delivery of secure identity, and INSIDE Contactless, a provider of advanced, open-standard contactless chip technologies, announced they have extended their partnership to bring access control and identity credentials to near-field communications (NFC) mobile phones. Embedding virtual credentials into NFC mobile phones will enable potential substitution of numerous plastic cards for a variety of commercial and consumer identity applications, including not only physical access control, but also secure PC log on, time and attendance monitoring, equipment and material checkout, authorized access to office equipment and manufacturing machinery, private label retail payments, prepaid transit passes, and customer loyalty and membership programs.
“The ability to support virtual credentials within a mobile phone opens the door to a new universe of exciting applications, and this unprecedented capability will be available with the microread NFC controller from INSIDE Contactless,” said Charles Walton, Executive VP of Payments for INSIDE Contactless. “The credentials have become a universal solution with many applications beyond physical access control, and microread's unique capabilities are a powerful differentiator which we will be able to offer to our mobile handset customers.”
According to Walton, INSIDE is in the process of updating its microread NFC controller to implement the command set and protocol that will allow it to communicate with HID readers, and credential support will be a feature of all the company's future NFC products. Any mobile phone using INSIDE's microread NFC controller with an associated secure element will be able to support the use of virtual credentials. The virtual credentials themselves, as well as the credential management and crypto functions, can be activated and provisioned by HID Global, and will reside in a secure element.
“We're pleased to be able to extend our partnership with INSIDE because we both realize there is a tremendous opportunity for NFC and virtual credentials to transform the corporate mobile phone, one that could even spill over into adjacent markets as the use of credentials moves into more consumer-oriented applications,” said Tam Hulusi, Senior VP at HID Global. “Virtual credential mobile phones can be used just like traditional contactless credentials with an HID reader, adding new levels of convenience and flexibility, and with added new application features.”
According to Hulusi, the virtual credentials for NFC mobile phones will be securely delivered via HID Global's identity platform secure delivery system.