Aconite, a provider of smart card lifecycle management, mobile application management and EMV transaction processing solutions is partnering with China UnionPay Data (CUP Data), an on-behalf-of issuing service provider, to supply Aconite’s Affina Enterprise smart card lifecycle management system, reports Finextra. Through the deal, CUP Data intends to provide multi-application and post-issuance smart card management services to its client issuers. It is also seen as the first step in building a solution designed to allow banks to provide additional smart applications to their customers, to be installed post-issuance on their existing CUP payment cards.

“The choice of Affina Enterprise will position CUP Data for a rapid move to supporting NFC mobile applications through the addition of Aconite's Mobile Application Manager solution for over-the-air and over-the-Internet provisioning and security management,” said Patrick Regester, EVP of sales and marketing at Aconite. “Processors such as CUP Data are ideally placed to fulfil the Service Provider role defined by GlobalPlatform, providing the linkage between issuers and the TSMs, mobile networks and Internet gateways that provide the delivery channels to mobile phones.”