MasterCard to use Host Card Emulation (HCE) for NFC-based mobile payments

MasterCard will publish a specification that leverages Host Card Emulation (HCE) for secure NFC payment transactions.

The approach will enable consumers to easily use their MasterCard-branded cards on their NFC-enabled phones to make contactless payments.

HCE enables payments and other NFC services – including loyalty programs, building access and transit passes – to be delivered without the use of a secure element (SE). The specification, developed over the past year with Capital One and Banco Sabadell, marks a significant industry milestone that, in addition to MasterCard’s longstanding support for embedded and SIM-based SE implementations, will drive greatly expanded availability of mobile contactless payments for consumers.

“Consumers are now shopping and paying in whatever way best fits their needs and lifestyles – and from every device they own. To meet their expectations for convenience, we need to accelerate the availability of services in the market. The use of HCE provides a very attractive way forward to launch an increased number of NFC-based offerings,” said James Anderson, Group Head, Emerging Payments at MasterCard. “We continue to set standards and deliver solutions to our partners and customers that deliver great experiences for safe and secure digital payments.”

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