AMSTERDAM, June 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, announces that it is one of the suppliers selected by China Telecom for its UpTeq Multi-Tenant NFC SIM to support their commercial rollout of mobile contactless services. China Telecom is a leading operator in China with more than 183 million subscribers. The high-end SIM is embedded with Gemalto's LTE management software, enabling China Telecom subscribers to enjoy NFC services with the convenience and speed of mobile broadband.
China has a population of 1.4 billion, half of whom now live in urban areas. This rapid concentration of populations in mega-cities means users have more services to access, while the speed of daily life demands fast NFC solutions. At the same time, China's banking services are moving to EMV, especially in its contactless form, with more than 400 million contactless chip payment cards issued at the end of 20131. China Telecom's massive NFC roll-out is happening just as the contactless ecosystem is being deployed. As most mega-cities are already equipped with contactless transport infrastructures, millions of China Telecom subscribers will soon be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday services, including riding the metro.
China Telecom subscribers will be able to choose from multiple types of NFC-enabled mobile phones to make payments for transportation, dining, shopping and petrol throughout the country. Airport check-ins, personal authentication services and employee ID services will be introduced in the future. The Gemalto UpTeq Multi-Tenant NFC SIM has been specially developed and customized by Gemalto for China Telecom. It is qualified by the operator and is part of a broader family of high-end products certified by China UnionPay. China Telecom subscribers will enjoy secure and convenient 24/7 access to mobile contactless services.
"With smartphone penetration in China surpassing 66%2 and over 3 million contactless POS terminals in the field3, the mobile payment ecosystem is in place. The major players in China are launching NFC initiatives, enabling China Telecom's subscribers to experience a rich variety of contactless services," said Suzanne Tong-Li, President of Greater China and Korea at Gemalto. "The UpTeq SIM's additional LTE feature will enable China Telecom to deliver an enhanced NFC experience to their customers, leveraging the accelerated download of NFC applications using their LTE network."
1 Source: China UnionPay
2 Nielsen, cited in cnbeta, 2013
3 http://cn.unionpay.com/anhui/col_14704/file_112870747.html
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2013 annual revenues of €2.4 billion and more than 12,000 employees operating out of 85 offices and 25 research and software development centers, located in 44 countries.
We are at the heart of the rapidly evolving digital society. Billions of people worldwide increasingly want the freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain and work – anytime, everywhere – in ways that are enjoyable and safe. Gemalto delivers on their expanding needs for personal mobile services, payment security, authenticated cloud access, identity and privacy protection, eHealthcare and eGovernment efficiency, convenient ticketing and dependable machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. We develop secure embedded software and secure products which we design and personalize. Our platforms and services manage these products, the confidential data they contain and the trusted end-user services made possible.
Our innovations enable our clients to offer trusted and convenient digital services to billions of individuals. Gemalto thrives with the growing number of people using its solutions to interact with the digital and wireless world.
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