Digital security provider Gemalto has been selected by Japan's SoftBank Mobile to help launch mobile NFC services in Japan by providing its trusted service management solution. This will be the third Japanese mobile operator to launch NFC services using Gemalto's TSM solution.

"SoftBank Mobile's participation in Japan's NFC ecosystem is set to unify the usage of mobile payment throughout the country and beyond," said Michael Au, senior vice president of telecommunications at Gemalto Asia. "With Japan's banks providing strong support for mobile payments, Gemalto expects rapid adoption and is dedicated to supporting SoftBank Mobile's efforts in developing this service."

In an NFC ecosystem, the TSM provides real-time management and provisioning of accounts to the mobile device, connecting the mobile carrier on one side to service providers such as banks or transit systems on the other.

Gemalto's TSM infrastructure is both open and scalable, meaning that operators can more easily bring new service providers into the ecosystem, the company said. Its solution is hosted in a secure data center based in Singapore.

"Gemalto's expertise in NFC, drawing on more than 40 commercial TSM projects in progress, brings unrivaled understanding in managing NFC complexity and underlying security," said Hironobu Tamba, vice president for the product and service division of SoftBank Mobile. "Gemalto's end-to-end solution secures the back-end and allows SoftBank Mobile to focus on developing value-added mobile NFC services."

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