Are mobile payments key to a resurgent Research In Motion? Could be. The maker of BlackBerry devices announced its Secure Element Manager solution for NFC mobile payments has been given the official Visa stamp of approval. That means RIM's SEM meets Visa's security requirements and can now be used by carriers to manage Visa payment credentials stored on SIM cards installed in NFC-capable mobile devices.

"The approval from Visa of RIM's SEM solution is an important step in that it will enable carriers to support Visa issuing banks and financial institutions," said Frank Maduri, Senior Director, NFC Services and TSM Product Management at RIM. "We now offer carriers a robust solution with around-the-clock global support that works on any NFC-capable device, and meets the stringent technology and usability guidelines for Visa."

RIM devices, and RIM's SEM, were most recently included in the launch of Canada's EnStream mobile payment scheme, a joint venture between Canada's wireless carriers Bell, Rogers and Telus.

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