On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) a provider of secure cashless payment solutions based on contactless transactions and near-field communication (NFC), announced that its OTI WAVE technology has been certified for inclusion in Visa’s Compliant Products List. The OTI WAVE is an NFC add-on for smartphones, tablets and PCs.
The OTI WAVE is the industry’s first audio jack plug-in NFC payment solution and the only one to receive certification from major payment companies including Visa and MasterCard. Based on OTI’s patented NFC technology, the compact OTI WAVE is device agnostic, easily plugging into any smartphone, tablet or PC. Users pay with their device while enjoying real-time benefits from loyalty programs and other incentives as delivered by the corresponding application. It opens up a whole new world of mobile device applications, while alleviating the burden of a wallet full of credit cards.
The compliance recognition from Visa indicates the OTI WAVE is approved for issuance anywhere in the world, and that the OTI WAVE met certain operational characteristics, including the Visa Mobile Contactless Payment Specification and EMVCo’s Contactless Communication Protocol Specification.
“With the certification from two of the world’s largest payment networks — Visa and MasterCard — our WAVE technology platform is poised for large-scale implementations with banks, payment card providers, public transportation projects, loyalty and rewards programs and more,” said Ofer Tziperman, OTI’s CEO.
“OTI joins a small, elite group of vendors that have passed the long and rigorous certification process with Visa. This certification will help solidify the market’s endorsement of the WAVE solution,” added Tziperman.
“With NFC-enabled applications expected to grow at a 35% CAGR to $34.5 billion by 2016, it’s clear the payment industry is rapidly adopting NFC technology. NFC is becoming increasingly recognized as the fastest, most efficient, most versatile and secured method for payment transactions, and this certification by Visa positions us to capitalize on the major industry shift.”
OTI’s WAVE has three key features that make it a perfect solution to be offered by enterprises to their clients:
- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI): The OTI WAVE provides PKI authentication via the add-on audio jack device. The authentication capability allows certificate authorities and banks to ensure customer’ secure access to accounts across all devices and channels. This is ideal for secured M-commerce applications.
- NFC: The OTI WAVE turns any smartphone, tablet or laptop into an NFC-secured payment device. The on-board secure element of the WAVE connects to the smartphone’s operating system (OS) via the audio jack, allowing for PIN code authentication and over the air (OTA) capabilities such as reloading electronic cash, remote personalization, firmware updates, and new applications.
- Java OS Platform: The OTI WAVE runs on a Java OS over a secure element and is open for third-party development.
The OTI WAVE is suitable for many applications and markets including: mobile payments (debit, credit, e-purse), e-ticketing for transportation and events, PKI support, loyalty and e-coupon programs, healthcare applications and access control.
OTI’s WAVE can be used for electronic payment transactions even when disconnected from a customer’s device (e.g. for mass transit gates, vending machines, etc.). When the pre-paid balance is running low, the OTI WAVE can simply plug into a smartphone to add additional money into its ePurse.
