Cardtek and NXP Become Primary Technology Providers for empay National Mobile Wallet Service in Dubai

Cardtek a leading global payment technologies provider, today announced that it is collaborating with NXP Semiconductors to deliver the first nationally sanctioned mobile wallet solution for the United Arab Emirates. Emcredit, a fully owned subsidiary of the Dubai Economy, will launch empay, a secure mobile payment platform that offers all United Arab Emirates residents the ability to easily pay for a wide variety of goods and services using smart wearable technology or multifunctional devices.

Cardtek will provide the payment infrastructure, mobile industry knowledge, operational services and product enhancements to support the empay platform. NXP will manufacture and provide the NFC controller and secure element (SE) necessary to allow UAE consumers to utilize the service on wearable devices.

“empay will stand as a significant benchmark in the marriage between payments and wearables, and offer a blueprint for how an entire nation can securely modernize its payment processes – from retail and transit, to ticketing and government services,” said Ayşe Sarıgöllü, Executive Chairwoman of Cardtek. “For the first time, consumers will have an integrated platform that offers quick access to a number of retail and service options directly from a wearable device, without being tethered to a particular phone manufacturer, telephone company, or third-party provider.”

As a part of the Dubai Government Smart initiative, empay will bring together a number of service providers – including banks, government departments, retailers, educational institutions, and transportation companies – into a common platform where consumers are easily able to access and pay for services from a single mobile wallet. empay will ultimately enable UAE consumers to make retail payments, initiate money transfers, and pay for government utilities – like telecommunication and school fees – all from a single mobile wallet using either an “active” wearable or another multifunctional mobile device.

“Active” wearables include a battery and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) connection, in addition to a NFC interface. This allows communication to the cloud via a mobile phone or “companion device” – enabling multiple applications to be dynamically and Over The Air (OTA) provisioned on the wearable device. This technology results in the richest possible user experience, where the consumer is able to virtualize all of their personal contactless cards on their wearable device.

“As co-founder of NFC technology and expert in security solutions, NXP is committed to providing secure, convenient and scalable solutions to enable tap-to-pay experiences for mobile devices and wearables alike,” said Jean-Claude Denniel, Marketing Manager for the Secure Transactions and Identification business at NXP. “empay is a fantastic example of multi-service implementation on a wearable device platform that is easy to implement and service for the provider and most intuitive to use for the consumer.”

“We are extremely excited about this partnership with NXP semiconductors and Cardtek for payments through wearables,” said Muna Al Qassab, the CEO of Emcredit Limited. “Through the empay initiative, we aim to offer UAE citizens a radically improved payment experience. This turn key solution will allow empay consumers to enjoy the convenience of accessing their mobile wallet on the go – simplifying the entire payment journey with hands-free convenience.”