Nano-SIM inventor proposes cross-platform mobile wallet app

Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), the German firm behind the nano-SIM, is proposing a “comprehensive” cross-platform mobile wallet solution. Named SmartTrust Portigo, the solution requires users to download a dedicated app that will interact with a secure hardware element — one of G&D’s nanoSIMs, for example — before interfacing with carrier-side software from various service providers, such as banks. At present, the standard is centered around NFC as the primary payment method, but G&D says that the system would work with other standards; what’s more important is the process and backend.

Although it sounds like yet another competing standard in the crowded mobile payments market, G&D isn’t trying to compete with the likes of VISA or MasterCard. Instead, it wants its solution to become a way to store payment cards, travel passes, loyalty cards, coupons, and ID cards in a secure way. It will provide a framework for companies to quickly make “widgets” that carriers can add to their backend. To its credit, G&D says the system will be compatible with Windows Phone, iOS, Android, and BlackBerry, but whether companies like Apple will allow an app that competes with their own software into their ecosystem isn’t sure. There’s no release date in sight for SmartTrust Portigo; the proposal will need to get the approval of carriers and payment partners before it becomes a reality.