NFC & Mobile Network Operators

Valimo Mobile ID in the NFC world

Strong mobile electronic identity enabling NFC services

obile phones have been using the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) from the beginning of the GSM era. Now this important part of the mobile phone is extending its capabilities and creating ways to enable the mobile devices to become much more. Smart phones are already allowing us to accomplish a multitude of new things that we didn’t even consider ten years ago doing with a mobile. With proper hardware the mobile phone can start interacting directly with other NFC enabled devices and services (such as contactless transactions and data exchange, payments, pairing of devices, etc.). The UICC card (the present-day SIM) used in the NFC phone is also beefing up the security of the mobile world by providing hardware support for PKI functions out-of-the-box and capabilities to have signing clients running in the secure environment. These clients can even be downloaded to the UICCs over-the-air.

Signing up for NFC services

With the increased memory capacity and security features in the NFC (enabled) UICC more complex applications can now be included in the card’s tamper resistant environment. These will include a new wave of financial, transport, advertising, and ticketing related applications and more. What all of those new services have in common is that in order to use them, you need to sign a contract. By signing the contract you will accept the terms and conditions and a legal agreement will be created between you and the service provider (e.g. a bank).

Valimo Mobile ID can generate legally binding electronic signatures with a mobile phone and the keys stored in the secure element such as the UICC. This enables the service providers to create self service portals where users can review and sign documents, agreements, invoices, contracts, etc. using the Mobile ID, and initiate, activate and personalize NFC applications within the UICC. No need for time consuming and expensive visits to the brick and mortar shops. One study made by the Finnish Tax Authority in 2006 showed that the cost of a paper based transaction was 10€ – 50€. Once they adopted an on-line service for tax reporting the cost of a single transaction dropped to 0.20€ – 0.50€ - a significant 99% reduction in cost.

With strong identity generated in the NFC card, new service activations can be automated and made truly quick, easy, and transparent for the end user. For the adoption of NFC services the Valimo Mobile ID is the enabler.

Not just NFC, but much more

By default all NFC cards are PKI enabled and have the necessary hardware to run the Mobile ID application and related functions. This means that Mobile ID can create many new opportunities beyond the NFC ecosystem. Naturally, it will enable new service activation, but it also means that once you have generated the ID in the card, it can be used in a multitude of services.

Mobile ID itself opens up strong, but at the same time extremely easy authentication to online services. So why not use the Mobile ID also in online banking, not just for the NFC related tasks? With banks struggling with increasingly sophisticated attacks from the criminals and losing money on a daily base, it would be extremely advantageous for the banks to move to PKI based strong security and especially to mobile ID. That would enable not just two-factor authentication using a mobile phone, but it also has the added benefit of the mobile as the second channel for authentication and transaction signing. The user can have a web browser open to the online bank, but transactions are digitally signed in the NFC UICCs tamper resistant environment, and this exchange of information between the service provider and the mobile happens using a separate communication channel.

Mobile ID as the driving force for NFC

Mobile ID could actually be one of the driving forces behind NFC adoption. Strong electronic ID (eID) in a mobile format is a very compelling proposition to governments building online services, to banks trying to mitigate risks coming from online services, to financial services trying to fight against fraud etc.
If you combine Mobile ID with the nature of NFC, meaning the tap function, you could enable lightning fast account creation services basically anywhere. Just let the user tap an NFC tag and the identity and the account are automatically provisioned for the user. If the user’s signature is required for this type of transaction, Mobile ID can facilitate this. NFC and Mobile ID could take new customer acquisition to a completely new level!

NFC based advertising is also raising its head. High profile ads from luxury product manufacturers such as Lexus have already been piloted. What Mobile ID can offer in that mix is the ability to go directly to the ordering / contract signing process right there in your mobile. One example could be holiday sales – Imagine standing in a bus stop waiting for your daily commute when it is raining cats and dogs and just by tapping the ad next to you, you could buy a nice holiday trip to the sunny beaches. This is the promise of NFC, but it cannot be realized without strong identity.

Mobile ID provides that crucial missing link with several of the key players. Mobile ID makes it possible to buy or signup for services regardless of the place and time. It provides protection to both the end user and the service provider through digital signatures.

Attachment	Description	Size
MobileID NFC Short		2.01 MB