We’ve seen NFC billed as the “next big thing” in payments for quite some time now, but where many just theorize, TSYS has taken action, bringing NFC to North America with its CIBC partnership. MPD’s Karen Webster spoke with Paul Bridgewater, Group Executive of Global Product for TSYS, about how NFC may change the future and present of payments.

Over the last few weeks, it seems NFC has made more headlines related to devices that exclude its technology rather than choose to integrate with it.

TSYS and CIBC are looking to change that, as the payment solutions giant and Canadian financial institution have partnered to bring an NFC solution to North America. Market Platform Dynamics’ Karen Webster spoke with Paul Bridgewater, group executive, global products for TSYS, to learn how the agreement came to fruition, what this means for consumers and details about why TSYS is an NFC believer.

“We’ve been working for a little over a year now to kind of scope out the best way to integrate NFC into our platforms, and we’ve noticed an increasing interest from our clients over the past 12 months,” Bridgewater says.

“From a consumer’s perspective it’s just simple. They’ll have the ability to make payments at the point-of-sale, with either their NFC -enabled smartphone or any other kind of NFC-enabled device, and they can trust that it will work securely and reliably.”

Among the most innovative features TSYS is launching with its NFC platform? A “full lifecycle scenario” capability that allows for easy account protection should an equipped mobile device be lost or stolen. According to Bridgewater, not only will the mobile account be restricted, but consumers will still be able to use an alternate account access point, such as a traditional plastic card.

“The key for us is to continue to enable the consumer to transact and utilize their account,” he said.

TSYS’s NFC solution clearly adds exciting new payments opportunities to the industry, both at present and moving forward. But Bridgewater added the caveat that while TSYS views NFC as an important part of the future of payments technologies, it’s just one mobile technology helping to change the way people transact.

“Soon, we will not just be swiping but tapping and showing and flashing and waving, and all sorts of things … and that for us means one thing: more transactions,” Bridgewater said.

“That’s just great news for TSYS and the payments industry as a whole.”

To hear more Webster and Bridgewater on the future of NFC, as well as TSYS’s developing EMV program, listen to the full podcast below.

To read a transcript of the audio conversation, click here.

Paul Bridgewater

Group Executive of Global Product for TSYS

Paul Bridgewater is group executive of global product for TSYS. He is a 23-year veteran of the payments and financial services industry, having previously served as senior vice president, payments, of Digital River, Inc., in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, where he managed all aspects of its multi-million dollar internal payment services business unit. Bridgewater’s additional responsibilities at Digital River included product management and roadmap execution, third-party payment vendor relationships, payment services strategy, and real-time fraud and risk mitigation for its external payment services business. He also has extensive international payments experience, having worked with Citibank International, NatWest Bank, PLC and Anker Data Systems.