Gemalto Awarded Contract By BankAxept

Gemalto, the digital security company, announced on Thursday (Sept. 29) it has been awarded a contract by BankAxept, the national payment scheme of Norway, to enable all local banks to interconnect through a single credentials management hub for streamlined and secure management of mobile payments services.

In a press release, Gemalto said BankAxept, which is owned by all the banks in Norway, is spearheading the efforts to federate the country’s banks and merchants in their migration towards digital payments. With more than 8 million BankAxept payment cards in circulation, the close to 1.5 billion transactions in 2015 represent nine out of 10 of the in-store payments done by Norwegian cards. The new solution will make it easier for merchants in Norway to offer customers the option of simple and secure payments via their smartphones, boosting the growth of the mobile payment ecosystem in the country, the company said.

According to Gemalto, it is providing its cloud-based, turn-key Allynis Trusted Service Hub (TSH) solution, which, combined with BankAxept’s platform, will facilitate one-stop interconnectivity between all the banks participating in the BankAxept payment scheme. “Gemalto’s expertise in the deployment of mobile payment services is proven with numerous references worldwide,” said Øyvind Apelland, CEO for BankAxept, in the press release. “Their solution offers flexibility and modularity, combined with rapid time-to-market. This modular approach suits us well since it facilitates integration with our in-house components.”

“The Norwegian banking sector has a long tradition of creating shared infrastructures and platforms for payment schemes,” added Philippe Cambriel, president for Europe, Mediterranean and CIS at Gemalto, in the same press release. “The BankAxept mobile payment hub is the latest example of this cooperative approach, benefiting not only banks but also merchants looking for a simple and secure payment method.”