Idemia Secure Transactions works with Qualcomm for offline CBDC payments

Idemia Secure Transactions (IST), the secure payments division of Idemia, announced it is working with Qualcomm to offer users offline payments on smartphones for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).

IST will be able to offer OEMs the capability to bring offline payments to their users through the Snapdragon 8-series Mobile Platform which requires a Qualcomm Secure Processor Unit. Customers can make payments with traditional cards, biometric cards, smart phones, or smart watches.

Validation via a server isn’t possible for offline payments. Issuing a secure element prevents double-spending and unauthorized money creation. Smartphones with the Qualcomm’s secure element can be used for offline transactions through this system.

IST serves financial institutions, mobile network operators and automotive manufacturers. It has already demonstrated offline CBDC on different payment devices. Now it can handle credentials and conduct payments offline, leveraging an integrated secure element in users’ phones.

Over 90 percent of central banks are developing digital currencies, according to a 2021 BIS survey on CBDCs.

“This new payment solution underlines Idemia Secure Transactions’ ability to marry frictionless deployment with ever more secure technologies, with the primary aim of making users’ life easier,” says Jerome Ajdenbaum, VP of digital currencies at IST. “We are looking forward to working with central banks and the mobile OEMs to deploy these solutions all around the world,” he continues.

“Leveraging the Qualcomm SPU on the Snapdragon 8-series Mobile Platforms helps to make offline CBDC payments more secure and allows for easy integration for OEMs, notes Asaf Shen, senior director of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “In fact, the smartcard certification achieved for SPU means it is resistant to attacks performed by an attacker possessing high attack potential, which is the highest level. We look forward to OEMs deploying offline CBDC and simplifying the life of users.”

In a major reorganization last month Idemia divided into three divisions, smart identity, biometrics for public security and secure payments.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  central bank digital currency (CBDC)  |  IDEMIA  |  Qualcomm  |  secure element