The SD Association is looking for an expanded role for its memory card format, as the key component of the trend to transfer plastic card functions to smartphones. The group recently announced a new specification which supports the NFC Secure Element and on-board applications, and which could make the ‘smart SD card’ the key to functions like digital wallets and phone-based transport tickets.
The Association says its approach addresses security issues which may surround the embedding of NFC chips in smartphones. The authentication of swipe-based transactions enabled by the contactless standard can be carried out in a secure area of the chip, as promoted by ARM TrustZone, but could also be isolated from other functions by taking place on a removable card.
The new spec centers on a microSD card with a Secure Element for NFC transactions. This can run wallet-like applets for digital payments when slotted into an NFC-capable device, and the apps can replace multiple plastic cards and tickets.
The SDA already supports microSD cards that combine the Secure Element and an NFC chip, but this new spec is designed for devices that already have an NFC chip inside them. Thus it can be useful for people with multiple devices, as the secure card can be transferred between them, and it can also be taken along if the customer changes carriers. That effectively frustrates the efforts of both cellcos and device makers to be the controlling party in the mobile payments value chain, isolating a user’s wallet and security from either the handset or operator.
The new spec will also potentially reduce the influence of the payments processing giants. Visa and others have developed ways to make NFC payments via microSD cards, but the SDA’s spec opens this capability up to others.
MicroSD cards currently account for about 95% of mobile memory cards and 78% of handsets have slots, according to the SDA.