RBC is launching a new mobile payment solution called Secure Cloud which, ostensibly the first in Canada, stores user payment and personal information on RBC’s servers (the cloud) as opposed to locally on a smartphone.
Launching by the end of the year, Secure Cloud has the benefit of being fully encrypted, and removes the responsibility from the user to store and manage sensitive banking information on a smartphone. Data, once downloaded to a smartphone, is decrypted locally and on the fly, so there is no chance of interception or theft.
At first, Secure Cloud will rely on NFC-based payments, much like Rogers and CIBC’s Suretap solution. The platform works with all major credit and debit card companies operating in Canada, including Mastercard, Visa and Interac.
Like Mastercard’s MasterPass platform, Secure Cloud will operate on an “open wallet” architecture, allowing for non-RBC payments to be run through the network. It will also support barcode or QR standards in the future, and there is support for offline transactions when a live network isn’t available.
RBC is currently in the process of aligning with Bell on a mobile payments solution, slated to launch later this year. Presumably using Bell’s backend infrastructure and smartphone lineup, Secure Cloud looks to be another mobile payment solution locked into a particular network provider, at least for now.
Via: RBC
