Alliance Activities : Publications : Security : Contactless Payments Security

Publications – Security – Contactless Payments Security

This document was developed by the Smart Card Alliance to address questions raised by the media about the security of contactless payment transactions and the risk of fraud to consumers.

This white paper was developed to provide an overview of the ecosystem of proximity mobile payments. It introduces the stakeholders in the mobile payment ecosystem and describes their roles and responsibilities in assuring the security of sensitive data. It explains how the payment application, consumer credentials and consumer account information are securely delivered to, loaded on and stored in a mobile device. It explains how a mobile device transmits data to a merchant at the point of sale, identifies risks present during the lifecycle of the payment device, and suggests countermeasures. It also identifies industry standards and certifications organization organizations that address this ecosystem.

This white paper was developed by the Smart Card Alliance Payments Council Security Work Group to provide an overview of the security features available with contactless and contact smart cards and describe how the security features might apply or be important to different applications.