Left: Tac Watanabe (Executive Vice President for JCB’s Brand Infrastructure and Technologies Department), Right: Joel Tay (CEO of Soft Space)

Tokyo, 28 April 2020 – JCB Co. Ltd. (“JCB”), Japan’s only international payment brand, is leveraging Asia’s leading fintech player, Soft Space Sdn. Bhd.’s (“Soft Space”) technological expertise to develop the Tap on Mobile programme that capitalises on the wide availability of Android smartphones equipped with NFC (near-field communication) technologies.

JCB Contactless card or mobile device can be used at any merchants that support JCB Contactless. Aimed at driving greater contactless acceptance among JCB acquirers worldwide, JCB has developed the Tap on Mobile programme which will be used to govern all aspects of contactless payment transactions securely made on NFC-enabled Android smartphones, off the shelf. This programme is secure and interoperable based on EMV and PCI standards.

The initiative to develop Tap on Mobile programme is a significant milestone for JCB because it believes that the Tap on Mobile solution is the future of payments, and is poised to help JCB significantly grow its acceptance business globally going forward.

“We are pleased to be working with Soft Space on this Tap on Mobile programme,” said Tac Watanabe, the Executive Vice President for JCB’s Brand Infrastructure and Technologies Department. “The Tap on Mobile is secure yet convenient for our customers, and given the growth of contactless payment transactions and consumer smartphones worldwide, we believe that the Tap on Mobile will be the key initiative for JCB to drive our contactless agenda to grow globally.”

“We are privileged to be working on JCB’s Tap on Mobile programme,” said Joel Tay, Chief Executive Officer of Soft Space. “With businesses being constantly challenged by changing global economic scenarios, Tap on Mobile is a tool that can aid them through such times by offering them an innovative, cost-effective and secure payment solution.”

The Tap on Mobile programme builds on the expertise gained through Soft Space’s development of “Fasstap”, the world’s first NFC-enabled payment solution with PIN verification, certified by card brands in 2018[1] and subsequently 2019[2].

Tap on Mobile solution has been developed by incorporating JCB’s contactless kernel – the engine that powers contactless payment transactions. Engaging Soft Space’s technological expertise, the solution has met JCB’s necessary standards and approvals. This ensures that payment data transmitted is secured from potential leakage, thus reducing the risk of fraudulent activities.

With Tap on Mobile programme in place, JCB can offer its acquirers a new, innovative cashless payment option who will in turn, adopt and deploy as a cost-effective payment solution to their merchants.

[1] Businesses can Accept MyDebit Card Payments Using Only Mobile Phones

https://paynet.my/press-release/2018/PayNet-Fasstap-Pilot-Launch.pdf

[2] Maybank Tap2Phone offers greater mobility for merchant mobile payments

https://www.maybank.com/en/news-support/newsroom-detailpage.page?detailId=156213678546403