Chinese bank card association China UnionPay is collaborating with Gemalto on NFC, the digital security company has announced.

The collaboration "covers key deployment issues, including TSM interoperability, security and operational guidelines as well as technology standards and specifications".

"We believe that mobile payment has enormous potential in China," says Chai Hong Feng, executive vice president of China UnionPay. "UnionPay is a staunch supporter of payment innovation and mobile payment is an integral part of our endeavours Gemalto has a wealth of experience in NFC and mobile payment deployments worldwide.

"Therefore, our co-operation leverages the strengths of Gemalto and UnionPay to provide customers with greater payment convenience. As a leading bankcard association, UnionPay will continue to work closely with commercial banks, mobile operators and service providers to drive innovation and build a safe and convenient NFC mobile payment ecosystem."

Last week, China UnionPay and China Mobile announced they had completed integration of their NFC TSMs. The move means that Chinese banks will be able to use China UnionPay's TSM facility to offer customers the ability to download their bank cards over the air to the secure SIMs in their China Mobile NFC phones.