The major payments schemes have kept a low public profile in their work on host-card emulation, but they have been quietly fast-tracking the drafting of specifications for the technology for use with their NFC-mobile payments applications, NFC Times has learned.

Visa is expected to announce specifications very soon, as early as this week, while MasterCard Worldwide is believed to be expediting the process, as well, and should have host-card emulation, or HCE, specifications ready by the middle of the year, sources told NFC Times. The payment networks might also make announcements at next week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. 

The schemes are already working with some banks on HCE, with some launches expected later this year, said sources. 

While there remain questions about security and mobile network connectivity issues with HCE, the networks see HCE as a viable option that banks and other issuers could use to introduce payments on NFC phones, avoiding much of the cost and complexity of putting their applications on secure elements.  

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Among Topics Covered:

Preparation by Visa and other major payment schemes to introduce specifications for host-card emulation What the planned HCE specifications are expected to cover, including certification programs and tokens Waivers granted by Visa and MasterCard for cloud-based payment projects View of HCE standardization by EMVCo director of operations, Brian Byrne Comments by CIBC senior vice president Todd Roberts on why the bank is passing on HCE in favor of putting its application on NFC SIMs

Among companies and organizations mentioned:

Visa
MasterCard Worldwide
American Express
EMVCo 
CIBC 
Royal Bank of Canada, RBC 
Bankinter 

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