Wirecard has integrated support for host card emulation (HCE) into its mobile wallet platform, "enabling telecommunications companies, financial service providers, banks and also retailers to quickly enter the mobile payment market through near field communication."

"In order to encrypt sensitive card data, Wirecard emulates a one-off token per transaction, which is used in the EMV transaction," the company explains. "This replaces the original card data, which is saved in a PCI-compliant database in a secure server environment.

"It is not necessary to change either the sensitive authorisation system of banks or the POS terminal of retailers for this Wirecard solution and no data connection to the internet is required for payments."

NFC payments via HCE can be combined with other mobile payment technologies — Wirecard already supports traditional NFC payments, Bluetooth LE and QR codes — as well as loyalty, voucher offers and other services, the company adds.

Wirecard mobile wallet customers include mobile network operators Orange, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and E-Plus.