Canadian Mint taps SecureKey for authentication
21 February, 2014
category: Digital ID, Financial, NFC
Mintchip is not just a flavor of ice cream but also a digital currency backed by the Canadian government. To secure transactions made with this new digital currency, the Royal Canadian Mint has chosen SecureKey’s briidge.net Connect Platform to provide device-based multi-factor user authentication.
Developed by the Royal Canadian Mint, MintChip is a secure protocol for holding and transferring digital value. MintChip has many of the attributes of real cash: its transactions are instant, irrevocable, easy and inexpensive for both consumers and retailers. The currency is designed to be used for anonymous, low-value transactions online and in the real world using contactless or NFC technology. The mint is rolling out a pilot with 200 employees to will use the briidge.net Connect Platform, says Andre Boysen, executive vice president of marketing at SecureKey.
The briidge.net Connect Mobile SDK and service is built into the MintChip consumer mobile app, and will enable consumers to make cash-like MintChip payments using their smart phones and other mobile devices rather than current contactless payment card transactions.
The briidge.net Connect Mobile SDK embedded in the mobile app enables the MintChip system to positively identify the mobile device connecting to the consumer cloud account through a unique device ID. Prior to a payment transaction, the software authenticates the user by their 4-digit QuickCode PIN.
This QuickCode is like a debit or credit card PIN, but instead of being limited for use with just one card, the QuickCode can be extended across the user’s preferred devices for added convenience. The briidge.net Connect service is adaptable to all forms of existing and emerging hardware-based security and can be applied to laptops, desktop PCs, mobile devices and even wearable technology to support payment of purchases made online and in-store.