A major project to harmonise payment standards across diverse mobile networks has won funding from the European Union, paving the way for large-scale trials of the system.
The project, known as Trusted Transaction Roaming (t2r), is being managed by wireless commerce industry group Radicchio and implemented by Vodafone, Orange (France), Gemplus, SmartTrust and Globalsign. It aims to create a single, secure infrastructure for customer payment and identity sharing among banks, carriers, and merchants.
The project has received funding from the European Union’s Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development and been presented to the European Committee on Banking Standards for approval. A proof of concept pilot of the t2r is scheduled to go live in Q1 2003.
It is envisaged that t2r will operate a three-tier security system, with PIN entry required for micropayments, digital certification for EUR15 to EUR100 payments, and full-blown PKI for spending above this level.
Initially posited as an interoperable merchant-friendly solution for consumer spending over multiple mobile networks, it is envisaged that t2r could ultimately provide the framework for an EU-wide digital identity scheme.