JCB strikes strategic deal with WLA for providing JCB Contactless Kernel Specifications to WLA members

Mar 12, 2021 12:00 JST

Source: JCB

TOKYO, Mar 12, 2021 - (ACN Newswire) - JCB Co., Ltd., a leading global payment scheme, announced that it has signed a strategic agreement with the White Label Alliance (WLA) to provide JCB Contactless Kernel Specifications to WLA members wishing to migrate to the contactless solution.

WLA was founded by IDEMIA, G+D and NXP(R) Semiconductors in response to increasing global demand for the next-generation independent payment solution for domestic and private-label payment schemes. By providing WLA members with an open and comprehensive payment standard covering contact and contactless payment cards, mobile and payment terminal devices, WLA facilitates their migration to new technology.

JCB, agreeing on participating in this initiative with its proven technology, signed an agreement with WLA, allowing WLA members to use JCB Contactless Kernel Specifications and kernels.

JCB Contactless, JCB brand's contactless payment solution that is expanding globally, is fully compliant with EMV(R) standards and supported by most acceptance devices including those of major global terminal suppliers. The arrangement between JCB and WLA thus enables WLA members to further accelerate their contactless migration and shorten time-to-market, by using the existing ready-to-deploy JCB Contactless terminal devices.

"As momentum toward contactless payments is gathering on a global scale, it is becoming critical that the interoperable contactless capability is more accessible so that a wider audience can benefit from the enhanced convenience and security," said Masaki Yokawa, Executive Vice President, Brand Business at JCB Co., Ltd. "By offering our technology to WLA, we are delighted to work with banks, local networks and vendors to enable contactless implementation with less efforts and shorter time-to-market."

"I would like to warmly welcome JCB to WLA on behalf of our founding members, G+D, IDEMIA and NXP." WLA President, Jacques Doucerain said, "We all work together to create a truly independent solution, based on tried and tested technology, with rapid time to market for domestic payment networks, transport operators, private schemes and retailers. Our agreement with JCB will boost our appeal and this unprecedented payment industry initiative. It furthers our original goal to bring about a global independent standard."

EMV(R) is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC.

About WLA

Headquartered in Munich, the White Label Alliance (WLA) is a member-driven organization committed to extensive adoption of independent payment solutions for smart card and digital firms based on WLA payment standards that enable ready-to-deploy and interoperable payment solutions. Find out more at wla-payment.org.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 35 million merchants around the world. JCB Cards are now issued in over 20 countries and territories with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase its merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

Contact
Kumiko Kida, Ayaka Nakajima
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-5778-8353
Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jp

Source: JCB
Sectors: Cards & Payments, CyberSecurity, Wireless & Mobility