Consortium of fintech and security companies creates first hardware-free PIN-based mPOS for Android

08. April 2020 – München: Rubean and CCV, in partnership with Intertrust and Riscure, today announced the launch of a jointly developed contactless payment application that turns Android phones running 8.0 Oreo or later into contactless payment terminals, supporting PIN entry without additional hardware.

Developed to PCI CPoC standards and certified under the Visa and Mastercard branded pilot programs, PhonePOS will be launched first in Germany and then rolled out on a larger scale across Europe. The solution is provided through acquiring banks based in Europe and is also offered as a service via CCV.

"This was a tremendous technical team effort," said Bill Horne, general manager of Intertrust's Secure Systems product group. “The combination of whiteCryption, our best-in-class application shield for zero trust environments, with Riscure's penetration testing and certification has broken down the barriers for Rubean and CCV to bring streamlined payment capabilities to market.”

By making commerce even smoother, millions of merchants can now securely and easily accept card payments from anywhere. The solution brings card acceptance and expanded business opportunities to millions of micro-merchants. It allows them to accept credit cards for goods and services using only PhonePOS and their Android phone. It requires no additional hardware, eliminating the cost and hassle of card readers and dongles required by alternative solutions. PhonePOS is also being tested for use on professional retail tablets with full terminal management capabilities, extending support to larger retailers.

"The challenge of delivering a software-only solution revolves around protecting the confidentiality and integrity of payment account data on consumer-grade mobile phones and tablets," said Hermann Geupel, Chief Executive Officer at Rubean. "With PhonePOS we have developed a highly secure and at the same time widely applicable payment acceptance solution."

Rubean and CCV worked together to develop and deploy the seamless solution. Rubean's security and surveillance software meets the high demands of a smartphone-based card terminal. CCV's acCEPT PaaS (Payment-as-a-Service) ecosystem, proven in thousands of live installations worldwide, is the optimal solution for the new Tap-on-Phone system as it covers most parts of the Provides POS functionality in the cloud. This makes PhonePOS a lightweight app with increased security and flexibility.

Günther Froschermeier, Chief Technology Officer of CCV Germany, commented: “PhonePOS is a major breakthrough for electronic payments. As cashless payments explode, the benefits of POS integration become more important. For example, instead of using additional hardware, micro-merchants can use their Android smartphone for card acceptance, hospitality providers can integrate electronic payments into their ordering devices, and even large corporations can expand their business with home delivery solutions.”

“Using smartphones as payment terminals means security is critical,” added Tim Hartog, Director of Mobile Payments at Riscure. “A collaboration with Rubean and CCV during the development and certification process leveraged our strong expertise and track record in mobile payment security. PhonePOS makes the most of industry-leading software security to protect the solution, including secure PIN entry through hardware-enabled TEE technology.”

Intertrust's whiteCryption solutions were deployed to protect the encryption keys and provide application hardening, giving the application itself a higher level of tamper resistance. Riscure provided rigorous penetration testing and certification.

About Rubean

RUBEAN AG has been an established software manufacturer in the financial sector for 20 years. The company offers, among other things, Software solutions for smooth communication with peripheral devices in bank branches. In the meantime, RUBEAN is growing with the development and marketing of the innovative, mobile point-of-sale terminal solution PhonePOS, which RUBEAN developed together with partner CCV. RUBEAN has been listed in the premium segment m: access of the Munich Stock Exchange with the symbol R1B since April 2020.

About CCV

The CCV Group, the family-owned European payment solutions provider, serves over 600,000 businesses with end-to-end payment solutions in Europe. Our extensive portfolio includes a processing and settlement platform, online and closed-loop payments, acquiring services and a wide range of in-store and unattended payment terminals. CCV's focused partnership strategy and direct SME offerings have enabled us to take leading positions in all home markets: The Netherlands (HQ), Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. Our success is based on innovation and a long-term customer-centric commitment through partnerships and medium-sized companies. For more information, visit ccv.eu or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Riscure

Riscure is a leading provider of security tools and training for edge devices. We help customers around the world to build robust hardware and software solutions and implement best secure development practices. If you are interested in using Riscure experience for your development, please contact us at inforequest@riscure.com.

About Intertrust

Intertrust provides trusted computing products and services to leading global companies - from mobile device, consumer electronics and IoT manufacturers to service providers and enterprise software platform companies. For more information, visit intertrust.com or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.