JCB Co., Ltd. Japan’s only international payment brand (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan) and Keychain GK (Head Office: Singapore) implement offline payments using near-field communication (NFC), self-sovereign identity, and blockchain technology.
Figure 1. Offline Payment Concept
With the spread of 5G and the development of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, machine-to-machine payments will automatically execute contracts and make payments without human intervention, and possibly without network connectivity.
JCB and Keychain have developed the first payment infrastructure for machine-to-machine transactions that supports offline payments using NFC. Leveraging Keychain’s blockchain and self-sovereign identity technology, the system addresses challenges related to the risks of operating through network outages and distributed attacks.
Overview
The new infrastructure allows payments to be conditionally accepted by merchants, even in the event that both the payer and the merchant are disconnected from the network, a scenario known as double offline. Notably, the shoppers’ experience is as easy as swiping a smart watch at the store payment terminal with this system.
Under the collaboration with JCB, Keychain implemented the payment processing system using IoT devices, mobile phones, and smartwatches, and demonstrated the following:
1. Payments may be conditionally processed even during a double-offline scenario. 2. Payment processing consensus may be done over mixed networks simultaneously. 3. Upon network restoration, the offline transactions may be securely repatriated to online in batches.
The system uses NFC network protocol and leverages Keychain Core to support small IoT devices with, in principle, as little as 32 megabytes of memory.
Keychain Core is Keychain’s award-winning solution accelerator that brings the power of blockchain and distributed ledger technology to the common software development team including self-sovereign identity, data security, and consensus on a wide range of devices, data, and networks.
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 36 million merchants around the world. JCB Cards are issued mainly in Asian 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/
About Keychain
The digital transformation we need today is hindered by the absence of key capabilities — data security, key management, and self-sovereign identity. Keychain delivers these capabilities in the form of software building blocks, enabling everyday development teams to fortify operational integrity, create digital assets, and discover new patterns of business — with any data, on any device, anywhere in the world.
Contact information from journalists regarding this matter
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has published the report Digital Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Central America, a study on the digital ecosystem in the region, with a focus on Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Prepared in collaboration with the Regional Center for the Promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (CENPROMYPE), the document reveals the opportunities for digital transformation in Central America, the challenges it faces, and the potential of this digitalization to attract investment and generate jobs.
Presented at a panel sponsored by the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE), the results of the study are encouraging: Central American companies are eager to go digital and see e-commerce, financial technology, and robotics as especially transformative for their companies in the next decade. The report also confirms that technology implementation is key for business: companies that implement technology in their operations have higher productivity and generate more profits.
To build a solid entrepreneurial ecosystem, the study points out that greater coordination and participation of the public and private sectors, having adequate regulations and facilitating access to financing for technology companies, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and women entrepreneurs are essential.
Companies want to go digital, even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic, but not all have the opportunity to do so because they do not have access to resources. It is important to work with the financial sector to mobilize innovative funds and tools to the private sector, and especially to small businesses, said Sanaa Abouzaid, IFC Regional Manager for Central America. We are confident that this report can help guide the path of the digital revolution in the region, she added.
David Cabrera, Executive Director of Cenpromype, indicated that it is necessary that we take advantage of the mechanisms that integration gives us to make visible and to strengthen institutional efforts, programs, and actions aimed at giving added value to the production of MSMEs, considering processes that allow the generation of new products or services, improvement of management or organizational processes, or improvements in marketing strategies”
This is confirmed by the report: bureaucracy, access to financing, lack of information about technologies, limited technological skills among the workforce, the lack of national and regional strategies that promote e-commerce, and the lack of a more agile and friendly regulatory framework, are some of the barriers that slow down the digital transformation in Central America. On the other hand, it highlights opportunities to enhance the digital ecosystem, such as promoting a digital transformation strategy and e-commerce, promoting greater participation of women in the technology sector, increasing collaboration between the public and private sectors, and promoting alliances between the supply and demand of technology.
For this study, surveys were conducted with more than 2,000 companies from a variety of key sectors in Central America, including the technology, education, agricultural and tourism sectors, and a multitude of small and medium-sized enterprises.
The panel presentation of the report, moderated by Camelia Ilie, Dean of Executive Education and Strategic Innovation of INCAE, was attended by senior representatives of the public and private sector, including the Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce of Costa Rica, Victoria Hernandez; IFC Senior Vice President of Operations Stephanie von Friedeburg; IFC Central America Manager Sanaa Abouzaid; the Managing Partner of the Salvadoran investment fund, Innogen Capital, Fernando Morán.
The report is available at: http://wrld.bg/ILvr50H0iWw
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the worlds largest private sector-focused development institution in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, experience and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2021, IFC committed a record $31.5 trillion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, harnessing the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity as economies grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit https://www.ifc.org.
About Cenpromype
Within the framework of the Central American Integration System (SICA), CENPROMYPE seeks the integral development of entrepreneurs through the opportunities offered by regional, social and economic integration.
CENPROMYPE designs mechanisms that promote commercial exchange, model regional policies, aligned with the reality of countries, strengthening their potential and articulate the interests of public and private entities that provide business development services.
