Soft Space - Experts & Thought Leaders

Japan’s only international payment brand JCB Co., Ltd. (JCB) has launched JCBDC (JCB Digital Currency) pilot project with identity technologies no. 1 IDEMIA and the fintech company Soft Space Sdn. Bhd. (‘Soft Space’). JCBDC pilot will develop a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) payment solution and conduct a pilot test with Tokyo merchants. Over the past few years, central banks in many countries and regions have been testing CBDCs that should soon be widely accepted by consumers and merchants. However, merchants might be reluctant to accept them, and mass-market rollout may be held up by people without smartphones, like children and the elderly, who could find the user interfaces and payment systems hugely challenging. EMV based contactless payment As a result, JCB will have CBDC acceptance tested using existing JCB Contactless – JCB’s EMV® based contactless payment, merchants, POS terminals, and plastic card-based user interfaces, with guidance from IDEMIA and Soft Space. JCB, IDEMIA, and Soft Space will conclude payment system development by late 2022 JCB, IDEMIA, and Soft Space will conclude payment system development by late 2022 and conduct the pilot test with Tokyo merchants until March 2023. “It gives me great honour to announce our collaboration with IDEMIA and Soft Space on this project. This project proves that we can use existing payment acceptance hardware for new CBDC payment systems, which is a huge benefit for both consumers and merchants,” said Koremitsu Sannomiya, Board Member, Senior Executive Officer of JCB. Payment platform expertise “We at IDEMIA firmly believe that CBDCs are redefining the very fundamentals of the payment ecosystem. We’re proud that our ability to innovate has enabled CBDC payments with existing card and POS terminal hardware. IDEMIA’s, JCB’s, and Soft Space’s joint payment system expertise will usher in worldwide CBDC growth,” said Romain Zanolo, IDEMIA Managing Director of APAC Financial Institutions. “We’re thrilled to be first in the world to trial CBDC acceptance on SoftPOS alongside our partners JCB and IDEMIA. Although CBDCs are still in their infancy, this pilot takes us forward from theory to reality, by harnessing our in-store payment experience and existing payment platform expertise,” said Soft Space CEO Joel Tay.

IDEMIA, the global pioneer in Augmented Identity, partners with Soft Space, the world’s pioneering Fintech player in SoftPOS to enable contactless payment acceptance. Through this collaboration, merchants and acquirers around the world will be able to accept card and mobile wallet payments by simply transforming a smartphone or tablet into a point-of-sale (POS) terminal. By combining its digital payment and identity platforms with Soft Space’s flagship “Fasstap” Tap on Phone solution, IDEMIA is building comprehensive digital first capabilities for merchants of all sizes. “Fasstap” tap on phone solution Designed to support contactless card payment, “Fasstap” is the world’s first Tap on Phone payment solution with PIN verification, certified by all major global card networks. This Tap on Phone payment solution streamlines the on-boarding of merchants looking to embrace digital payment acceptance. It is also cost-effective as merchants can use existing consumer-grade devices, such as mobile and tablets. Meanwhile, consumers are now able to enjoy the speed, convenience and security of digital payments in an in-store setting. They simply need to tap their contactless card or mobile phone on the merchant’s off-the-shelf device to make a payment. Convenient, secure, and sustainable payment way Meanwhile, consumers can enjoy the speed, convenience, and security of digital payments in an in-store setting “Whether you tap, touch or click, our mission is to provide convenient, secure and sustainable ways to pay. We are the trusted partner to our customers on their journey to extend essential financial services to everyone. Soft Space is a best in class Tap on Phone solution provider among certified vendors, and we are pleased to join forces with them to deliver digital, frictionless and cost-effective payment acceptance for merchants and financial institutions worldwide." "This partnership will also enable us to enter new market segments, taking us a step closer to realise our vision of transforming payment services by bridging the physical and digital worlds,” said Mehdi Elhaoussine, Senior Vice President, Digital (Financial Institutions) at IDEMIA. Contactless card acceptance “We are pleased to partner with IDEMIA, which has a distinguished history of innovation and a strong track record in delivering transformative payment solutions,” said Joel Tay, Chief Executive Officer at Soft Space. “We are also excited by our collaboration as it will advance worldwide contactless card acceptance, grow new markets for both companies while addressing the needs of all stakeholders in the payments value chain.” 

IDEMIA, the pioneer in augmented identity, partners with Soft Space, a FinTech player in the ASEAN region and a pioneer in Mobile Point of Sales (Mobile POS) contactless payment acceptance, to enable Mobile POS payments for merchants and shoppers. Through this collaboration, merchants around the world will be able to accept card and digital payments using smartphones or tablets with a companion device, or as a Software POS (SoftPOS). Under this partnership, IDEMIA is combining its remote merchant onboarding and Click to Pay enablement solution with Soft Space’s flagship ‘Fasstap’ Mobile POS solution to provide merchants and acquirers with strong digital-first payment acceptance capabilities. Cost-effective payment Designed to support contactless card payment, ‘Fasstap’ is the world’s first Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled payment solution with PIN verification and it is certified by all major global card networks. Soft Space is the best-in-class solution provider for Mobile POS solution among certified vendors" “Our mission at IDEMIA is to support financial institutions in issuing and accepting secure payments. Soft Space is the best-in-class solution provider for Mobile POS solution among certified vendors, and we are pleased to join forces with them to deliver digital, frictionless, and cost-effective payment acceptance for merchants and financial institutions worldwide. This partnership will also enable us to enter new market segments, taking us a step closer to realise our vision of transforming financial services by bridging the physical and digital worlds,” said Mehdi Elhaoussine, Senior Vice President, Digital (Financial Institutions) at IDEMIA. Digital payment acceptance This Mobile POS solution streamlines implementation and integration for merchants looking to embrace digital payment acceptance. It is also cost-effective as merchants can use existing consumer-grade devices, such as mobile and tablets, as POS. Meanwhile, consumers are now able to enjoy the speed, convenience, and flexibility of digital payments in an in-store setting. They simply need to tap their contactless card or mobile phone on the merchant’s device to make payment. “Payments are imperative for businesses and are central to our everyday lives. IDEMIA has a distinguished history of innovation and a strong track record in delivering transformative payment solutions, which makes this a very exciting collaboration. We look forward to working closely with IDEMIA to deliver digital payment acceptance solutions that address the needs of all stakeholders in the payments ecosystem, which we hope will lead to a more intuitive experience overall,” said Joel Tay, CEO at Soft Space.