OT eSE Supports Transit Card Functionality in New Nubia Devices

China-based smartphone maker Nubia has integrated PEARL by OT into two new smartphones, the Z11miniS and the Z17mini. The embedded Secure Element solution from Oberthur Technologies will secure users’ NFC transactions with the devices.

The technology will have particularly impactful application in transportation: In a statement announcing the integrations, Oberthur Technologies highlighted the technology’s facilitation of smartphone-based access to public transit in Beijing and Shenzhen, with users able to reload their mobile cards with protection from PEARL by OT. The functionality may owe something to OT’s recent CIPURSE V2 certification, a standard pertaining to urban transport systems.

Meanwhile, PEARL by OT’s recent MTPS certification has enabled the technology for mobile financial services in China, helping to pave the way for contactless mobile payments on the new Nubia devices, and Nubia says that PEARL by OT can also support other use cases such as access control and smartphone-based car unlocking.

For now, though, the spotlight is on transport. Commenting on the Z11miniS and Z17mini integrations, OT Connected Device Makers Deputy Managing Director Viken Gazarian said PEARL by OT’s compatibility with such transit systems “is a key asset for handset makers wanting to address the fragmented market of transport systems throughout the world.”