Thanks to SecureKey, users of the Royal Canadian Mint’s new cloud-based digital currency, MintChip, will have the benefit of multi-factor authentication when it comes to securely accessing their digital dollars and cents.
SecureKey’s briidge.net Connect Mobile SDK will be embedded into the MintChip mobile app. Authentication is based on a unique device ID that connects the unit to the user account in the cloud, and a four-digit PIN.
Charles Walton, CEO at SecureKey states:
“(This deployment) offers an excellent example of how our briidge.net Connect service can make the benefits of strong, multi-factor authentication available in an extremely friendly way for consumer-facing mobile apps.Consumers will simply enter their QuickCode PIN on their mobile device to authenticate to their MintChip cloud account.”
The MintChip project was announced in 2012. Backed by the Canadian government, the “digital cash-like product” in the words of Royal Canadian Mint chief emerging payments officer, Marc Brûlé, is designed to facilitate small denomination shopping (i.e., $10 and below) such as buying coffee or fast food, as well as for online transactions.
The secure smart card supports both MicroSD for use with mobile devices and USB for use with PCs. Merchants with significant transaction volumes can take advantage of a secure hardware option.
SecureKey won Best of Show for their authentication technology at FinovateFall 2010 in New York. The company has raised more than $49 million, and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.