BlackBerry Inks Mobile Payments Deal

BlackBerry announced it has reached a new three-year agreement with Canadian mobile payments network EnStream to support transaction services between leading banks and consumers.

Under the agreement, EnStream will leverage BlackBerry’s infrastructure to enable Canadian financial institutions, including Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Group, CIBC and Desjardins, and mobile operators to securely provision sensitive payment card credentials into any smartphone capable of near field communication. EnStream is a joint venture owned by Canadian wireless carriers Bell, Rogers and TELUS.

“EnStream, with BlackBerry, is already serving a number of banks and mobile operators, and is becoming a hub for payment credential delivery to smartphones in Canada,” said Almis Ledas, COO of Enstream in a statement. “We expect most major Canadian banks and mobile operators to connect through this platform to meet consumer demand for efficient and safe digital transactions.”

BlackBerry said the mobile payments space is one the former mobile giant is targeting as an area of focus. BlackBerry previously launched BBM Money in Indonesia, which allows BBM customers to transfer funds and conduct other types of financial transactions using BBM.

[Related Content:Mobile Payments Heat Up in Canada]

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio