Latest news with #GieseckeDevrient
Finextra
04-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
CBDC pilot projects seeing adoption in Ghana and Thailand – Giesecke + Devrient
Raoul Herborg, managing director, central bank digital currency (CBDC) solutions at Giesecke and Devrient (G+D) spoke to Finextra on their release of a recent survey on CBDC progress worldwide, and what we can expect from CBDCs in the coming years. 1 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Herborg provided an overview of the report released by G+D in collaboration with OMFIF, which collected responses from 34 central banks worldwide, including the Bank of Ghana, Bank of Thailand, and European Central Bank, and in-depth interviews with senior representatives concerning the implementation of CBDCs into the mainstream banking ecosystem. G+D has been working on several pilot projects to launch retail CBDCs. Explaining the revolutionary potential of CBDCs, Herborg stated that CBDCs can transfer the benefits of cash into the digital world, and would be a public means of payment without transactions fees or the need of a commercial bank – they will be an alternative method of payment comparable to PayPal, Visa, and Mastercard, intended to expand accessibility and inclusivity. 'It's this idea of transferring the capabilities of cash into digital world,' Herborg commented. Herborg emphasised that CBDCs will not replace commercial alternative payments, but provide a public alternative. Commercial banks will not be left on the sidelines of CBDC innovation, and are involved in the progress with central banks acting as a platform for developing new services. The report found that 48% of the global central banks surveyed in the report expect to issue a CBDC within the next three to five years, and 50% of central banks are developing CBDCs to preserve monetary sovereignty. Key motivators for implementing CBDCs are financial inclusion, offline payment capabilities, and preserving the role of central banks in emerging markets. However, motivations differ according to region, with Europe prioritising sovereignty and African markets focusing on financial inclusion. Herborg stated that in countries in Africa there has been an influx of mobile money providers, but many come with exorbitant fees on transactions, onboarding, and other features. Providing examples of pilot projects that have seen significant progress and success, Herborg describes CBDCs launched by the Bank of Ghana and Bank of Thailand. With Bank of Ghana, G+D launched a pilot in a rural area where they provided cards to people without smartphones. Herborg detailed that the users were reluctant at first, but as they followed the project and continued to survey adoption, there was a significant uptake. The Bank of Ghana reported a 60% increase in usage. 'For the people in that village, it was the first digital payment in their life. They had only used cash. We had a use case where people were bringing their cash to the merchant to exchange it to CBDC on a card, because they considered the money on the card to be more secure than the cash. That was definitely a big success, that proved that the technology works and can deliver financial inclusion to people in very rural areas.' With the Bank of Thailand pilot project, there was also a need for offline support that offered working payment solutions. The report found that 20% of respondents were satisfied with their offline payments functionality, up from 0% in 2023. These onboarding processes were not exclusive to a G+D or Bank of Thailand app, but were integrated into the existing technologies of commercial banks – in this case Siam Bank. Challenges facing CBDC adoption include political approval, regulatory alignment, and protecting against security breaches. Herborg explained: 'If you look at countries in Europe, it's a lot about sovereignty. If you want to pay in Europe, it's not easy to pay without using a non-European payment solution. Here in Germany, I'm not sure I have ever used in any European online payments solution. I use PayPal, Visa, and MasterCard - there are no European solutions. Therefore, sovereignty is a big topic. You can imagine, with the current political situation, it's a risk being dependent entirely on North American solutions.' Herborg went into detail on the progress of the digital euro from the European Central Bank: 'If you look at Europe, there's this huge project of the digital euro. There has a big political policy aspect, because it's not only the European Central Bank that wants to drive the topic, but there's also regulation. Since regulation is currently discussed among the European Commission, there also needs to be political approval. That's another learning, confirmed by that report - technology is one thing in that you have to provide great usability, but it's also about the political process that is needed in order to make it really happen.' Herborg shared an optimistic outlook for CBDC development in the coming years, highlighting their its potential to enhance the ever-evolving digital payments landscape.
Finextra
10-06-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Australian Payments Plus to bring least-cost routing to online Cick to Pay transactions
Australian Payments Plus (AP+) has selected Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to develop eftpos Click to Pay with integrated least-cost routing (LCR), a project that is billed as a world first for online debit card payments. 0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Click to Pay allows consumers to make fast online purchases without manually entering card details, replacing payment card details with a digital token. By integrating Click to Pay with eftpos, merchants will have the option to move away from costly card scheme networks by automatically routing the payment to the lowest-cost network. In an April 2024 report, the Reserve bank of Australia found that the cost of accepting debit card transactions is nearly 20% lower for merchants that have LCR turned on compared with those with LCR turned off. While LCR is widely enabled for in-store payments (70%) and increasingly for mobile wallets (30%), online guest checkout payments have historically lacked this functionality. Adrian Lovney, chief payments and schemes officer at AP+, says:'Click to Pay with eftpos combines the seamless, secure online checkout experience customers expect with the added benefit of least-cost routing - helping put downward pressure on the cost of accepting payments,' AP+ has been working with Google to roll out eftpos functionality and least-cost routing (LCR) on transactions made via Google Wallet, with ANZ and Suncorp as the first two issuers live. Lovney says the programme will be rolled out more widely in 2026.
National Post
08-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Quectel, Giesecke+Devrient and Vodafone IoT collaborate to drive iSIM adoption in 2025
Article content BELGRADE, Serbia — Quectel Wireless Solutions, a global IoT solutions provider, is collaborating with companies across the integrated SIM (iSIM) value chain to simplify and accelerate iSIM adoption. Quectel, together with Giesecke + Devrient (G+D) and Vodafone IoT, have collaborated to streamline iSIM processes, create more tightly integrated market offerings and accelerate iSIM adoption in the manufacturing process. Article content Article content iSIM offers significant operational cost and flexibility advantages to organisations and as a result, its adoption is significantly increasing. Analyst firm, Juniper Research, estimates that the number of iSIMs installed in connected devices globally will increase from 800,000 in 2024 to more than 10 million by 2026 1. This prediction covers the introductory phase of the technology, with the firm estimating that the number of iSIM connections will grow to 210 million by 2028 when take-up of the technology becomes more widespread. Article content The iSIM is set to transform IoT by offering a future-proof, tamper-resistant solution that is adaptable with new network technologies. Despite its advantages, some device manufacturers have faced challenges integrating iSIM due to having to contract with multiple network providers to ensure devices are compatible in individual countries and regions. Article content By combining the capabilities of Quectel, Vodafone IoT, and Giesecke+Devrient, the iSIM adoption process is significantly simplified – creating a unified, streamlined iSIM solution that automatically connects in over 180 countries worldwide using Vodafone's extensive global IoT network. For large scale IoT deployments, this can result in significant cost savings as engineers are not needed to set up or manually configure devices. Article content 'By working together to deliver iSIM we are breaking down the barriers to mass-scale adoption and helping to smooth the path to iSIM for customers across the globe,' commented Dominik Hierl, SVP Sales EMEA, Quectel Wireless Solutions. 'We see iSIM as a transformative innovation that will reduce costs, accelerate time to market and limit friction and management burdens across IoT. iSIM enablement is a further foundational capability for Quectel as we help customers build a smarter world.' Article content 'At G+D we recognize the important role iSIM will play and have already been at the forefront of other iSIM firsts in the world of connectivity and IoT. As such we're always excited to partner with other like-minded experts to take solutions in this market to the next level,' said BeeGek Lim, Head of Business Line Digital Offerings at G+D. Article content Substantial savings can be made by organisations who use iSIMs because they lower the bill of materials (BOM) cost by removing the need for traditional SIM cards. In addition, by adding iSIM to chipsets or modules, the number of components required can be reduced, with fewer vendors involved – thereby reducing the overall complexity of production and size of the device. Article content Quectel's passion for a smarter world drives us to accelerate IoT innovation. A highly customer-centric organization, we are a global IoT solutions provider backed by outstanding support and services. Our growing global team of 5,600 professionals sets the pace for innovation in cellular, GNSS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules as well as antennas and services. Article content With regional offices and support across the globe, our international leadership is devoted to advancing IoT and helping build a smarter world. Article content Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) is a global SecurityTech company headquartered in Munich, Germany. G+D makes the lives of billions of people more secure. The company shapes trust in the digital age, with built-in security technology in three segments: Digital Security, Financial Platforms and Currency Technology. Article content G+D was founded in 1852 and today has a workforce of more than 14,000 employees. In the fiscal year 2023, the company generated a turnover of 3 billion euros. G+D is represented by 123 subsidiaries and joint ventures in 40 countries. Further information: Article content Vodafone IoT is a global leader in managed IoT connectivity services. With over 200 million devices connected across more than 180 countries, we provide businesses with reliable and secure IoT solutions, enabling them to effectively manage, monitor, and operate their IoT devices. Article content Our extensive network partnerships, spanning over 760 networks worldwide, allows us to deliver global IoT solutions that empower businesses to digitalise, transform and maximise the benefits of IoT. Article content By adopting IoT, businesses can benefit from smarter resource management, reducing emissions, and enhancing operational efficiency – helping them to operate more sustainably. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
