Agilent Technologies has introduced software compliant with the IrDA’s (Infrared Data Association’s) IrFM (infrared financial messaging) Point and Pay Profile version 1.0.
An alternative to swiping a credit card through a terminal, the IrFM Point and Pay Profile enables consumers to beam credit, debit or stored-value card information from their mobile phone or PDA to any vending machine, toll booth or ATM equipped with an IR port.
The information then flows through the transaction approval-request infrastructure much as if it were swiped in. Consumers receive a digital receipt from their mobile phone service provider.
Currently available in Korea and Japan, IrFM point and pay simplifies wireless financial transactions for the consumer while providing security for credit/debit card transactions. It also helps reduce the cost of card replacements due to loss, theft and wear.
Agilent’s HSDL-S500 IrFM protocol stack provides API (application program interface) functions in ANSI C programming language source code.
The HSDL-S500 software interfaces with standard IrDA protocol stacks (available as the Agilent HSDL-S100 product) and IrOBEX (object exchange) software (available as the Agilent HSDL-S101 product).
Agilent also offers several miniature SIR (serial infrared) transceivers with a height of only 1.6 mm, which are suitable for IrFM applications in the latest ultra-thin handheld designs.
The license fee for the Agilent HSDL-S500 IrFM protocol stack software is $10,000.
