HCE: contactless payments based on the Host Card Emulation technology available via IKO application Qorus Banking Innovation Awards 2016

Thanks to IKO app PKO Bank Polski offers to its (retail and SME) customers access to the full range of banking and payment functions on customers’ smartphones. IKO enables the user to transfer money to a specified bank account or telephone number, pay for the shopping in traditional and online shops, create mobile vouchers, view details of standing orders, cards (and in this case discharge the amount outstanding on their credit cards) and loans and to quickly buy selected products from the bank’s offer e.g. cash loan. The growing number of mobile phones supporting the HCE technology, which is now the most advanced technology among the mobile payment solutions available on the market caused interest of the PKO Bank Polski making available a new service that lets the user perform transactions by placing their phones close to the payment terminal. The new service has been added to IKO application, created by PKO Bank Polski, so its users in a simple and easy way can activate the mobile contactless payments. The HCE acronym applies to contactless payments which do not require the replacement of the SIM card in the phone. Owing to this, the customer does not have to sign a contract with the telecom operator and has his/her SIM replaced. The customer can start making payments practically right away. Customers who have phones that support the HCE technology, with the IKO installed on gained fast and modern way to make contactless payments with smartphone, located at hand - without having to reach for her/his wallet. This solution saves time and increased safety, as customers focus more attention on the phone than on their wallets.