JCB and Keychain Implement Offline Payments using NFC

JCB Co., Ltd. Japan's only international payment brand (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan) and Keychain GK (Head Office: Singapore) implement offline payments using near-field communication (NFC), self-sovereign identity, and blockchain technology.

With the spread of 5G and the development of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, machine-to-machine payments will automatically execute contracts and make payments without human intervention, and possibly without network connectivity.

JCB and Keychain have developed the first payment infrastructure for machine-to-machine transactions that supports offline payments using NFC. Leveraging Keychain's blockchain and self-sovereign identity technology, the system addresses challenges related to the risks of operating through network outages and distributed attacks.

Overview

The new infrastructure allows payments to be conditionally accepted by merchants, even in the event that both the payer and the merchant are disconnected from the network, a scenario known as double offline. Notably, the shoppers' experience is as easy as swiping a smart watch at the store payment terminal with this system.

Under the collaboration with JCB, Keychain implemented the payment processing system using IoT devices, mobile phones, and smartwatches, and demonstrated the following:

1. Payments may be conditionally processed even during a double-offline scenario.
2. Payment processing consensus may be done over mixed networks simultaneously.
3. Upon network restoration, the offline transactions may be securely repatriated to online in batches.

The system uses NFC network protocol and leverages Keychain Core to support small IoT devices with, in principle, as little as 32 megabytes of memory.

About Keychain Core

Keychain Core is Keychain's award-winning solution accelerator that brings the power of blockchain and distributed ledger technology to the common software development team including self-sovereign identity, data security, and consensus on a wide range of devices, data, and networks.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 36 million merchants around the world. JCB Cards are issued mainly in Asian countries and territories, with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase its merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

About Keychain

The digital transformation we need today is hindered by the absence of key capabilities --- data security, key management, and self-sovereign identity. Keychain delivers these capabilities in the form of software building blocks, enabling everyday development teams to fortify operational integrity, create digital assets, and discover new patterns of business --- with any data, on any device, anywhere in the world.