Ericsson and financial technology company FIS are developing a pre-integrated digital wallet platform that combines identity, compliance, payments, card issuing and ledger functions in a single service.
The collaboration will connect FIS payment and issuing technology with the Ericsson Fintech Platform, a cloud-native wallet system built around open application programming interfaces. The companies are targeting communications service providers, retailers, healthcare organizations and governments that want to offer financial services through digital wallets.
The planned platform is intended to reduce the need for an organization to integrate separate systems for customer identity, regulatory compliance, transaction processing, account ledgers and card management. Customers would instead receive those components through a coordinated set of services.
Identity functions are central to the design because wallet operators need to establish who is opening an account, apply know-your-customer controls and connect transactions with an authenticated user. Compliance tools are also needed to screen activity and meet requirements that vary by market and service type.
FIS will contribute payment processing and card-issuing capabilities, while Ericsson supplies the wallet infrastructure, account management and integration layer. The companies say the pre-integrated approach can shorten implementation work for organizations entering digital financial services.
Ericsson reports that its fintech platform supported at least 131 million users active within the previous 90 days and processes approximately $80 billion in transactions each month. The infrastructure is used by service providers that offer mobile money and other wallet-based products.
The partnership reflects the convergence of payment and identity infrastructure as wallets take on functions beyond storing cards. Modern wallet platforms can combine identity proofing, authentication, regulated credentials and financial transactions within the same user journey.
Financial institutions and technology providers are also investing in identity infrastructure for financial services as account access and transaction authorization move toward mobile credentials, passkeys and other cryptographic forms of authentication.
Ericsson says the integrated platform can support services ranging from basic mobile wallets to more extensive banking and payment products through the same underlying architecture. The modular design is intended to let operators add capabilities as their financial-service offerings expand.
Source: Ericsson
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
