With the Horizon 2020 funding program, the European Commission is supporting research and innovation. Growth and internationalization of particularly innovative SMEs are promoted in specific programmes such as the SME Instrument.
In order to foster the security and expansion of European key technologies, the pan-European mobile payment solution Bluecode is now receiving funding of almost two million euros in phase two of the highly competitive SME Instrument. The fintech company was supported by the Enterprise Europe Network.
According to the European Commission, the security of the payment solution, the resulting protection of customers and the decision not to collect any data were decisive for the allocation of the funding.
Mobile payment according to European rules “We are pleased that the European Commission sees the potential in Bluecode to establish a Europe- wide mobile payment system and are extremely grateful for their great trust.
With this grant, we are continuing the vision of our payment and value-added services technology in the interests of our European customers. Our solution supports the strategic objective of the EU to operate economically relevant systems within Europe and to reduce dependence on non-European providers,” explain Christian Pirkner, CEO of Blue Code International AG, and Michael Suitner, inventor of the Bluecode payment technology as well as founder and CEO of Secure Payment Technologies GmbH.
Mobile payment without risks The Bluecode payment solution was developed and patented in Austria. It enables secure payments via iPhone and Android smartphone. The company does not hold any sensitive customer data – neither the name of the user nor the current account number ever leave the participating banks.
Bluecode thus differs from all other providers and has a unique selling proposition throughout Europe in an important growth market. During the payment process, the user simply has the blue barcode scanned at the merchant’s cash register and the purchase amount is then debited from the current account of the customer’s bank. The Bluecode value-added platform also functions anonymously. Customers can automatically collect digital stamps and loyalty bonuses from participating retailers without ever revealing their identity.
Alliance of European payment providers grows Bluecode (Austria, Germany) and the leading mobile payment systems Twint (Switzerland), Swish (Sweden), Vipps (Norway), MobilePay (Finland, Denmark), Bancontact Payconiq (Belgium) and Sibs/MB Way (Portugal) recently merged to form the European Mobile Payment Systems Association (EMPSA) based in Zurich.
The goal, also vehemently demanded by the European Central Bank, is to create a uniform system for mobile payments that is valid throughout Europe and based on European standards. The European network is expected to continue growing in the coming months. Christian Pirkner commented: “EMPSA will enable us to achieve interoperability of European payment systems and significantly increase acceptance of mobile payments in Europe. The EU funding will help us to achieve this goal as quickly as possible.”
