Mr Chua Thian Yee : Our vision is to see Singapore as a TSM hub much like how it is a global financial hub.

Mr Chua Thian Yee is pumped when he talks about the potential for Near Field Communication (NFC) in Singapore and around the world. He plans to leverage the technology’s global growth trend to position his company as a key trusted service manager (TSM) for national infrastructures.

“NFC is a hot space,” said the Chief Executive Officer of Cassis International. “It is a new user experience that will allow you to replace many of the cards you carry in your wallet with your mobile phone.”

Leveraging on short range wireless communication technology, NFC enables the exchange of data between devices over short distances; by integrating itself into a smartphone, it allows users to use their mobile device for multiple purposes like purchases, transportation, memberships, and just about anything that traditionally requires cards or coupons or barcodes.

“These cards or coupons, such as a payment or CEPAS card can be downloaded into the phone by tapping into a smart poster,,” said Mr Chua. “Now, the smartphones can download cards, coupons or vouchers on demand resulting in flexible distribution and operations and most importantly higher consumer satisfaction.”

However, before such conveniences can be pervasive, the appropriate infrastructure needs to be built, including a backend system that authenticates the user, interfaces with institutions like banks, telecommunication companies, merchants, and other service providers, and provides the requested application securely on the mobile phone.

“When we talk about having credit cards on a phone, and transmitting everything over the air, there needs to be an intermediary, a trusted service manager,” Mr Chua noted. “So when you subscribe to relevant services, the trusted service manager makes sure you are the right person, before pushing information to the handset. It also needs to manage different handsets and user interfaces.”

On its part, Cassis has developed a comprehensive software suite which provides the necessary services required for TSM operations. In addition to security, the Cassis NFC ecosystem allows companies to rapidly deploy services that cater to the mobile-centric consumer lifestyle. Recently, Alcatel-Lucent agreed to integrate Cassis’ TSM software with its mobile payment and marketing offering.

The recent Call for Collaboration (CFC) issued by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) is the initial step that is expected to make NFC pervasive within the nation. The tender will result in the appointment of a national TSM and the building of an NFC mobile-payment platform with multiple service offerings, all of which are expected to be launched by the first quarter of 2012.

Mr Chua places great importance on this initiative, and sees this as an important from a global standpoint. “The CFC will be a key focus for us here,” he said. “Our vision is to see Singapore as a TSM hub much like how it is a global financial hub. Our next step is to build a TSM network and be a worldwide managed services provider.”

Cassis has already made inroads into many countries by supplying the technology needed to build including Korea, Turkey, France, and Malaysia. It also has offices in those countries with Singapore as the headquarters.

“We expect the TSM industry to be as big as Visa and MasterCard, and a potentially disruptive global service,” added Mr Chua. “Such initiatives will help us grow globally. We may be small in size, but we have big ambitions.”