Felix is delighted to announce that our 100% cloud kernel technology is now EMV Level 2 certified with American Express. Felix.Cloud now allows payment providers the ability to accept contactless transactions with Visa, Mastercard and American Express; 3 of the world’s largest card brands that help facilitate the vast majority of transactions globally. In addition, Felix.Cloud is connected to multiple acquirers including Elavon, TSYS, Heartland and Chase creating a unique payment platform for merchants, ISOs, Payfacs and enterprise retailers.

American Express is a major player in the U.S. market and consequently contributes heavily to the future of the digital payments landscape. Covid-19 has created a new environment for the payments industry as more people are looking for contactless and Tap on Phone solutions.

What’s Felix 100% EMV cloud kernel?

Felix.Cloud – our 100% EMV cloud kernel is a patented cloud kernel technology that processes contactless transactions in a secure remote environment.

This has a number of benefits that the traditional payment infrastructure is unable to offer including:

  • No hardware dependence
  • Real-time kernel updates
  • Reduced hardware certification and deployment time
  • Real-time security enhancements
  • On-demand device scalability

The adaptive nature of our cloud-enabled kernel infrastructure allows it to be used in a number of emerging use cases such as connected in-car payments, card on file in-app retail, QR code payments, biometric ID payments and smart city concepts, with many more opportunities rising in the global digitally connected ecosphere.

What makes it relevant?

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to fundamental changes in consumer spending behavior. There is a noticeable increase in the adoption of contactless payments by businesses and consumers alike. The increased use of contactless payments continues gaining traction due to the ease of use and proven practicality. Organizations shifting their business models to accept contactless and mobile payments see a rise in customer satisfaction as well as an increase in revenue.

Following this trend, the U.S. market has started issuing more contactless cards as a way of encouraging businesses and consumers to switch to a better, simpler, and more universal way of conducting transactions.

Chip shortages & payment terminals

The digital shift, further influenced by the pandemic, has led to an increase in demand for contactless payments. A barrier to increased contactless penetration, especially in the United States, has been a lack of contactless payment terminals. As the larger US payment ecosystem evolves, the demand for contactless terminals has reached new highs. This demand has put significant pressure on traditional terminal supply chains which have also been impacted from the global shortage of microchips; an integral piece of the payment terminal. According to Deloitte, the global semiconductor industry has suffered losses of over US$500 billion in the last two years.

Our EMV cloud kernel enables existing, commercially available Android devices to accept payments without any additional dongles or hardware. In addition, it can drastically reduce dependencies on traditional hardware manufacturers while decreasing certification efforts and deployment times.

Wrapping up

Felix.Cloud is proving its relevance in the payments industry by connecting to processing engines including Chase Paymentech, Elavon, Heartland, and TSYS.

Our cloud technology powers Felix.Terminal – our Tap to Phone Android application that enables merchants to instantly accept contactless payments using the NFC reader on a consumer mobile device.

Additional benefits include:

  • Rapid deployment
  • Dongle-free Tap to Phone EMV
  • Full payment terminal functionality

With more features on their way.

We keep our eyes open for any new potential developments, helping to enable and improve the payments industry, and to develop new disruptive solutions, offering market excellence and increased new technology adoption. Join us!

If you would like to know more, please reach out to arrange a confidential discussion.