NXP licenses contactless IC technology to ST

LONDON — European chip vendors NXP BV and STMicroelectronics NV have announced a licensing agreement for NXP's Mifare contactless IC technology. ST is licensed to integrate the Mifare family into its security solutions for mobile phone and banking applications.

The terms of the agreement and how much NXP expects to make from the licensing agreement were not disclosed.

The agreement will facilitate the convergence of the Mifare and near field communication (NFC) in mobile devices and aid with ticketing, access management and payment services, the companies said. The agreement covers Mifare Plus, Mifare Classic and Mifare Desfire

"As the leader in contactless ICs, we are convinced that the mainstream adoption of NFC requires true industry collaboration, and so we are delighted that STMicroelectronics will be integrating the Mifare technology into its next-generation contactless solutions," said Ruediger Stroh, general manager of the identification business at NXP, in a statement.

NXP emphasized that multiple sources for multiple parts of the Mifare infrastructure have been key to the technology's success (see Mifare success was built on multiple sources, says NXP).

Marie-France Florentin, general manager of digital secure access products at ST said: "Teaming up with NXP and licensing Mifare technology, the most widespread contactless technology around the world, we now support an additional and essential application field, which will enrich our portfolio of secure processor ICs for the SIM, banking card ICs and embedded secure solutions."

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