ViVOtech

About ViVOtech

Founded in 2001 by pioneers including Mohammad Khan and Jorge Fernandes, ViVOtech established itself as a foundational company in the Near Field Communication (NFC) sector from its base in Santa Clara, California. The firm specialized in creating a comprehensive ecosystem for the then-emerging mobile payments market, positioning itself as an end-to-end enabler for financial institutions, mobile network operators (MNOs), merchants, and transit operators.

ViVOtech's business model centered on providing both the hardware and software infrastructure required to facilitate NFC transactions. Revenue was generated through the sale of its ViVOpay contactless payment terminals and the licensing of its sophisticated software suite. By 2011, the company had shipped over 850,000 terminals worldwide and was a key technology partner for major players, including Google for its Wallet service. The company's offerings were instrumental in numerous early-stage NFC payment trials, helping to prove the viability of contactless technology.

The company's product line was extensive, featuring the ViVOnfc Suite, which included mobile wallet applications (ViVOwallet), Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning, and a Trusted Service Manager (TSM) infrastructure. The OTA provisioning software allowed for the secure, wireless delivery of payment card data, coupons, and tickets directly to a user's NFC-enabled phone. The TSM acted as a neutral intermediary, securely managing the relationship and data flow between banks and MNOs. On the hardware front, its ViVOpay terminals were designed to accept a wide array of payment methods, including traditional magnetic stripe cards, EMV chip cards, and NFC mobile payments, helping merchants transition to modern payment acceptance.

After establishing a significant footprint in the NFC market, ViVOtech was strategically split and acquired in 2012. The hardware division, responsible for the ViVOpay point-of-sale readers, was sold to ID Tech in August 2012. Subsequently, in October 2012, the software division, which included its valuable TSM and mobile wallet technology, was acquired by Sequent Software, a provider of TSM and mobile security services.