Fidesmo

Fidesmo, founded in 2013 by Mattias Eld and Miguel Cardo, operates as a pivotal technology enabler in the contactless transactions market. The founders, both with backgrounds at Ericsson, identified an opportunity to create an independent platform for contactless services, moving beyond the SIM card as the primary vehicle for monetization. Eld, with over two decades in business and technology development, and Cardo, an authentication and technology architecture specialist, established the company to break down the silos between different contactless services like payments and public transport. In October 2023, Anders Malmström, former CEO of Foreseeti, took over as CEO to spearhead commercialization and international expansion, with Eld transitioning to a strategic role on the board.

The core of Fidesmo's business is a platform that connects service providers, such as banks and transit agencies, with manufacturers of secure, NFC-enabled devices. This B2B model provides a streamlined, technology-agnostic pathway for companies to integrate various contactless services onto devices without needing to establish individual connections with every service provider. Fidesmo's clients include banks, payment providers like Visa and Mastercard, public transport companies, and manufacturers of wearables and smartphones. Revenue is generated by providing this infrastructure, offering a cost-effective entry into the contactless market for its partners.

The company's primary service, Fidesmo Pay, allows consumers to link their payment cards to a wide array of passive, battery-free wearable items such as rings, bracelets, and keyrings. This is achieved through tokenization, a process that replaces sensitive card details with a unique digital identifier, ensuring transaction security. The platform's main value proposition is its ability to aggregate multiple services onto a single device and to act as a one-stop-shop for device makers wanting to add payment capabilities, connecting them instantly to a network of banks and payment schemes. Fidesmo has established key partnerships with financial institutions like Länsförsäkringar Bank and Curve, and technology companies including Samsung, Infineon, and NXP, significantly expanding its ecosystem and market reach.

Keywords: contactless payments, wearable technology, NFC platform, tokenization, secure element, fintech, B2B platform, payment aggregation, access control, IoT