Toward the end of September, a number of journalists from around the world gathered in Ontario, Canada. They were drawn together by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDTE) and the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation (MRI) to witness how Canada has prepared itself for the growing field of mobile payments and the movers who are pushing it forward. 

Why Canada? Because right after Singapore, the country is the best prepared for adopting mobile payment technology into its infrastructure, Bank Systems & Technology reported. The Toronto area is particularly well suited to this change in how transactions are processed thanks to the presence of Canada's five major banks, the density of IT companies dwelling within its borders and the telecommunications businesses located within.

These groups have been working together to create an environment suited to using smartphones as an alternative wallet, such as by encouraging merchants to adopt NFC technology and other systems that enable electronic payments. One of the more prominent virtual currencies coming down the line, MintChip, is being developed by the Royal Canadian Mint. Its eventual release may open the way for widespread adoption of virtual payments and transfers in a way that past attempts such as bitcoin have not yet achieved. 

SecureKey is among one of the many organizations offering their expertise and background in burgeoning mobile payment technology, along with CIBC, MasterCard and other companies and institutions devoted to driving the financial market forward. SecureKey has been an integral part of this movement and developed the briidge.net Exchange Platform to improve the security and ease with which consumers purchase products. This dedication will continue into the future, as SecureKey works with governments, financial institutions and businesses to provide more convenient, secure transactions.