Thales Accelerates Digital Transformation of Payment Ecosystem in the Cloud

• Thales payShield 10K helps deliver new Microsoft Azure Payment Hardware Security Module (HSM) service to securely run payment applications in Azure
• Provides cryptographic key operations for real-time, critical payment transactions
• Offers financial institutions a broad range of use cases including payment processing, payment credential issuing and sensitive data protection

Thales today announced its payShield 10K technology is helping to deliver Microsoft Azure Payment Hardware Security Module (HSM), a new service that provides cryptographic key operations to protect real-time, critical payment transactions in Azure. The solution is in public preview and allows service providers and financial institutions to accelerate the digital transformation of their cloud-based payment systems confidently.

Integration of Thales payShield 10K with Microsoft Azure Payment HSM helps deliver a cloud-based solution that enables a broad range of use case including payment processing, payment credential issuing, securing keys and authentication data and sensitive data protection.

“The Digital transformation of payments to the cloud promises to deliver substantial benefits to financial institutions and payment providers,” said Todd Moore, Vice President of Encryption products at Thales. “Integrating Thales’ payment HSM technology offers financial institutions the same highest levels of payment application security, but with compelling new features, including scalability, consumption based pricing and remote management.”

“Microsoft Azure Payment HSM will make it significantly easier for businesses to pursue cloud adoption and accelerate the secure transformation of their payment systems,” said Devendra Tiwari, senior director, Azure Security at Microsoft. “Integrating Thales’ payShield 10K allows us to meet the demands of our customers while simultaneously ensuring the security and integrity of every payment.”

Data protection and security for payment HSM users
The Microsoft Azure Payment HSM delivered through Thales payShield provides clear advantages for payment HSM users with on-premises HSMs and new payment ecosystem entrants who may opt for a cloud-native approach from the outset. These advantages include:

•  Enhanced security and compliance: The Azure Payment HSM solution can be deployed as part of a validated PCI P2PE/PCI PIN component or solution, helping to simplify ongoing security audit compliance. Thales’s payShield 10K HSMs are certified to FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and PCI HSM v3;
• Customer-managed HSM in Azure: The Azure Payment HSM is part of a subscription service that offers single-tenant HSMs and total customer control as well as exclusive access to the HSM. Once the HSM is allocated, Microsoft has no access to customer data. Likewise, when the HSM is no longer required, customer data is erased as soon as the HSM is released to ensure complete privacy and security is maintained; and,
• Remote management of payShield HSMs: Users of the service will utilise Thales payShield Manager for secure remote access to the HSMs as part of their service. Multiple subscription options are available to satisfy a broad range of performance and application requirements that can be upgraded quickly in line with end-user business growth.

About payShield 10K
payShield 10K, the fifth generation of payment HSMs from Thales, delivers a suite of payment security functionality proven in critical environments including transaction processing, sensitive data protection, payment credential issuing, mobile card acceptance and payment tokenization. payShield 10K can be used throughout the global payment ecosystem by issuers, service providers, acquirers, processors and payment networks and addresses the latest mandated security requirements and best practices for a wide range of organisations including EMVCo, PCI SSC, GlobalPlatform, Multos, ANSI and the various global and regional payment brands and networks.

About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations – connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum computing – to build a confident future crucial for the development of our societies. The Group provides its customers – businesses, organisations and governments – in the defense, aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil their critical role, consideration for the individual being the driving force behind all decisions.

Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group generated sales of €17 billion.