What is NC3?

NC3 is the no compromise charge card

Increasing security often comes with more complex operations. NC3 requires no such compromises. It is a single concept that serves in-person, electronic commerce, person-to-person (and more) with greater security and enhanced functionality without compromising ease-of-use.

NC3 was designed to…

  • increase the security of commerce
  • provide new capabilities you can’t get from your charge cards today
  • make transactions easier for everyone involved
  • reduce costs for merchants and providers

These are done in a framework with one fundamental principle: information is provided only to those who need it and no one else.

But what is it?

NC3 is a system that uses the existing charge card infrastructure and your smart phone to make a purchase or a payment, in person or online, without ever sharing your charge card number. No fumbling through your wallet to find your credit card. No struggling with a faulty card swiper. No worries about card skimmers. Just you, your smart phone, and your ‘created-on-the-spot’ money.

You don’t need internet access to make a payment – cell service alone does the job.

And who is ‘everyone involved’?

NC3 participants are consumers (that’s you whenever you buy goods or services), merchants (sellers of goods and services), and providers (issuers and processors of charge and credit cards). There are some others (merchant agents and banks that service providers, for example), but we’re going to stick with the top three.

How it works: the basics

  1. Receive an invoice, a restaurant bill, etc.
  2. Approve the charge.
  3. Pay.
  4. Go on about your life.

How it works: the details

What it isn’t

NC3 isn’t an alternative payment system. It works within existing infrastructures. Not as an add-on. Not as a separate service. Not as a fourth-party provider. It is a new way of thinking about the tools you already have and the massive systems already in place. It has benefits for consumers, merchants and providers. See 10 slides or less (Notes Version) for details.

NC3 isn’t a crypto concept or a crypto currency. It uses cryptography and more novel protective measures. See Cracking and Partial Dual Encryption.