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TechCreate Group Ltd., a Singapore-based payments-software provider and consultancy, is partnering with quantum cybersecurity-solutions firm pQCee Pte Ltd to incorporate the National Institute of Standards and Technology post-quantum cryptography algorithms in its QR Hybrid point-of-sale terminals. A QR hybrid POS device adds QR code scanning for digital wallets, mobile apps, and contactless functions.
The two companies say they will explore ways to transition away from current encryption standards, such as RSA and ECC, which are vulnerable to quantum computing, to enhance the security of cardholder data and transaction keys. Criminals use quantum computing to shorten the time it takes to break the complex mathematical models behind data-encryption standards.
Moving away from existing encryption standards will help mitigate the so-called harvest now, decrypt later threat, in which criminals capture and store encrypted sensitive data, including payment details and user IDs from QR/card transactions, with the intention of decrypting it years later.
In the collaboration, pQCee, also based in Singapore, will provide its quantum-safe cryptography tool, SafeQuard, which protects communications between customers and financial institutions against harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks.
“Quantum-safe security has become increasingly important for the future of digital-payments infrastructure,” TechCreate chief executive Heng Hai Lim says in a statement. “In our business, where secure communication between customers and financial institutions is vital, the need to consistently enhance quantum-resistant encryption standards is a critical priority for us.”
Lim argues that TechCreate’s collaboration with pQCee will demonstrate how post-quantum encryption can be integrated into real-time payment systems without compromising performance, scalability, or interoperability.
Looking ahead, the two companies view quantum-safe hybrid QR POS terminals as a way to support alignment with evolving post-quantum cryptography security standards.
“By embedding quantum-safe protections into the fabric of payments, both TechCreate and pQCee help the entire ecosystem stay resilient,” pQCee chief executive Tan Teik Guan says in a statement. “Our work ensures that banks, merchants, and consumers alike can transact with confidence, knowing the industry is shielded against both today’s cyber risks and tomorrow’s quantum threats.”
