Handheld quantum wireless for financial transactions

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a cryptographic scheme which provides an unprecedented level of data security. It can be used to secure financial transactions over ATM machines and wireless payments. Our porject seeks to develop a free-space, handheld (credit-card size), steerable QKD system prototype to secure a real-world bank/payment transaction.
Our industrial lead, Cognizant Technology Solutions (a Fortune 500 company), has over 20 years of experience in digital finance transaction processing and information security. Cognizant brings to table extensive knowledge of processing logic involved in trade, cards, payments and other instruments. They also understand how to handle client confidential and PII (Personal) data securely using current encryption technologies. To give an indication of scale, they have 2,000 IT professionals in security practice and 100,000 in financial services globally. Out of this, 5,000 are based out of UK and Cognizant has the mechanism in place to build capability locally. University of Bristol is a pioneer in quantum communication, notably being the first to demonstrate free-space quantum transmission in 1990. (?) University of Oxford has a strong track record in optical wireless steering techniques, including inventing the current fastest indoor optical wireless system, as well as record setting QKD field trials.
This Consortium understands real-world banking transaction needs and has the knowledge in developing novel optical techniques to tailor make a practical handheld QKD system, completed with suitable hardware-to-user interface and a software stack for commercial deployment. We seek the opportunity to show the world that not only UK is leading QKD in academic research, we are also at the forefront of quantum technology development. Using real bank/payment transaction data, this project will demonstrate the world's first QKD usage in wireless financial application.

Quantum Key Distribution including mobile QKD will have social and economic impact. Or more precisely it will prevent impacts from the numerous threats on our private data. This will empower the public, businesses and governments. This Consortium identified two main usage of wireless QKD: securing financial transactions and identity protection.
The economic impact, besides the sale of the QKD systems, will be to protect financial transactions such as direct transactions in shops or online payments. Losses due to fraud related to payments are already huge (£20M a day in the UK in 2016) and as mobile payments are bound to explode in the near future, the problem can only become more serious. [NFC fraud]
The social impact is the protection of other (non-financial) private data. Protection of our private life becomes increasingly difficult as we store more and more information locally or online (cloud). Currently these information are mostly in the form of pictures or conversations (e.g. email, instant messaging) related to our everyday life but in a near future it is very likely that we will have to store a lot of information related to our health too. Most of the medical instruments are currently connected on internet and an increasing number of point of care devices and personal devices (wearable, distributed sensors) will need to transmit sensitive data about our health condition. We will need to share those information on a strictly need-to-know basis with our GP, hospital or for research purposes but they will need to be protected from fraudulent uses.
Other social impact includes regulatory implemenation: Regulations, such as data privacy act, that require personally identifiable information (PII) to be protected to avoid legal liabilities. It is important to communicate that through extremely secure channels. Quantum wireless system could help achieving this goal.
Our Consortium does not expect the environment to be impacted by this project, as quantum wireless technology doesn't require any massive amount of material or energy nor does it use any dangerous element.