NFC vendor Inside Secure has acquired Metaforic, a UK firm which specialises in security for Host Card Emulation (HCE)-based mobile payments.

Inside Secure will pay $11.6 million in cash upfront and could make an additional $4.5 million payment, depending on Metaforic’s 2014 performance.

HCE enables sensitive data for payment transactions to be stored on – and accessed from – cloud-based servers as an alternative to the secure element on a mobile device.

Interest in HCE has grown with its addition by Google to the latest version of Android and its subsequent endorsement by both Visa and MasterCard.

The move will complement Inside Secure’s own expertise in secure element-based hardware and IP.

“Metaforic brings critical technologies to address HCE-based, cloud-based mobile payment solutions which will become mainstream following support announced by major payment brands,” said Remy de Tonnac (pictured), Inside Secure’s CEO.

Inside Secure also said Metaforic fills out its mobile security portfolio. It claims to be the only vendor that can offer mobile security across the three key markets of enterprise secure access, digital entertainment and financial services.

Metaforic’s speciality is so-called obfuscation technology which enhances the security of application software by intentionally making it more difficult to understand and to reverse-engineer.