Near Field Communications World

NFC mobile payments trial to go live in Dubai in next two weeks

By Sarah Clark | NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com | 30 November 2009, 16:24

Mobile operator Du and card issuer Dubai First have begun distributing handsets to trial participants ahead of the launch in the next two weeks of the Middle East's first NFC mobile payments pilot.

First announced in May, the six month pilot is due to take at The Walk, a 1.7 km beachfront shopping promenade in Dubai. Participants in the trial will be able to securely download their credit card to an NFC phone over Du’s mobile network. Once the handset has been personalised, customers will be able to make purchases at any MasterCard PayPass enabled merchant locations in the UAE.

As well as making payments with their NFC phones, participants will also be able to access special retailer offers and a range of other promotions.

The two companies are using Vivotech technology for the trial, including:

• Vivotech Issuing Servers residing at Dubai First that enable the secure Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning of credit cards to mobile handsets
• Vivotech Control Servers which manage the provisioning and service of electronic wallets in the mobile handsets
• Vivowallet electronic wallets in the handsets
• Vivopay NFC readers at merchant locations