Near Field Communications World » Telefonica O2

Telefónica Movistar, La Caixa and Visa begin pre-commercial NFC pilot in Spanish resort of Sitges

Sarah Clark — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:50:31 +0000

1,500 customers of Telefónica and La Caixa have been issued with Samsung S5230 NFC phones which they can use to make debit and credit card payments in taxis, sports centres, at market stalls and in retail stores.

SITGES: 1,500 participants can use Samsung NFC handsets at 500 merchants in the Spanish resort

The pre-commercial NFC trial in the Spanish resort of Sitges, announced in February, has gone live.

The 'Mobile Shopping Sitges 2010' pilot is being led by mobile network operator Movistar, part of the Telefónica group, La Caixa and Visa and includes the participation of Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Samsung, Ingenico and the Sitges city council.

1,500 customers of both Movistar and La Caixa have been chosen to participate in the pilot and can use their Samsung S5230 NFC phones to make payments using their La Caixa credit or debit card accounts at 500 merchants in the town.

Transactions valued at up to €20 can be made without a PIN and larger transactions can be carried out provided the customer enters their PIN on the keypad of the merchant's POS terminal to confirm the purchase.

Each of the pilot's participants are being given training on how to use their phones and a website providing comprehensive information on the new service and how it works has been set up by Telefónica at www.mobileshopping.es.

"Telefónica will expand the offer to use its technology to other banks, and expects that La Caixa will partner with other platforms in addition to Visa," Kim Faura, head of Telefonica's Catalonia region, has told Europa Press.

The pilot is scheduled to last for six months. Participants will not be required to return their NFC phones at the end of the pilot, however, as there are plans to both continue the service in Sitges and to expand it to the city of Barcelona, just 35km up the coast from the resort.

The start of the Sitges pilot is the second of a pair of significant moves towards the adoption of NFC by Telefónica to take place in the last seven days. Earlier this week, we reported that the company's first commercial NFC service has gone live in the Czech city of Pilsen and that Telefónica's business strategy for NFC deployments is now in place. An NFC bus ticketing trial is also due to go live in the near future in Lima, Peru.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Telefónica O2 launches its first commercial NFC service — and sets out strategy for future deployments

Sarah Clark — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:26:48 +0000

The mobile network operator is starting small with a limited rollout in the Czech city of Pilsen but a business strategy is now in place and commercial launches in the UK and Spain could be next.

TELEFONICA: Commercial launches in the UK and Spain will follow soon

Telefónica O2 Czech Republic has put a limited number of NFC phones, pre-loaded with the local Plzeň transport and city services card, on sale in the Czech city of Pilsen.

The launch of the new service marks the first time that Telefónica, which offers mobile services in sixteen countries in Europe and Latin America, has offered NFC phones on a commercial basis to its subscribers. For the launch, Telefónica O2 subscribers can obtain a Nokia 6212 Classic NFC phone on a contract for 495 crowns (US$24), or without a contract for 4495 crowns (US$216), from any of the operator's six stores in Pilsen.

The Plzeň card is issued by the city's regional transport operator PMDP and allows local residents to pay for public transport, purchase tickets to local events, make payments in local stores and receive special cardholder-only discounts. Some 230,000 local residents currently hold a Plzeň card.

"Now anyone can buy a mobile phone that supports NFC and start benefiting from this service," says Michael Kraus, CEO at PMDP. "I know of no other city in Europe where [there is] NFC technology in commercial operation."

Preparations

At Telefónica's head office in Madrid, meanwhile, preparations are gathering pace for the introduction of larger scale commercial deployments in the near future.

Technical development work in now complete, Michiel Van Eldik, Telefónica's group director for new business and innovation, has told NFC World, and a business strategy for NFC services is now in place. Key to that strategy, says Van Eldik, is an understanding that "money will go mobile" and that "the biggest favour we could do ourselves as an industry is to recognise that there is money to be made for all of us."

"The biggest favour we could do ourselves as an industry is to recognise that there is money to be made for all of us"

"It has to be based on partnerships," he added, explaining that his experience working on Telefónica's mobile health initiatives has taught him the value of each party being responsible for its own area of expertise. So, while Telefónica has a banking license in some countries, cooperation with other service providers will be the way ahead, Van Eldik says. "We could try and become doctors, but that would be the biggest mistake we could make," he explains.

Telefónica's strategy, therefore, is multi-layered, involving a number of different business and consumer propositions with the aim of providing solutions that work for all. Currently, they include:

Co-branded products. Telefónica has signed a deal with Visa Europe that will see the introduction of services similar to the UK's existing O2 Money product across all the European countries in which Telefónica currently operates. Here, the operator will partner with a Visa card-issuing bank in each country and, in exchange for its business, will receive a share of transaction revenues or, as Van Eldik neatly puts it, "we will take a slice of the dice." A similar deal is also set to be signed with either Visa or MasterCard for the Latin American market in the near future.
Existing card products. A number of pricing models are under consideration to enable banks and other card issuers to add their products to Telefónica subscribers' NFC phones, although the operator currently favours a straight rental fee.
B2B customers. For merchants and other service providers, Telefónica will offer a range of products and services "that work out-of-the-box" and will also offer tools for developers, including APIs and toolkits.

Before any large scale launches can take place, however, phones must pass the scrutiny of Telefónica's consumer focus groups. Since its phones are subsidised, Van Eldik explains, decisions over which handsets the operator should offer are only made after in-depth customer research has been conducted — and "they must see a clear advantage" before a device can be offered to subscribers.

That said, in volume, the operator is now expecting to pay a premium of just US$5 to have NFC functionality built into its phones. That means, Van Eldik says, that if a sufficiently strong case can be made for being able to generate revenues from NFC service provision, it is possible that this premium would not be passed on to the customer.

Performance issues

The need for reliable handsets is also still a potential stumbling block. Performance issues with the Samsung S5230 NFC phone became apparent during the NFC trial conducted at the Mobile World Congress in February. Telefónica plans to use the same phone for the pre-commercial pilot it will be running in Sitges, Spain from June this year and, says Van Eldik, the operator has been working very closely with Samsung and with its NFC SIM supplier Giesecke & Devrient since February to ensure the phone meets its performance requirements in time for the launch.

A large scale trial is also due to begin in Peru soon, which will see commuters in the city of Lima able to use NFC phones to purchase bus tickets and, says Van Eldik, we are "running a few trials with stickers" and "we are looking at some other solutions too".

Where will the first major commercial launches take place? Spain, the UK and the Czech Republic are the furthest ahead of the countries in which Telefónica operates, says Van Eldik, with each having the potential for expansion in late 2010 or early 2011. "In these countries, we are seeing more and more evidence of market readiness and we at Telefónica are most advanced in our developments," he concludes.

Meanwhile, Pablo Montesano, Telefónica’s director for new businesses, told delegates attending the Mobile Money Summit in Rio de Janeiro this week that the operator estimates that it could ultimately generate US$1.5 billion from mobile financial services.

"The last 18 months have been important to our understanding," he explained. "We consider financial services one of the biggest opportunities within the group." Montesano also confirmed the operator's commitment to a partnership model, the GSMA's Mobile Business Briefing reports:

"Telefonica is looking at an open model whereby it could share the spoils with several partners, he said. And Telefonica does not believe in 'the silo approach' and is prepared to work with other mobile operators to see services become successful. Montesano has had to convince colleagues internally that co-operation rather than competition is the way to go.
Mobile money is also a rare opportunity to create value both for shareholders and the wider society, said Montesano: “Even a one percent inclusion of the unbanked creates a significant improvement in reducing inequality.”

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Samsung adds NFC to bestselling Tocco Lite/Star/Player One/Avila

Sarah Clark — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:12:00 +0000

The bestselling touchscreen phone, known by a number of brand names in different regions, is to be used in trials in Spain, France and Dubai — but there are no plans yet to make the NFC version of the handset available at retail.

RISING STAR: Samsung's NFC handset, in use at the Mobile World Congress, is set to be used in several trials

The model chosen by Samsung for its first new NFC phone is the bestselling S5230, known in different markets under a variety of brand names including Tocco Lite, Star, Player One and Avila.

Introduced in May 2009, the mid-range touchscreen phone sold over 10 million units within six months of launch and has topped the best seller lists in the United Kingdom, Italy and the Netherlands.

The phone has been chosen for a number of forthcoming near field communication trials including Telefonica's pilot in Sitges, Spain and Etisalat's test in Dubai. It is also being used this week in an NFC trial taking place at the Mobile World Congress and is also expected to be used in the French Nice NFC City trial due to begin during the second quarter of 2010.

The special NFC version of the S5230 is only available on a limited basis for use in trials, Samsung has told NFC World, and no commercial launch date has been set.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

NFC trial begins at Mobile World Congress

Sarah Clark — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:27:06 +0000

Four hundred Samsung Star NFC handsets are being distributed to selected Mobile World Congress attendees for use at the event, which opens in Barcelona today.

Participants can use their NFC phones to pay for food and drink up to a value of €75 at over 30 merchant locations around the Congress.

GSMA, Telefonica, Visa and Samsung, with Giesecke & Devrient, Ingenico, ITN International and La Caixa have teamed up to deliver the service at the event.

The NFC handsets contain Telefonica SIM cards from O2 pre-loaded with €60 airtime credit as well as a La Caixa Visa Mobile Payment Application.

Participants in the trial will be able to purchase food and drink, simply by holding their Samsung NFC mobile phone against the contactless terminal at the participating merchants to pay for purchases under €10. Purchases above €10 require a passcode which the participant keys into the handset before presenting it to the terminal. The transactions are authorised online, with funds deducted from a La Caixa Visa account.

"It is a fantastic achievement to bring a full payment trial to Mobile World Congress and a testament to the hard work of the partners that this cross-industry collaboration has worked so well," says Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA. "Mobile operators have been requesting SIM-based NFC handsets for some time now and it's great to see such progress in this area. Now that the handsets are coming, we can expect to see a number of commercial launches of mobile SIM-based NFC services this year."

"The partners have worked successfully to bring the NFC experience to Mobile World Congress with the intention of raising awareness of this technology in anticipation of the commercial launch of these SIM based handsets in the very near future," says the official announcement. "As more of the SIM based handsets become commercially available it will help trigger global adoption and rollout of mobile NFC. Mobile NFC services will change the way people transact with their phones, everything from payments, travelling and ticketing will be transformed to ensure ease and convenience in the lifestyles of consumers around the world."

The partners' roles in the project included:

GSMA acted as the project lead, leveraging its Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative which, supported by over 50 mobile operators, has been working to make SIM-based NFC payment services a reality.
Samsung Electronics provided the NFC-enabled Samsung Star handsets and offered technical support to ensure the stability of the trial.
Telefonica provided the user interface enabling display and management of the core payment application on the handset, the O2 Wallet.
Visa provided the Visa Mobile Payment Application, a made-for-mobile contactless payment application, to La Caixa and Telefonica for use within the O2 SIM cards with €60 preloaded airtime credit. Visa coordinated activities with La Caixa, Telefonica, Ingenico and G&D to ensure that the accounts, O2 Wallet, terminals and SIM cards were Visa-compliant and mobile contactless ready.
La Caixa have issued accounts and have credited them with €75; La Caixa is also serving as the acquiring bank for the participating merchants.
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) manufactured the NFC-enabled SIM cards and personalised them with a La Caixa Visa Mobile Payment Application, allowing the Samsung NFC mobile phone to make EMV mobile payments by connecting to the SIM card through the standardised Single Wire Protocol (SWP).
Ingenico provided the participating merchants around the FIRA exhibition hall with unique colour screen contactless EFT930G wireless payment terminals, enabling participants to pay for food and drink by simply presenting their mobile phone at the terminal.
ITN International, a mobile data management company for the event marketing industry, was a founding member of the NFC experience at Mobile World Congress.

Last week, Telefonica announced it is to run an NFC trial in the Spanish resort of Sitges, 40km from Barcelona, from May this year. The trial will be run in conjunction with Visa and La Caixa. The 1,500 participants will be able to use their Samsung phones at 500 shops in Sitges and the project could expand later to Barcelona and beyond.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Telefónica O2 joins GlobalPlatform

Sarah Clark — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:51:50 +0000

Telefónica O2 Europe has become the latest company to join GlobalPlatform, as the smart card standards body's Mobile Task Force initiative gathers steam.

"On the back of our successful Near Field Communications (NFC) trial 'O2 Wallet' in 2008 and recent 'O2 Money' initiative which enables users to manage their money and receive real-time balance updates via their mobile phone, we recognize the value in knowledge sharing to benefit the mobile services industry as a whole," says Neill Whitworth, Head of SIM and OTA at Telefónica O2 Europe. "We support the work of GlobalPlatform and firmly believe that the presence of a secure and interoperable smart card infrastructure will drive the wider adoption of innovative mobile solutions globally."

As an Observer Member, Telefónica O2 will be able to participate in GlobalPlatform's Advisory Council, track the work of its technical committees and influence the direction of other task force activities.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Telefónica O2 joins Deutsche Bahn’s NFC ticketing project

Sarah Clark — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:32:08 +0000

The mobile operator has joined Vodafone and T-Mobile in the German rail company's Touch&Travel NFC ticketing project, as it heads towards a major expansion of the pilot testing area and a future nationwide commercial launch.

ON TARGET: Travellers hold their NFC phones to Touchpoints like this before and after every journey

Telefónica O2 Germany has joined Vodafone and T-Mobile in participating in German rail operator Deutsche Bahn's Touch&Travel NFC ticketing project, as the rail company prepares for the next phase of testing in which the pilot area will expand to include long distance train services from Hannover to Frankfurt.

Developed in conjunction with technology partners Atron, Giesecke & Devrient and NXP, the Touch&Travel concept is a very simple one: Passengers touch their NFC phone to a Touch&Travel Touchpoint at the start of their journey and then touch their phone again to a Touchpoint at the end of their journey. The fare is then automatically calculated and charged to their Deutsche Bahn account, which is settled on a monthly basis via direct debit.

The first phase of the Touch&Travel pilot began in February 2008 and involved a technical test with 200 users on the Hannover to Berlin line and in the city of Potsdam, near Berlin.

In December 2008, it was extended to 500 users (and further extended to 2,500 during 2009) and to the entire S-Bahn commuter rail network and U-Bahn subway system in Berlin, as well as buses and trams in Potsdam.

In the spring of 2009, a second test area in the Schleswig Holstein region was added, on the route between the cities of Kiel and Lübeck and in the Eutin city area.

Now the pilot area is being expanded again to include long distance trains between Hannover and the city of Frankfurt. And, from January 2010, an additional 3,000 passengers will also take part in a further expansion of the test, this time encompassing services between the Ruhr region — including the city of Cologne — and Frankfurt, Hannover and Berlin.

"The fact that O2 joins the project enables us to provide the benefits of mobile ticketing to an even broader customer base and we are well positioned for the successful launch across Germany," says Birgit Wirth, Deutsche Bahn's Touch&Travel project manager.

ALL MAPPED OUT: The trial are will expand to cover routes between Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt and the Ruhr from January 2010 (click on image to see full map)

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Build the brand and they will come

Sarah Clark — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:46:42 +0000

OPINION: One way to put yourself in prime position on the day NFC handsets finally become widely available is to start building your brand now, regardless of whether there are limits on the level of service you can currently offer.

That's the approach taken by Telefónica's UK operation, with its launch of O2 Money, and a similar 'get the name out there now, add features later' strategy is being employed in Ireland by Zapa Technology, and by many others, too.

Nokia's move to trademark the brand name 'Nokia Money', meanwhile, suggests that it, also, may have plans to build a consumer brand in the NFC space — and to push forward the adoption of NFC without the need to wait on the operators or the banks...

Sarah Clark, Editor

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Telefónica launches O2 Money, says it is ready to deploy NFC

Sarah Clark — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:01:15 +0000

The new O2 Money offering is a low-tech prepaid card solution for now but, says O2, this is just the first step in the operator's plans to be at the forefront of the move towards the rollout of NFC technology in the UK.

NFC NEXT? O2 describes its new prepaid debit cards as 'the first in a suite of financial products'

Telefónica's UK operation has partnered with NatWest bank for its first payments offering. Although the new O2 Money service currently includes just two low-tech prepaid card offers that add the simple twist of sending the cardholder a text message each time they are used, O2's chief executive Ronan Dunne has clearly signalled that this is just the start of the mobile network operator's move into the payments arena.

"O2 has a strong and successful track record of innovation and O2 Money will represent a launchpad into a wide range of mobile banking services", says Dunne. "We believe that we are at the start of a journey towards the coming together of phone and wallet and we intend, through O2 Money, to be at the forefront of this trend. This launch represents an important step towards O2 becoming a leading service provider with mobile at its core."

"The strength of our brand and relationship with our customers gives us the ideal opportunity to take O2 into a completely new market," Dunne added. "By bringing a fresh, transparent and customer-focused approach to pre-paid cards, we plan to drive this market and take a significant share."

Quizzed by reporters on the future direction of O2 Money, Dunne confirmed that O2's NFC technology is now ready to roll out and that the operator is heavily involved in pushing towards the deployment of NFC services in the UK.

"As you know O2 led trials [of Near Field Communication technology in mobile phones] last year, and we engaged with a number of commercial organisations in that area," Dunne told reporters, according to TechRadar:

"Customers loved it, and the challenges now are with electronic point of sale capability, and deployment across mass retail.
"We'll be talking to large retailers, grocers for instance, also people in the transport industry [about bringing the technology to market]."
O2 used around 500 people in the trial, which saw them using their mobile phone to make smaller payments, similar to Visa's Paywave system, and swapping an Oyster card for a phone in London too.
However, Dunne pointed out while NFC might be coming to fruition, the next stage of deployment is far from a foregone conclusion:
"It's one of those situations where the technology is ready to go, but we need more deployment to get critical mass. We're confident you'll see substantial progress in that space, under the O2 brand, in the not too distant future.
"I think the wholly held industry view is that NFC has proven capability; we're just waiting for mass deployment of terminals and other key components.

NatWest has also signalled its readiness to adopt new ways of using the mobile channel to improve its service offering.

"More people than ever are using their mobile phones as a means of managing their money and NatWest is always looking at new ways of incorporating the mobile phone into our services, to ensure our customers can interact with us as easily as possible," says Helen Page, managing director of marketing and innovation at NatWest.

"These cash cards, delivered in partnership with O2, are the first step on the road towards a more advanced mobile banking service, and the closer alignment between mobile phones and payment technology."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

NHS tests NFC for home care visits

Sarah Clark — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:32:09 +0000

The UK's National Health Service is conducting several pilots of O2's new Homecare solution, designed to help both homecare workers and patients access and share information.

NHS TEST: Several PCTs are trialling O2's NFC-based Homecare system, which offers patient benefits as well as monitoring carer attendance

A new NFC-based home care monitoring solution developed by mobile operator O2 in conjunction with Reslink, an established Finnish supplier of NFC-based workforce management solutions, is now on trial with several National Health Service customers in the UK.

O2 Homecare is aimed at the NHS' regional Primary Care Trusts — responsible for running local medical services — and related care organisations and is designed to help domiciliary care workers and patients access and share information.

O2 and Reslink are working with EcoTech, a provider of sustainable homes, to incorporate NFC tags as standard into their energy efficient housing.

Using O2 Homecare, carers can download patient records and care requirements by swiping their NFC-enabled handset over NFC tags installed in the patient's home. The solution also captures real-time information on care provided to the patient and logs the care workers' whereabouts when making house calls for enhanced security and compliance. Data is relayed to central host systems and logged for electronic time and attendance records, eliminating the need for verbal or paper documentation and helping to save care organisations time and operational expense.

O2 Homecare patients need only touch their mobile phone to the NFC tag installed in their home to bring up details of their care worker's next visit or their next medical appointment. Call backs and appointments can also be requested quickly and easily by touching the patient's phone to an NFC tag. The patient can then select their preferred options from a drop down menu which appears on the handset.

Alert tags can also be strategically placed within easy reach of the patient in case of emergency. When the patient touches their mobile phone to this tag the handset will automatically initiate and alert transaction and dial a predetermined number.

NFC tags can also be placed on medicine bottles, allowing patients to identify prescription details by touching their phone to the bottle. The tag may be linked to a special medication dispenser with a pre-set release capability and authorisation procedures based on the patient's prescription.

In addition, NFC tags may be placed on equipment in the home, such as the hot water and heating system, the thermostat, the oven or a chairlift. The patient would then simply touch their phone to the tag to bring up details such as the model type, when the product was last serviced and by whom. The patient can also report a fault with the equipment or request a service appointment using their handset.

"The development of an NFC-based home care solution shows the real in-roads we are making in the health sector," says Ben Dowd, O2's business sales director. "We know our customers don't want a one-size-fits-all mobile communications package and this demonstrates how well new technology can benefit both workers and patients in the health sector."

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news:

Orange and Barclaycard partner to launch NFC in the UK

Sarah Clark — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 17:44:14 +0000

All customers are expected to be able to use their phones to pay for everyday items within three years in "the biggest revolution in payments since plastic cards were introduced over 40 years ago."

REVOLUTION: Orange and Barclaycard's partnership will bring mobile payments to a customer base of 28m people — around half the UK's population

Orange and Barclaycard have formed a long-term strategic partnership to bring mobile payments to British consumers. The communication and banking giants, who have a combined UK customer base of 28 million people, will jointly develop solutions that "let customers use their mobile to both make payments and stay in better control of their finances".

Under the agreement, Orange and Barclaycard will launch co-branded Orange/Barclaycard products and services in a range of markets:

Customers will be able to use their mobiles to pay for goods and services at retailers using contactless technology, by simply waving their handset against a reader. Both companies will be looking to expand the partnership to include other contactless services within ticketing, transport and rewards. MasterCard will provide the payment capabilities for the transactions.
The partnership between Barclaycard and Orange will also enable market-leading mobile alerts, servicing capabilities and new banking applications, all of which will help customers keep in control of their finances while on the move.
Over the next few months customers will start to see the benefits of the partnership with a host of marketing opportunities currently being finalised by Orange and Barclaycard.

"Today you pay for things by cash or on your credit card," says Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK. "Tomorrow, you'll use your mobile to buy the things you want, whether that's on the high street or the internet."

"These are the services that will change the way we live and work for the better, and are evolving the way we interact with each other and the way that companies serve us," he added. "This new partnership with Barclaycard is at the forefront of that kind of thinking, and our customers will benefit from the leading-edge technology that both Orange and Barclaycard can provide."

Antony Jenkins, CEO of Barclaycard, said: "This partnership brings together a leader in communications and the UK's leading payments brand with the aim of revolutionising the way people pay. There has been a lot of talk about mobile payments and now it's going to become a reality for our customers because of Barclaycard's commitment to contactless technology and the coming together of two dynamic and imaginative organisations."

"Both Barclaycard and Orange have a heritage of innovation and can see how mobile communications and payments can come together for the benefit of our customers," he added. "I believe that all our UK customers will be able to use their mobile phones to pay for everyday items within three years."

Orange, Barclaycard and MasterCard all have a long history of involvement in testing mobile payments:

Barclaycard introduced contactless technology on credit cards in September 2007 with the launch of Barclaycard OnePulse, a three-in-one Oyster, credit and contactless card. All Barclaycard Platinum cards now include contactless technology and over 1.5 million contactless Barclaycards are now in issue.
Barclays Bank began rolling out contactless Visa debit cards across the UK at the beginning of March. Up to three million customers are expected to have been issued with contactless debit cards by the end of the year and the majority of Barclays debit card customers will have contactless cards by 2011.
Barclaycard took part in a six month trial of the O2 Wallet in London from November 2007 to May 2008 with Transport for London, Visa Europe, TranSys, Nokia and AEG.
Around 8,000 retailers already accept contactless payments including many outlets of Pret A Manger, Coffee Republic, EAT, Books etc, Krispy Kreme, Threshers and thousands of independent retailers, with more installing the technology every week.
Under the UK's contactless card system, consumers can use their cards to make transactions of £10 or less without entering a PIN.
In January, Orange revealed it had been working with smart card and SIM specialist Sagem Orga for more than a year to develop a custom SWP-enabled NFC SIM that is tailored to the mobile operator's specific requirements.
In November 2008, MasterCard launched Mobile MasterCard PayPass, a solution designed to make it easy for member banks to offer NFC services to their cardholders.

This article was first published at www.NearFieldCommunicationsWorld.com.

Related news: