British NFC Cellphone Payments Trial launched
Barclaycard, Visa Europe, Nokia, 02 and Transport for London are among the companies involved in the launch of 02 Wallet, the UK's first large-scale Near Field Communications (NFC) trial.
02 Wallet will test the use of NFC-enabled cellphones to pay for purchases at the point of sale, act as prepaid London transit cards, and access events such as concerts. 02, a UK-based mobile operator, will issue 500 of its subscribers with an NFC-enabled Nokia handset, which they will be able to use at selected sites across London. The trial started November 28 and lasts until the end of May 2008. The Nokia handset used in the trial comes pre-loaded with payment applications including an Oyster card. Oyster is a contactless prepaid smart card which has replaced paper train and bus tickets in London. To pay for a ticket, Oyster cardholders swipe their card against a contactless reader. During Phase one of the trial, which lasts until February 2008, 225 of the trial participants will also be given a Barclaycard Visa prepaid card loaded on their handset with ú200 (US$421). The Barclaycard application will enable them to make cashless payments under ú10 at London retailers which accept Visa payWave contactless transactions. During Phase two, which will start in February 2008, the Barclaycard application may be expanded to include PIN-based payments, purchases over ú10 and a reloadable funds capability, Barclaycard says. Barclaycard is the credit card arm of UK bank Barclays. Related Links
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